Since the very first blog was created in 1994, online content creation and curation has come a long way. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Reddit have allowed users to be more selective of the articles they read and the brands they engage with. While this might sound like a fantastic idea, having this much control over the content that surrounds you can be quite dangerous as it limits your perceptions of the world and can often leave arguments very one sided.

By Chris Brown, account manager

One of the dangers surrounding content curation is that many believe if you’ve curated it, you’re endorsing it. Social media platforms have battled with this argument for a number of years and have been blamed for the content that is shared on their platforms. Their argument is that they just act as a hosting platform and have no control over what is shared, unless it breaches their user guidelines. That said, if content does breach these guidelines it can take a considerable amount of time to get something removed due to rather lengthy moderation procedures.

This month, one of the world’s biggest advertisers, Unilever, the creator of brands like Marmite and Pot Noodle, has threatened to withdraw all advertising from Facebook and Google if they fail to eradicate content that ‘creates division in society and promotes anger and hate.’

At a conference in California, Keith Weed, chief marketing officer at Unilever said:

“As one of the largest advertisers in the world, we cannot have an environment where our consumers don’t trust what they see online. We cannot continue to prop up a digital supply channel – one that delivers over a quarter of our advertising to our consumers – which at times is little better than a swamp in terms of its transparency.” 

This statement builds on action taken by Procter & Gamble last year, which cut £72m of digital ad spend from the same platforms.

Google has already pledged to hire thousands of new moderators to verify that content on YouTube is appropriate, but is this too little too late? Should these platforms be controlling what is put online, or is it all down to freedom of speech and the individual?

As PR professionals, we’re responsible for managing the brand image of our clients. In a way, we’re the curators and it’s our job to ensure the correct content is created and shared appropriately. From drawing up rapid responses on the current news agenda to opinion pieces on thought leading topics, we create and curate a wealth of award winning content for our clients.

If you’d like to find out more about how we could create content for your PR campaign, email me at [email protected] or phone on 01785 225416.