Are you listening: Could listening techniques help tackle social misinformation?

In an age where trust in many institutions is being eroded, the prevalence of misinformation and its devastating consequences is a top industry concern. Could listening techniques add another tool to a PR professional’s armoury and prevent these falsehoods from gaining traction?

For PR practitioners, social media and misinformation are unhappy bedfellows. The meteoric rise of social media has fundamentally revolutionised how we communicate with each other. Social media is now an essential part of any PR strategy, campaign, and tactical deployment, and with good reason – analysis by digital advisory firm Kepios shows that in January 2025, there were 5.24 billion social media users worldwide representing 63.9% of the global population.

While the definitions of misinformation (the unintentional spreading of false information) and disinformation (false information that is intentionally circulated) are different, their impacts on institutions and organisations can be similarly devastating, eroding credibility, trust, and reputation, and can have significant financial implications.

There are plenty of examples of the rapid spread and impact of social misinformation. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, phone masts were set on fire, and telecoms workers faced abuse following online theories that 5G masts were spreading the disease. Amid heightened community tensions, false information on social media helped spark the 2024 summer riots in Southport. In the political sphere, Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud in the 2020 US presidential election went viral on social media, contributing to the US Capitol riot on 6 January 2021.

In the CIPR State of the Profession Survey 2024, disinformation was ranked as the second-highest challenge that PR faces over the next 12 months. The threat of misinformation, fuelled by social media, underscores some uncomfortable realities around trust in organisations, stakeholder management, and crisis communications. However, it also reinforces the need for a PR function to horizon scan, understand the current issues and opportunities, and provide important context for organisations’ decision-making.

But could listening techniques help PR practitioners stay one step ahead and stop misinformation from spreading?

Who’s Listening? Research

The rise of social misinformation

Mis and disinformation have existed for centuries. However, in this digital age with unprecedented access to information, along with social media transforming the media landscape, its growth, reach, and effects have been amplified.

When considering social media, many think of digital networks and platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X. However, academics argue that the concept isn’t that new, with the introduction of the radio, telephone, and email facilitating more rapid social interaction and knowledge sharing. Indeed, Shannon and Weaver’s model of the sender–encoder–channel–receiver depicts the traditional and linear nature of communication as a means of conveying information.

Social media in its current form no longer facilitates a one-way conversation, but an instantaneous, multi-step interaction involving many actors and opinion leaders. People are fed content by algorithms, accurate or not, to keep them on the platform for longer.

It has also transformed society’s social epistemology – the dynamic about how people gain knowledge. Communicating information is no longer a one-way, broadcast-only process, nor is it the preserve of PR practitioners and journalists.

This communication shift has resulted in the news becoming increasingly fragmented and instantaneous, where citizen journalists have emerged. Writing for the US PIRG Education Fund, Anastasia Micich says that instead of clear opinion sections or dedicated programmes, social platforms mix opinion and fact. This dynamic not only challenges traditional PR communication theories but also creates a breeding ground for misinformation to thrive.

Social media platforms are now distributors and sources of news: Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024 shows that 31% of its global sample use YouTube for news, followed by TikTok (13%) and X (10%).

The role of social media algorithms to curate content and boost user engagement has also been attributed to the growth of misinformation. Shayoni Lynn highlights how these algorithms help foster echo chambers, which reinforce existing beliefs and limit diverse viewpoints. A study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that fake news can spread up to 10 times faster than true reporting on social media. While misinformation can go viral, the truth is not as widely viewed or believed.

Such is the concern around misinformation that the World Economic Forum views mis/disinformation as one of the most severe risks. Rod Cartwright, in his 2024 Reputation, risk and resilience report, identified misinformation at the top of the risk agenda, calling for “strategic and tactical clarity on how to tackle the misinformation age”.

Exacerbating the trust issue

We are currently experiencing a crisis in trust – exacerbated by misinformation – where trust in credible sources is being eroded. Reuters’ report found that six in ten people are concerned about what is real and what is fake, and worries around identifying trustworthy information was highest for users on TikTok (27%) and X (24%).

The 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer found concerns around fake news were at an all-time high, with 65% of the population worried about false information. Social media is viewed as the least trusted source of information, despite its prevalence in society.

Cartwright found that misinformation, which can lead to polarisation and culture wars, only deepens this trust crisis by compounding a sense of fear, division, inequality, and injustice.

Interventions to counter misinformation and halt this trust erosion include censorship by social media platforms, trustworthiness scores, inviting users to add context (such as X’s Community Notes), and debunking. Lynn notes that techniques such as prebunking, which delivers a weakened version of misinformation so that people become less susceptible to future exposure, have promising results.

However, theories about the interplay between trust and misinformation challenge assumptions that misinformation leads to a lack of trust, which could help PR practitioners when they are faced with such crises.

Philosopher Dr Daniel Williams suggests that misinformation is simply a symptom of a wider public disease, which includes institutional distrust, political sectarianism, and anti-establishment worldviews. Therefore, interventions that debunk or prebunk information could worsen the problem. He argues that people reject information that does not align with their pre-existing beliefs and instead “cling to their own perspective of the world and dismiss claims made by others” – misinformation supports existing attitudes and motivations, rather than causes them.

In framing misinformation as a symptom, Williams says there are assumptions that the truth is “always self-evident and desirable”, when in fact, it is not wanted or easy to accept. He says that rather than preventing false information, institutions need to focus on being seen as trustworthy.

This could present an opportunity for PR practitioners to provide contextual sensemaking and engage in truthful and honest communication to build trustworthiness and social capital. But only after listening to and understanding the issue.

Are you listening?

As Kevin Ruck identifies, the nature of social media makes it easier for organisations to pick up on what stakeholder groups think and feel, a core part of a PR professional’s role.

While big tech is looking at algorithmic-driven solutions to tackle the spread of online misinformation, listening techniques could help strengthen trust in organisations by providing context on how an issue has developed and offering insight into stakeholders’ thinking. It could also act as an early warning system, giving you crucial time before the issue becomes a bigger crisis.

In PR Academy’s PR Diploma Reader, Heather Yaxley states that listening is itself a communicative act and therefore fundamental to two-way, dialogic communication. She notes that Ralph Tench and Angeles Moreno identify listening as a key knowledge area for senior managers in the context of social media.

Yaxley also highlights the ethical debates and challenges associated with listening, particularly when using monitoring systems. Drawing on the work of Clea Bourne, she points out that the act of listening can be concealed from those being monitored. Yaxley further observes that such systems often favour the listener, focusing on the content rather than the context of communication.

However, the principles of listening to the “noise” on social media platforms to help understand the world around you, provide context, and manage stakeholders, is a key skill set in PR.

But how good are we at listening?

Dr Kevin Ruck has highlighted the “listening deficit”, with PR traditionally communicating out messages and focused on producing content to persuade stakeholders. In his book, Organisational Listening: The Missing Essential in Public Communication, Jim Macnamara, an authority on listening theory, found that organisations are not listening effectively to their stakeholders or publics. One significant finding is that organisations do not spend time or invest much effort in listening and that when it did happen, it was mostly to serve their interests.

On the other hand, when looking at the underlying principles of PR, classic and contemporary theories agree that the practice is focused on building relationships, conveying information, and managing reputation – all of which require continued listening to the world around you.

Nonetheless, making listening explicit in your PR strategy will help make your communications more effective.

Building your listening toolkit 

PR professionals alone cannot stop misinformation, but managing how your organisation listens to and identifies false claims can improve your response and strengthen social trust and goodwill.

Listening can be incorporated into numerous areas of PR, including stakeholder management, corporate strategy, crisis communication planning, and reflection. Macnamara’s seven canons of listening are useful when building a more listening-focused communication strategy.

It is important to identify how you are listening, its purpose, and whether it meets the needs of your organisation and its stakeholders.

Vision, mission, and purpose: A good starting point is to consult the organisation’s vision, mission, and purpose, which will underpin the ethos of your communications strategy. They will also highlight the key areas your organisation operates in and from there you can plot a listening plan incorporating key influencers, themes, and trends.

Stakeholders: Review your stakeholder maps and their key characteristics or personas. What are they talking about? What is important to them? How are they influenced? Does your organisation still engage with them effectively? You could uncover some quick and easy wins by revisiting your stakeholder management strategy through a listening lens.

Crisis communication: The adage, failing to plan is planning to fail, is true when it comes to crisis communication. When it does hit the fan, using the intelligence gained from listening can help you devise a framework that will help establish your organisation as a single source of truth. The CIPR Crisis Communication Network’s Crisis Communication and Social Media guide covers key considerations for a robust plan.

Reflect, review, and refine: It is important to regularly review and refine the listening techniques in your strategy to ensure they work for your organisation and stakeholders. Nothing stands still in the world of PR and communications, and taking on board lessons learnt from previous events along with new thinking around communication, social media, and listening theory will ensure your strategy is flexible and future-proof.

Jasmin’s perspective on studying for the CIPR Professional PR Diploma 

Jasmin McDermott is Head of Member Communication at a membership association representing rural businesses and landowners in England and Wales. She prepared this article for a CIPR Professional Diploma assignment while studying with PR Academy.

What do you see as the key benefits of studying the CIPR Professional PR Diploma?

I stepped into the world of communications from a varied career in regional and specialist journalism, so while I have experience of creative writing, deadlines and the nuances of media, I had no formal qualifications or training in the key aspects of PR and communications. This diploma has helped build my professional skills and knowledge, given me more confidence in my current role, and encouraged me to think more strategically about how what I do can make a difference to the wider organisation I work for.

What has been your favourite part of the course so far?

I particularly enjoyed researching and writing this thought leadership piece – I have always enjoyed creative writing, so I relished the opportunity to present my research, craft my arguments and learn a lot along the way! I found it helpful to reflect on the process at the end (in reality, we rarely have time to do this properly), challenge the assumptions I made at the beginning, gain a deeper understanding of my learning style, and discover some tools I can easily use in my daily practice.

Have you been able to apply any of the learning, and if so, how?

It has made me a more strategic, thoughtful and confident communications professional. I have applied learnings, particularly from the assignment on PR strategy, to take a more holistic view of the work my team and I do and how it can better fit the needs of our core stakeholders and the organisation. This way of thinking has become second nature to me now and has resulted in a new approach to several communications projects.

About the CIPR Professional PR Diploma 

Thank you to Jasmin McDermott for being happy to share this article, written as part of the second assignment for the Chartered Institute of Public Relations Professional Public Relations Diploma. 

The PR Diploma is a Master’s level qualification for more experienced practitioners who are looking to underpin what they do with theory and contemporary models.  Topics include PR strategy and planning, content management, media and engagement, measurement and evaluation, and PR leadership and process improvement. 

You have two years to complete it but with PR Academy you set your own study pace and many students finish in about ten months. 

CIPR Professional PR Diploma