Comms Industry Alliance Calls for ‘Responsible Communication’ to Become 18th SDG

The Global Alliance for PR and Communication Management calls on global leaders, policymakers and stakeholders to recognize the critical importance of responsible communication in achieving a sustainable future — and outlines a multi-pronged approach toward achieving a proposed SDG 18.

Published 2 months ago | About a 8 minute read

Image: Scott Webb

Last month, one year after the release of a report from United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on information integrity on digital platforms, the UN launched recommendations for urgent actions against misinformation, disinformation and hate speech.

“The world must respond to the harm caused by the spread of online hate and lies while robustly upholding human rights,” Guterres said at the launch of the UN Global Principles for Information Integrity — a framework for coordinated international action to make information spaces safer and more humane.

Misinformation, disinformation, hate speech and other risks to the information ecosystem are fueling conflict, threatening democracy and human rights, and undermining public health and climate action; disinformation and societal fragmentation were both recognized as top Global Risks for 2024 by the World Economic Forum. Their proliferation is now being supercharged by the rapid rise of readily available artificial intelligence (AI) technologies — increasing the threat to groups often targeted in information spaces, including children.

“The United Nations Global Principles for Information Integrity aim to empower people to demand their rights,” Guterres said in June. “At a time when billions of people are exposed to false narratives, distortions and lies, these principles lay out a clear path forward — firmly rooted in human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and opinion.”

The UN chief issued an urgent appeal to government, tech companies, advertisers and the PR industry to step up and take responsibility for the spread and monetization of content that results in harm. Guidelines include:

Governments, tech companies, advertisers, media and other stakeholders should refrain from using, supporting or amplifying disinformation and hate speech for any purpose.
Governments should provide timely access to information; guarantee a free, viable, independent and plural media landscape; and ensure strong protections for journalists, researchers and civil society.
Tech companies should ensure safety and privacy by design in all products, alongside consistent application of policies and resources across countries and languages — with particular attention to the needs of those groups often targeted online. They should elevate crisis response and take measures to support information integrity around elections.
Tech companies and AI developers should ensure meaningful transparency and allow researchers and academics access to data while respecting user privacy, commission publicly available independent audits and co-develop industry accountability frameworks.
Governments, tech companies, AI developers and advertisers should take special measures to protect and empower children; with governments providing resources for parents, guardians and educators.

Guterres’ call came just after a call from 10 distinguished climate researchers for the UN to give the SDGs a much-needed refresh — to include more input from communities affected by the goals and account for some of the disruptive, global trends and forces that have emerged since 2015. While not mentioned explicitly by the researchers, the need to ensure responsible, accurate, inclusive information has become a chief concern in recent years.

An 18th SDG

And this week, a global coalition of PR and communications-management associations posed Guterres’ challenge to the UN itself.

The Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management (GAPRCM) — a not-for-profit, voluntary coalition representing over 360,000 practitioners, academics and students across 126 countries — together with over 100 endorsements from organizations around the world, has renewed its call for the UN to recognize the importance of responsible communication by establishing it as the 18th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

Background

The GAPRCM argues communication is the cornerstone of human interaction and societal development. It builds communities, facilitates the exchange of ideas, and supports democratic governance. However, the rise of fake news and misinformation threatens these foundational elements — eroding trust in institutions, companies and individuals.

The Global Alliance has created a strategic framework for implementing a new SDG centered on Responsible Communication — including key targets, indicators and stakeholders.

While the digital era drives and disrupts societal transformation at a massive scale and rapid pace unmatched in history — an issue that came to the fore during the COVID-19 pandemic — the SDGs remain silent on the subject. So, in September 2023, the GAPRCM made a direct appeal to Secretary-General Guterres for a separate SDG focused on communication.

They weren’t alone in their thinking: That year, Jan Servaes (former UNESCO Chair in Communication for Sustainable Social Change) and Muhammad Jameel Yusha'u (Harvard Kennedy School) edited and published two volumes of the book, SDG 18: Communication for All — which detailed arguments for a SDG dedicated to trustworthy communication, given that communication is included in the UN’s list of fundamental human rights.

Principles of responsible communication

Responsible communication ensures that interactions are based on truth, fostering a climate of trust that is essential for the harmonious coexistence of diverse communities.

The GAPRCM says responsible communication must include:

Freedom of opinion and press.
An ethical approach to organizational and institutional communications, based on facts.
Fighting against fake news, misinformation and any kind of propaganda.
Educating individuals to use their ‘communication powers’ — especially through social media — responsibly.
Public and private support for rigorous and accountable journalism.
Content that supports diversity, inclusion and gender equality.
Empathy to those who suffer from hunger, poverty, lack of opportunities, war, forced migrations and all discriminations.
Positive and inclusive language.

By promoting accurate information and ethical dialogue, and combating misinformation and propaganda, responsible communication helps build and maintain trust. It also includes efforts to enhance media literacy by educating individuals on recognizing and countering fake news.

Democracy thrives on informed citizen participation; responsible communication supports democratic governance, and promotes global understanding and empathy by highlighting diverse perspectives and shared human experiences.

The case for a new SDG

The GAPRCM highlights a need for a more bottom-up, deliberative, multi-stakeholder participatory approach to sustainable development.

An 18th SDG — the proposed goal of which would be to "Ensure responsible communication and promote trust, informed dialogue, and social cohesion to support sustainable development" — would:

1. Address communication gaps in the current SDGs. While communication is a key component of many existing SDGs — especially in SDG 4 (Quality Education) and 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) — there is no dedicated goal that comprehensively addresses its role in sustainable development. A new SDG on responsible communication would provide a focused framework for action and ensuring that communication is leveraged to support all SDGs.

2. Respond to emerging global challenges. The digital age has fueled the spread of misinformation and the erosion of trust in institutions. A dedicated SDG on responsible communication would address these challenges by promoting ethical journalism, digital literacy and the responsible use of communication technologies.

3. Align with international frameworks and agreements. The proposed SDG aligns with international frameworks such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — which recognizes the right to freedom of opinion and expression — and the principles of ethical journalism promoted by UNESCO. It also supports global initiatives on internet governance and digital inclusion.

The key targets would be as follows:

Promote media, public relations and information literacy (MIL): Ensure that individuals and organizations possess the skills to critically evaluate information and engage responsibly in the digital environment.
Support ethics and professionalism: Promote standards for ethical media practices, and responsible content creation across all communication professions.
Combat misinformation: Strengthen mechanisms to identify, counter, and mitigate the impacts of misinformation.
Enhance trust in institutions: Promote transparency and accountability in public and private institutions.
Foster inclusive communication: Ensure that communication platforms and content are inclusive and accessible to all, including marginalized and vulnerable communities.

The framework

The GAPRCM calls on global leaders, policymakers and stakeholders to recognize the critical importance of communication in achieving a sustainable future — and to take collective action towards this goal by establishing SDG 18 and taking a multi-pronged approach toward achieving it:

1. Multi-stakeholder collaboration. Collaboration among governments, international organizations, civil society, academia, the private sector and media organizations will facilitate the sharing of resources, expertise and best practices.

2. Policy and regulatory frameworks. Governments should develop and enforce policies and regulations that promote responsible communication, protect freedom of expression, and ensure digital inclusion — including laws to combat misinformation, protect data privacy and support digital-literacy programs.

3. Capacity building and education. This includes training for journalists, communicators, educators and community leaders; as well as integrating media, communications and information literacy into educational curricula at all levels.

4. Technological innovation and infrastructure. Promoting technological innovation and investing in communication infrastructure — including expanding broadband access, developing affordable communication devices, and supporting digital-inclusion initiatives — are essential to bridging the digital divide.

5. Monitoring and evaluation. Establishing robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms — developing indicators, collecting data, and conducting regular assessments to ensure accountability and inform policy adjustments — will be vital to track progress towards the proposed SDG.