Five Questions about Ethics in Political Communication: Keith Nagy

Keith Nagy is the digital manager for Holly McCormack, a Democratic candidate running against Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia's 14th congressional district. Originally from rural Kansas, Nagy holds a B.A. in political science from The George Washington University. He is currently pursuing a master's degree from GW's Graduate School of Political Management. Previously, Nagy has held positions with the National Audubon Society, Cardinal Infrastructure, and the Kansas Department of Transportation. @nagy_minaj

1)  To what ethical standard should political communication be held? Where should political communication ethics be grounded?
Political communicators ought to be held to a similar ethical standard as journalists. While the Fourth Estate will always be essential to hold the powerful accountable, those in political communications should strive to make that function unnecessary. Like media ethics, political communication ethics must be grounded in truth. While all political communicators undoubtedly make mistakes, they must be committed to correcting their errors. Although the truth is relative, it is not subjective. One should look to the words of Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan: “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.”

2) Why should someone in political communication behave ethically?
I suppose that the value of conducting oneself ethically is to build a positive reputation amongst peers and potential followers. An unethical political communicator is inherently dangerous in a democracy, as their disinformation leads to the erosion of truth and trust in our institutions. Trust is critical in politics, not just between leaders and their constituencies, but between the political players themselves. Few people want to be allies with a communicator who utilizes unethical methods, whether that be deception or breach of confidence. If even your allies recognize your word means nothing, you should expect your career in politics to be ineffectual.

3) Can you give an example of ethical political communication? What can people point to and say “do more of that?”
Some contemporary examples of ethical political communication that come to mind are the daily briefings by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. Yes, to some, her press briefings may just seem more ethical in juxtaposition with her predecessors. It is also true that White House press briefings intrinsically include a partisan slant to the facts. However, I hold great admiration for Psaki’s ability to admit she does not have an answer to every question. So often, when political communicators are put on the spot with a “gotcha question”, they conjure a meaningless word salad, or worse, they outright lie. Being straightforward about the available facts, or lack thereof, is critical to building trust in political communication.

4) Can you give an example of an ethical challenge or question you or political communication professionals in your field have faced or are likely to face?
Like I mentioned, all political communicators will eventually receive a question that stumps them or catches them off guard. The worst possible option is to lie, but it is also the most popular option. Deception is commonly chosen, sometimes in the heat of the moment, to avoid seeming uninformed or unprepared. However, I would contend that either of those labels is preferable to seeming untruthful. More ethical options exist, such as pivoting to a different topic, or perhaps objecting to the premise of the question. There is also enormous value in just a straightforward “I don’t know the answer, I’ll try to get back to you on that.”

5) What advice about ethics do you have for people studying political communication or starting their careers in the field?
I would urge those pursuing a future in political communications to put themselves in the shoes of someone apathetic about politics, and then ask themselves “Why has this person chosen to avoid our political systems?” Could it be because they are distrustful of political communicators? Are they just tired of the spin and the propaganda? There are millions of Americans who share this sentiment, and their retreat from participatory democracy is not healthy for our country. It then becomes the onus of political communicators to determine how to bring trust back to our institutions. It should be every person’s goal to bring more people into the political process, rather than perpetuate a culture of cynicism.

Five Questions about Ethics in Political Communication: Jeff Harris

Jeff Harris is an accomplished non-profit executive who is passionate about civic engagement surrounding racial justice and equality. He heads JB Harris Consulting, which was founded to support organizations bringing programs and resources to BIPOC communities working to mitigate the effects of poverty, violence, and trauma that can prevent young people from achieving their full potential. He previously served as chief executive officer of the Junior State of America Foundation a national, non-partisan, non-profit helping to develop citizenship and civic involvement for high school students. Under his leadership, Harris oversaw the expansion of JSA to the nation’s largest student-run action-civics organization serving 15,000 students annually.

Most recently he was director of School and Community Partnerships for the Compton Unified School District, where he brought resources to the district supporting arts, STEM, literacy, athletics, and other co-curricular programs for the 35 campuses serving over 20,000 K-12 students while managing over 55 partner relationships.

1) To what ethical standard should political communication be held? Where should political communication ethics be grounded?

In thinking about the ethical standards for politicians holding elected or appointed positions, there's no question that they should adhere to and be held to the highest ethical standards. The stakes are too high when serving as official representatives of local, state and/or federal governments. We, the people, deserve and depend upon timely and accurate accounts of policy decisions and administrative actions as well as the political processes that yield them. Messaging that comes from official sources can have life or death consequences, but mostly, the public's trust and confidence in government is at stake. Unfortunately most Americans feel that "the government lies" no matter which political party is in control. This erosion of trust has lowered the bar for the ethical standards to which voters hold candidates to the point that most voters feel that a candidate's past or present behavior is OK if they support the candidate and "disqualifying" if they oppose the candidate.

That said, is it acceptable to hold political candidates to a lower ethical standard than office holders? That's a question that political communications professionals must grapple with. Their job is to get candidates elected. Communications professionals must determine that any questionable past behavior of a candidate doesn't run afoul of their own personal ethical standards. During the campaign, both "spinning" the truth and "evading" uncomfortable questions seem to be in bounds ethically. Particularly because the candidate/campaign isn't deliberately promoting falsehoods. The art and science of campaigning involves skillfully accentuating the positive, eliminating the negative while all the while, being honest and consistent with messaging.

2) Why should someone in political communication behave ethically?

At the foundation of a healthy democracy are healthy, honest and robust discussions and debates. In communicating with voters, political communications professionals are providing the essential information that, for many people, form the core elements of those discussions and debates. Especially in the digital age when the trust in the media is low and the electorate is bombarded with information from social media and other online sources, more people take messaging from the candidates and campaigns they support as fact, base their decisions on that messaging and spread that messaging to friends, relatives and "followers." The old saying "garbage in; garbage out" could apply here. When communications professionals taint our political discourse, voters base their decisions on tainted messaging and the outcomes produced by elections will not necessarily accurately reflect an well informed opinion of the majority. As Americans have historically low opinions of government institutions and politicians in general, political communications professionals must consider their role in helping to elect unpopular, untrusted politicians and in weakening our democratic institutions.

3) Can you give an example of ethical political communication? What can people point to and say “do more of that?”
I am going to succumb to my own cynicism here in that I fear that as soon as I point out an example of ethics in political communication, some scandal or cover-up will be exposed. I can say some criteria I look for when considering ethical communication, especially when the stakes are high. First of all, honesty. Not only is it the right thing to do ethically, in today's society, the truth will always be revealed somehow - it seems that it is impossible to cover up anything in the public domain. Second of all, transparency. Just as important as communicating the facts, is communicating "who knew what, when." Additionally, the phrase "we don't know that, yet" is acceptable when true and preferable to unfounded speculation. Third of all, humility. If a mistake has been made, admit it, apologize and lay out a plan to fix it. In the long run, taking responsibility for an error and working to correct it will work out better than blaming others or pretending that everything is OK, when it isn't.

4) Can you give an example of an ethical challenge or question you or political communication professionals in your field have faced or are likely to face?

It's easy to be ethical when things are going well. The real challenge is sticking to your ethical principles when there's trouble brewing. Often it comes down to when and how to release bad news to the general public. Telling the truth, telling it quickly and telling it completely is the ethical thing to do, but also the smart thing to do. The era of cover-ups is over; in the digital age, someone is always watching and posting to Twitter. Rather than trying to orchestrate a cover-up, use your skill and expertise to manage the aftermath of releasing the bad news. Do so on your terms and control the narrative as best you can.

5) What advice about ethics do you have for people studying political communication or starting their careers in the field?

We all learned the difference between right and wrong around kindergarten or first grade. When confronted with a dilemma, check your inner ethical compass and do what's right. The more experience and skill you acquire in the field, the better you will become at persuading and maybe even manipulating public opinion. Keep in mind your responsibility to ensure that our American democratic systems are strong and that the people can have trust in the process now and in the future.

Jeff Harris

Five Questions about Ethics in Political Communication - Mike Nellis

Mike Nellis is the CEO and Founder of Authentic, an award-winning agency focused on running ethical digital fundraising and advertising programs for political campaigns. He has 16 years experience working in politics and a background in strategic communication, business, and marketing. @mikenellis

1) To what ethical standard should political communication be held? Where should political communication ethics be grounded?

I believe political practitioners like myself have a responsibility to treat our supporters and the American public with respect and dignity. Most of my career in politics has been focused on online fundraising where we have the ability to empower people to engage in our political process. That’s a good thing! But on both sides of the aisle, too many campaigns and consultants are using scare tactics to scam people out of their hard-earned money, which destroys trust in our political system.

We have to realize that what we say, how we say it, and what we do matters to people — especially when we’re asking them to make contributions to our campaign. The money we’re collecting from ordinary Americans is money that helps them put food on the table or take care of a loved one. We have a responsibility to make sure we’re building a meaningful connection between the campaigns and causes we’re working on and the people who trust us to help them engage in our system. 

2) Why should someone in political communication behave ethically?

Maybe I’m naïve, but treating people with respect and dignity is just the right thing to do. It’s also one of the best ways to fix our broken political system. The truth is, politicians like Donald Trump have worked really hard to divide us in order to gain power, money, and influence. They’ve done it by lying, cheating, stealing, and preying on our anxieties as human-beings. 

There are real differences in the direction Americans want to take our country, but I really do believe there’s more that unites us than divides us as a people. If political campaigns were operated more ethically and honestly, I think it would be a lot easier to bring people together to get things done on the issues that matter. 

3) Can you give an example of ethical political communication? What can people point to and say “do more of that?”

There were so many great digital programs in the last election that tried to do this the right way. We ran the digital fundraising for John Hickenlooper and raised tens of millions of dollars online without ever scamming people of their money. In fact, almost every top-performing piece of content for us was rooted in John’s authentic voice and brand. It wasn’t all doom-and-gloom and all that. It was a really thoughtful program from the candidate on down. John would frequently look for little fun opportunities to show off this personality like shooting Facebook videos to supporters of him playing the banjo to ask for donations. It worked so well. We really proved in 2020 that you don’t have to scam people to raise money online. 

4) Can you give an example of an ethical challenge or question you or political communication professionals in your field have faced or are likely to face?

Anybody working in digital politics is going to face campaign stakeholders pushing you to max out your fundraising numbers or get as much engagement as possible. It creates a race to the bottom for content and it often makes us forget about the basic dignity of the people reading our content. You have to be ready to push back and advocate for a better program. In the short-term it can be hard to convince people to do this in a better way, but so many campaigns — like Hickenlooper above or the Biden campaign last year — have proven you can run programs deeply rooted in content that is more uplifting and personal. 

5) Can you give an example of an ethical challenge or question you or political communication professionals in your field have faced or are likely to face?

More than anything, figure out what you stand for and plant yourself as best you can. Politics can be such a zero-sum game. In fact, many people who work in this industry treat it like a role-playing game where the consequences barely matter to them. But if you know what you’re about and what you want to accomplish, especially as it pertains to your ethical framework, you can work backwards and make decisions that reflect what you want to happen. It takes time to develop. I have a very different view of myself and this industry and my work than I did 15 years ago. I’m sure that’ll be true in 15 years too. Keep at it. We need people who care about doing this the right way because we can’t leave the politics to the scammers and hacks.

Spring Update

Project on Ethics in Political Communication

Spring Update
May, 2021

In March, the Project on Ethics in Political Communication celebrated turning two by hosting a conversation about ethics and political consulting with the president of the American Association of Political Consultants, a member of the AAPC ethics committee, and a George Washington University student majoring in political communication and minoring in applied ethics. Who says ethicists don’t know how to party?

We haven’t been resting on our young laurels. Between mid-March and the end of April we:

Co-sponsored a discussion about the theory and practice of civil religion in American politics with the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict at Arizona State University.

Talked to leaders at New Politics about navigating the ethical challenges political campaigns face. New Politics recruits, trains and supports candidates who have served in the military or national service organizations such as the PeaceCorps and AmericCorps.

Participated in a panel discussion on political communication ethics sponsored by the Rock Ethics Institute at Penn State.

Talked to students at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard about the often unseen ethical challenges faced by advocacy campaigns.

Media

Reporters continue to reach out to the Project for comment on political events.

Textbook

Political Communication Ethics: Theory and Practice is available now - a perfect supplement for courses in advocacy, political communication and strategic communication.

What’s Next

This summer the Project is working on more case studies with the Media Ethics Initiative at UT Austin, more events, more media outreach, more talks, and more writing. Have an idea, want to schedule a talk or write for our blog? Let us know.

Keep in Touch

You can keep with all the goings-on on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Tell your friends.

Thank you as always for your support,

Peter

Peter Loge
Director
ploge@gwu.edu

Rock Ethics Institute - Penn State University

Project director Peter Loge recently joined the Rock Ethics Institute at Penn State University for a discussion of ethics in political communication.

"rhetoric has...ethical consequences. If it's going to have ethical consequences, I don't see you can evade also having ethical responsibility." - Penn State professor Mary Stuckey

You can watch the full discussion here.

Advocacy Communication Ethics Workshop - Harvard Kennedy School

On April 7 from 3:00 - 4:00pm ET I will lead a discussion about the ethical choices policy advocates make, often without thinking. The conversation will touch on some of the ethical dimensions of both strategy and tactics, and offer communication tools so advocates can make better ethical choices.

Details and registration here.

Can the Soul of the Nation Be Saved?

The Project on Ethics in Political Communication and the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict at Arizona State University hosted a discussion about politics, civil religion and the “soul of the nation.” The panelists were Project director Peter Loge, Center interim director John Carlson, director of the Black Church Studies Program and associate professor in the practice of sociology of religion and culture at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University Nichole Phillips, and Truman -Albright Fellow and US Senate staffer Andre Gonzales. The discussion was moderated by Type Media Center fellow Rozina Ali.

You can watch the discussion here.

Case study: The Ethics of Using Psychographic Data in Political Campaigns

Classroom ready case study with the Center for Media Ethics at UT - Austin

“In a world of big data, the information that consumers regularly and voluntarily generate is completely changing the landscape of political communication. At every step of the process, political communicators must consider how far they are willing to go to change a voter’s mind. At what point does a political advertisement blatantly manipulate a voter’s information? Has this information been obtained with the voter’s consent? Is the use of psychographic information capitalizing on a culture of misinformation, sensationalism, and alarmism in a way that harms voters?”

Read this full case study and others here.

Review: "a much needed resource..."

Thrilled that a review in the Journal of Media Ethics called Political Communication Ethics: Theory and Practice “…a much needed resource for students and scholars across many disciplines who want to better understand the role of ethics as it applies to the theory and practice of politics in a democracy."

You can read the full review here.

Can the Soul of the Nation Be Saved?

Can appeals to civil religion win elections and unite America?

The Project on Ethics in Political Communication at The George Washington University and the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict at Arizona State University are bringing together leading scholars and practitioners for a conversation about what the “soul of the nation” means in theory – and in practice.

President Biden promised to restore the soul of America, an idea he repeated during his inaugural address. For some this appeal to “civil religion” can bring the nation together with a shared moral purpose. For others, it can be exclusionary and raises concerns about “Christian nationalism” and fears about national hubris.

“The idea of a national soul, or of a civil religion, is a staple of American politics.” said Peter Loge, the director of the Project on Ethics in Political Communication at the George Washington University and a political veteran. “But what candidates mean by it, and whether or not it’s more than a talking point, are open questions.”

“This discussion aims to bring theory and practice together,” said John Carlson, the interim director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict at Arizona State University. “The idea of a shared civic faith can look very different in academia than it does in the halls of Congress or in our communities. We hope our discussion finds ways to bridge these divides.”

 The event will take place over Zoom on April 1 at 3:00pm MST/6:00pm EST. It is free and open to the public. The panel is:

• John Carlson, interim director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict, associate professor in the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies at Arizona State University, and co-director of the Recovering Truth project.

• André Gonzales is a staff assistant in the United States Senate, a 2019 Truman Scholar and a current Truman-Albright Fellow with the Harry S. Truman Foundation.

• Peter Loge, director of the Project on Ethics in Political Communication and an associate professor at The George Washington University.

• Nichole R. Phillips, director of the Black Church Studies Program and associate professor in the practice of sociology of religion and culture at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University a senior faculty fellow at the Emory Center for Ethics. 

The moderator is Rozina Ali, a fellow at Type Media Center. Her reporting and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, Foreign Affairs, The Nation, the Guardian, New York Times, Al Jazeera America, Foreign Policy, and others.

Details and registration are here: https://csrc.asu.edu/content/can-soul-nation-be-saved