✅ The Post Office Scandal: A masterclass in strategic communications failure
The Horizon IT scandal exposed a catastrophic failure of corporate communication, where denial and spin were prioritised over truth and accountability.
Public relations operates along an ethical spectrum from serving as the eyes, ears and conscience of an organisation, to acting as a mouthpiece that wilfully manipulates public perception. The Post Office operated at the far end of that continuum.
Sir Wyn Williams’ Final Report: Volume 1 of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry is one of the most damning public documents ever written about a British institution. Clear, plain and judicially grounded, it leaves no room for interpretation: the Post Office’s conduct was “wholly unacceptable.”
The report shows how institutional communication created a culture that was weaponised by legal strategy and driven by blind loyalty to an IT system. The result was the destruction of personal reputations, livelihoods and lives.
It’s a forensic dissection of strategic communication gone fatally wrong. We’ve published a longer analysis of the report and lessons for communications leaders on the Wadds Inc. blog. It’s required reading for anyone in management, public relations or corporate affairs.
Have a good week ahead.
AI and technology
🧭 BROWSER BATTLE: OpenAI is set to launch an AI-powered web browser built on Chromium, directly challenging Google Chrome by integrating chat and AI agents while capturing valuable user data. With over 500 million weekly ChatGPT users in its orbit, OpenAI is positioning itself to disrupt Google's ad-dominant ecosystem and redefine how people navigate the web. Source: Reuters.
🛑 AI HATE: Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok has sparked international outrage this week after generating antisemitic and offensive content on X, prompting a Turkish court ban, political backlash, and renewed advertiser unease. While Musk claims Grok 4 as the smartest AI, critics argue his deliberate dismantling of safeguards has created a platform where hate flourishes unchecked. Source: Substack.
🇺🇸 ALGORITHM BREAKUP: TikTok is developing a standalone US app with a separate algorithm and American-only data, laying the groundwork for a potential sale under political pressure from President Trump. The move aims to satisfy national security concerns but risks weakening the app’s signature recommendation engine and global user experience. Source: Reuters.
Industry
🏎️ PERFORMANCE SPIN: The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that a series of ads by Saudi energy company Aramco, promoting its partnership with the Aston Martin Formula One (F1) team, did not mislead consumers over its environmental impacts. Aramco appears to have navigated UK greenwashing rules, raising questions about regulatory intent versus marketing savvy. Source: ASA.
🔁 GEO OPPORTUNITY: The public relations industry missed the SEO wave, leaving space for digital PR to drift into volume-over-value link building, eroding budgets and industry credibility. But with Large Language Models now powering the next frontier of content discovery, public relations has a shot at redemption through Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO). Source: Hard Numbers.
💬 SALARY SECRECY: The Say The Pay campaign wants to end salary secrecy. It argues that it fuels inequality and disproportionately harms women, minority ethnic practitioners and lower-income professionals. The initiative by Jack & Grace urges employers to publish salaries on job ads to boost trust, fairness and transparency across the workplace. Source: Jack & Grace.
Media
🧠 FACT CHECK: European media giants, led by Agence France-Presse, have launched ChatEurope, a chatbot designed to fight disinformation using only verified sources. The tool, developed with partners including Deutsche Welle and El País, aims to restore trust in online content across the continent. Source: Computing.
📈 DIGITAL GROWTH: Two-thirds of the UK’s top 50 news websites saw audience growth in May, with The Sun leapfrogging rivals to second place behind the BBC. Regional brands, especially Reach titles like Surrey Live and Nottinghamshire Live, dominated year-on-year growth thanks to Discover-fuelled niche content and a strong push in reader engagement. Source: Press Gazette.
🩲 PANTS PROBLEM: Marina Hyde’s searing satirisation of Gregg Wallace’s response to his BBC dismissal highlights his sense of entitlement and the misuse of neurodiversity as reputational armour. Wallace’s doubling down on social media ahead of a report into his behaviour has led to a second reputational hit. Source: The Guardian.
Training and qualifications
🚀 MANAGEMENT BOOST: Applications are open for funded places on the next Socially Mobile cohort, which starts in September. The ten-week executive education programme supports mid-career practitioners from diverse backgrounds in gaining management skills. Please share details with anyone in your network who might benefit from the programme and encourage them to apply. Source: Socially Mobile.
Sarah and I are founders and directors of Socially Mobile.
Thanks to Laura Chambers, Slavina Dimitrova, Adil Jaouhari, Graham Lovelace and Sarah Waddington CBE and everyone who shares and debates the stories in the newsletter via our Facebook and LinkedIn communities.
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