Digital marketing and misinformation: Why we need a new professional ethics to guide our practice

Abstract

In a time of misinformation, it is important for marketers, especially digital marketers, to consider how our practice inadvertently contributes to the problem. In a new, volatile and unpredictable information environment, our existing professional ethics may not be sufficient to address the ways we spread misinformation in our own work. This paper thus proposes a new way of thinking about the ethics of digital marketing so that marketers not only avoid spreading misinformation but also help to mitigate the problem more broadly. The paper proposes the development of a new professional ethics that is influenced by the moral philosophy of contractualism. Contractualism, as developed by T. J. Scanlon, begins with the question of ‘what we owe to each other’. It encourages people to think about ethics in terms of the social contract, thus considering stakeholders far beyond our clients, customers and shareholders. The paper will explain contractualism, how we might practise marketing in a contractualist way, and why doing so will help the fight against misinformation.