Pitfalls and promises of transparency in the digital age

Abstract

This article re-examines transparency as it is conceptualized in communication, particularly in public relations, and it introduces the concept of pseudo-transparency. Transparency in the public relations literature is rarely examined from a critical perspective. We conclude from our re-examination that transparency is a product of modernism and neoliberalism; as such, we argue that the concept is used by organizations, that is, governments, civil society organizations, and corporations, to reproduce and to maintain a status quo to be accepted without interrogation or critical inquiry. Based on this re-examination, we advocate that public relations practitioners must be at the forefront in resolving ethical issues that are related to transparency and to pseudo-transparency in contemporary global society.