What do blog readers think? A survey to assess ghost

blogging and commenting

Tiffany Gallicano, Yoon Cho, and Tom Bivins

Qualified Expectation of Reality

Is the fictitious content immediately obvious?

Can people identify that the content is fictitious based on the context?

Is appropriate disclosure provided, so no one is fooled?

Is the fiction irrelevant to the essence of the communication?Wheeler, T. H., & Gleason, T. (1994). AEJMC conference paper.

Wheeler, T. H. (2002). Phototruth or photofiction? (book).

Method: Three Online Surveys

507 corporate blog readers

510 readers of politicians’ blogs

501 nonprofit blog readers

Randomly sampled from a U.S. Census representative population by Qualtrics

Response rate: 14%

Blogging: Is Deceit Occurring?

I think it’s common for a [company] to have a blog that lists the [president or CEO] as the author, even though it’s really written by someone else.

Percentages are approximate.

57%26%

17%

Corporate

52%

28%

20%

Politician Nonprofit

34%

39%

27%

Blogging: Is It Permissible?

I think it’s okay if a [politician] is listed as the author of the blog, even though it’s really written by someone else – as long as the ideas come from the [politician] and he or she approves the message.

Percentages are approximate.

40%

22%

38%

Corporate

34%

22%

44%

Politician Nonprofit

35%

18%

47%

Commenting on Their Own Blog: Com Is Deceit Occurring?

I think it’s common for a [NP] to have a staff member write comments in reply to readers’ comments on the [ED or P]’s blog w/out a disclosure statement that is a staff member responding on behalf of the [ED or P].

Percentages are approximate.

64%21%

15%

Corporate

65%19%

16%

Politician Nonprofit

53%24%

23%

Commenting on Their Own Blog: Is It Permissible?

I think it’s okay if a [co. P or CEO] to have a staff member write comments on the [P or CEO]’s blog w/out a disclosure… as long as the ideas come from the [P or CEO] and he or she approves the message.

Percentages are approximate.

40%

24%

36%

Corporate

37%

24%

39%

Politician Nonprofit

34%

22%

44%

Commenting on Others’ Blogs: Com Is Deceit Occurring?

I think it’s common for a [politician] to have a staff m. write comments in reply to other people’s blogs w/out a disclosure statement that is a staff m. responding on behalf of the [P].

Percentages are approximate.

52%28%

20%

Corporate

51%

25%

24%

Politician Nonprofit

44%

28%

28%

Commenting on Others’ Blogs: Is It Permissible?

I think it’s okay for a [co. P or CEO] to have a staff m. write comments in reply to other people’s blogsw/out a disclosure… as long as the ideas come from the [P or CEO] and he or she approves the message.

Percentages are approximate.

33%

23%

44%

Corporate

28%

23%

49%

Politician Nonprofit

31%

19%

50%

Radical Transparency

A philosophy for doing business that refers to prioritizing transparency above all other competing values, with the exception of disclosing information that violates regulations or ethical principles.

Gallicano, T. D., Brett, K., & Hopp, T. (2012). IPRRC conference paper.