The PR Fight Against Pandemic Misinformation PR NOTABLES OF

BETSY A. PLANK APR, Fellow PRSA

AMERICAN 1924–2010

2020

Misinformation about COVID-19 began spreading rapidly as soon as the first novel coronavirus cases emerged in China. In February 2020, the World Health Organization warned of a “massive infodemic” that would hurt the pandemic response. That was a prescient statement.

Some early and enduring falsehoods: the coronavirus was a “plandemic” created by China or by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. COVID-19 is no worse than the annual flu. The government is exaggerating COVID deaths. Vaccines contain microchips — or alter your DNA. Misinformation and disinformation (intentionally false or misleading statements) hurt vaccine confidence. One national survey found that almost two-thirds of unvaccinated people believed four or more common false statements about COVID-19 and the vaccines.

More than two-thirds of Americans identified disinformation as a major problem in society and said they believed it would prolong the pandemic, according to a March 2022 Disinformation in Society Report by the Institute for Public Relations. Also that month, the U.S. Surgeon General formally asked “Big Tech,” such as social media platforms and search engine providers, to provide data and analysis about COVID-19 misinformation on their sites.

Throughout the pandemic, public agencies, academic centers, journalists and PR professionals worked to combat misleading and false statements. Voices4Everyone, a PRSA initiative launched in April 2021, offers online resources with strategies and a variety of tools for public relations professionals. Among its aims is to promote healthy civic dialogue and to counter misinformation and disinformation.

Betsy Ann Plank served as executive vice president of Edelman before becoming director of public relations planning at AT&T. She later worked as director of external affairs at Illinois Bell. She was the first woman to head an Illinois Bell division and to serve as PRSA president. She helped establish PRSSA and co-founded Champions for PRSSA. Plank co-chaired a commission to develop guidelines for an undergraduate public relations curriculum. She served on accrediting teams at several universities. The PRSA Foundation established the Society’s first-ever scholarship in her name. The University of Alabama established The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations. She was the first person to receive three PRSA top individual honors: the Gold Anvil Award, the Paul M. Lund Public Service Award and the Patrick Jackson Award for Distinguished Service to PRSA. She was in the inaugural class of the College of Fellows.