Communication ethics

Being an ethical communicator is defined as being honest, accurate, and truthful.[3] This stems from a person's morals and values, and how people define what is "good and bad". Many ethical theories about goodness that apply to all manifestations of communicative interaction are used by academics. Every human interaction involves communication and ethics, whether implicitly or explicitly. Intentional and unintentional ethical dilemmas arise frequently in daily life. Rhetoric, media studies, intercultural/international communication, relational and organizational communication, and all other branches of the discipline are all infused with ethical issues.[4][5]

Communication ethics affects enterprises, corporations, and professional entities in addition to the person. A company that uses unethical communication techniques is less successful than one that uses ethical techniques. For instance, a company with unethical communication techniques could conceal proof that it is endangering the environment or abusing the law by being opaque, whereas a company with ethical communication techniques would immediately press a release to the parties impacted.[6] By alerting clients—future or current—providers and suppliers, as well as other affiliates, of the possible environmental danger or the legal breach, transparency, in this case, increases the effectiveness of the firm. Transparency should promote trust and good faith since it shows that a successful company won't hide what is in its customers' best interests.[7] For the sake of counterexample, there may be a time when censorship is the more effective business practice: take the case of trade secrets, when a design method or management tactic is not openly revealed in the name of competitive advantage;[8] or when terms of agreement/use that a business may have with a service provider forbids transparency. In the latter counterexample, a business may use social media to advertise, but the social media service provider may limit the conduct of its users. Suppose the business considers social media a valuable service to achieve its advertising. In that case, it may have to censor its product or service to preserve its agreement with the social media provider.

Historically, communication ethics began with concerns correlated with print media and has advanced towards digital technologies. Critics began assessing the harms of the unregulated press in North America and Europe during the 1890s, which forced the creation of principles in the United States during the 1920s.[9] Four major books that emerged from this decade were: Who's Who of journalism luminaries: Nelson Crawford's Ethics of Journalism (1924), Leon Flint's The Conscience of the Newspaper (1925), William Gibbons's Newspaper Ethics (1926), and Albert Henning's Ethics and Practices in Journalism (1932). These authors left a legacy on the meaning behind communication ethics and confronted in their books issues with ethics. Perpetual issues have always been with privacy and confidentiality concerns and have progressively been debated with the freedom of speech.

Ethics can be traced back to the philosopher Socrates (circa 470-399 B.C.E), who probed deep and broad concepts of goodness and justice. He believed that anyone, "given time to think and question, could gain insight into universally accepted rules of moral conduct".[10]

His disciple, Plato (circa 428-348 B.C.E.), expanded on the concepts of goodness and justice and argued that justice is achieved through wisdom. He also claimed that "good" was a value of what's moral to achieve a higher good.

Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E), who studied under Plato, developed the definition of virtue ethics, which is that a virtuous person will do the right thing primarily because they are of good character.[1]

Hannah Karolak- "philosophy of communication ethics working from three assumptions: (1) through philosophy of communication one can discern, learn, and engage various communication ethics; (2) a multiplicity of communication ethics exist; and (3) in a postmodern moment characterized by multiple narratives, philosophy of communication ethics offers a space for the renewal of communication ethics scholarship."[11] The first assumption explains that communication ethics can constantly be changing through time and evolution of society. The second assumption describes that there are multiple different views on communication ethics. The third assumption results from a combination of the first two assumptions of communication ethics.

Communication ethics provides guidance as to what kind of communication is "right or wrong".

These philosophers defined the meaning behind "good and justice" that is now integrated into communication ethics. In modern society, "good and justice" are discussed through media and news and what is considered right from wrong. Communication deals with these matters through everyday reports, interviews, professional situations, and human morals in cases dealing with others.

Ethical communication is crucial due to its emphasis on the responsibility of people to keep society civil. With the concern of fake news becoming more prevalent in today's society, the importance of ethical communication has been significant. Fake news has always been overall; it has been shown on different news channels, such as radio stations. "Now that online platforms, particularly social media, are becoming the main sources of news for a growing number of individuals, misinformation seems to have found a new channel."[12] Due to the rise of social media,[13] misinformation is easier to be put out in the world nowadays.[12][14]

The National Communication Association was founded in 1914 by 17 speech teachers who all left the National Council of Teachers of English. There are now thousands of scholars around the world in NCA dedicated to the study of teaching communication. They believe unethical communication can threaten society and counter civility in everyday conversations. NCA endorses honest communication and focuses on educating others through effective dialogue, discussion, and debate.[15]

The obligation for truth is not a legal matter, as no single code of ethics applies to everyone. An example of a code is The 1996 SPJ Code, which is framed around the four principles: to seek truth, to minimize harm, to remain independent, and not to hold themselves accountable.[16] These principles reflect today's challenges in the growing internet presence.

A Code of Professional Ethics for the Communication Scholar/Teacher, adopted in November 1999, has the behavior guidelines of integrity, fairness, professional and social responsibility, equality of opportunity, confidentiality, honesty, openness, respect for self and others, freedom, and safety.[17] These codes are set as disciplinary acts to guide people in professions that deal with communication practices.

Confidentiality is crucial in all professions, such as teachers, researchers, publications, and professional relationships. Ethics begins with individuals and governs how we interact with other people. One is The American Sociological Association's (ASA's) Code of Ethics are enforceable rules set forth by the American Sociological Association. Six principles and ethical standards have been set forth to manage scientific and professional responsibilities.[18]