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Chapter 7
Truth and Deception
ou would expect a media ethics book to talk a great deal about truth, which is obviously
among the more important values of a mass communicator. And as we noted in
Chapter 6, media ethics code we can find places a high value on truth—often, however,
without defining truth. We believe that many discussions about truth miss the mark
without thinking about the broader definitions of truth, and the implications of those
In Chapter 7, we seek to show students that “truth” is a complicated concept, and that
any effort to “do ethics” must move past the pedantic “thou shalt not lie” absolute rule.
Learning Objectives
A successful discussion of Chapter 7 will lead students to:
Consider the concept and nature of “truth” through several theorists.
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Teaching Suggestions
We suggest these activities:
1. Start with an example of a recent “based on a true story” movie that many
making changes to reality vs. the ability to “tell truth” despite making changes. (For
ideas about similar questions, see Case 7.5—“Based on a True Story.”) Some students
may see the changing of events as an immoral act. Others may see it as a necessity to
not be boring or to get to “bigger truths.” Ask students to put themselves in the
protagonist’s shoes as they consider their positions.
2. Or, have a confederate walk into the class with a baseball bat, name a student in
3. Work through the chapter’s key points in a lecture/discussion. If using the
accompanying PowerPoint, the points include:
a. A quick example: Long before Photoshop, a picture still wasn’t worth 1,000
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b. Transitioning into theories of truth: Clearly, as mass communicators we have
legal and moral obligations to the truth. But what does that mean? There are lots of
bromides to define truth, and they fit into one of three theories.
Correspondence theories: “Some are balls and some are strikes, and I call them as
they are.” Truth must “match” objective reality. We use our senses, intellect, and
Coherence theories: “Some are balls and some are strikes, and I call them as I see
them.” Something that is true must connect with other things we believe to be
true. Our goal is to create systematic ways of seeing the truth. The downside: we
may have consistency in our beliefs, but those beliefs may not match external
reality In mass communication, it can lead to ad/PR campaigns that do not match
external reality. Journalists work to cut through rhetoric that may be coherent in
itself but does not seem to match external reality.
Pragmatic theories: “Some are balls and some are strikes, but they ain’t nothing
c. Discussing the semantics of truth telling: The impreciseness of language—due to
the nature of language and our careless use of it—is one reason why audiences may not
believe mass communicators (and why mass communicators may not deserve to be
believed.) These slides offer highlights of the section that introduces general semantics,
followed by the list of semantic problems.
d. Introducing specific examples of semantic issues:
Blurring abstraction levels. (See slide for example.)
e. Discussing the “Truth Continuum”—Table 7.1. Questions include: At what point
does not telling “truth” become unethical? Where might the movie discussed in
Teaching Suggestion 1 be placed along this continuum, and does it matter? Is it fair to
place PR/advertising below journalism on this continuum, and does that make
PR/advertising less ethical?
specific standards on the topic.
h. Discussing Lou Hodges’s model for news media. Like the Bok model, each
question must be answered “correctly” to move onto the next question.
i. Concluding with a discussion of the values we sometimes must balance a truth
against. This includes minimizing harm, sustaining relationships (lying can damage
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4. Return to the first case study of a movie and discuss it in the light of today’s
discussion. Or work through a case study in the book, or discuss “classic” cases based
upon the students’ key majors.
Case Study Notes
Case 7.1) Journalism: How Much Deception Do You Need to Nail the Story?
In answering question 5 (a question asking students to apply Hodges’s standards of
journalistic deception to the Bly case), students may decide that the deception was
worth the result. They may well be right, of course, but their analysis is incomplete
without any information about what happened to some of the patients named in the
story.
Case 7.2) New Media: Are You Using, Or Being Used by, a Sock Puppet?
Among the dirty secrets of some websites is the need to draw pageviews by nearly any
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The key question may be No. 6, in which truth telling and privacy become values at
play.
Case 7.3) Public Relations: When the Boss Lies to You
Here is the quintessential dilemma for people who speak on behalf of public officials:
What to do when you spread lies but don’t know that you are? The case provides a
Case 7.4) Advertising: In-text Ads
The key for students here is to define the problem as a “truth and deception” case,
given that there is no outright lying in the ad placement. Journalism students and
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advertising students might argue the case differently; see if there’s a common ground.
This case is based upon a 2007 Journal of Mass Media Ethics “Cases and Commentary”
look at in-text advertising. Commentators came down on both sides of the debate, but
with reminders that:
Transparency is key for readers.
Given the economics of the news business and the transition to new
Case 7.5) Entertainment: Based on a True Story
The case is similar to the one proposed to begin the discussion. (In fact, this case would
work as the start of the classroom discussion if enough students haven’t seen a movie
that takes liberties with actual events.) Many of the issues that students might raise