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February 17, 2016

Ethics and

Professionalism What Dietetics Practitioners

Need to Know

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WITH YOU TODAY

Janet Helm, MS, RD Chief Food and Nutrition Strategist, Weber Shandwick

Co-Founder, HealthyAperture.com

and Nutrition Blog Network.com

Blogger: Nutrition Unplugged,

U.S. News & World Report

jhelm@webershandwick.com

@JanetHelm

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FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

The dietetics practitioner:

Conducts himself/herself with honesty, integrity and fairness.

Supports and promotes high standards of professional practice.

Accepts the obligation to protect clients, the public and the profession.

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Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Code of Ethics for the Profession of Dietetics

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The dietetics practitioner:

Does not engage in false or misleading practices or communications (#6).

Protects confidential information and makes full disclosure about any limitations on his or her ability to guarantee full confidentiality (#10).

Presents reliable and substantiated information and interprets controversial information without personal bias, recognizing that legitimate differences of opinions exist (#13).

Is alert to the occurrence of a real or potential conflict of interest and takes appropriate action whenever a conflict arises (#15).

Does not invite, accept, or offer gifts, monetary incentives, or other considerations that affect or reasonably give an appearance of affecting his/her professional judgment (#18).

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Code of Ethics for the Profession of Dietetics

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ETHICAL ISSUES RELATED TO BLOGGING

Considered a “publisher” with ethical

responsibilities of a journalist

Original content, reliable sources

Distinguish between advocacy,

commentary and factual information

Disclose conflicts of interest,

affiliations, activities and personal

agendas

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OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIETITIANS

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Potential “asks” that require disclosure:

Join our ambassador program

Use our product, document your

experience

Create content (sponsored blog

posts, recipes, videos)

Enter our contest to win prizes

Share on your social networks

Comment on other blogs

Host a Twitter party

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DISCLOSE. DISCLOSE. DISCLOSE.

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WHY?

It’s the right thing to do

It’s part of our professional code of ethics

It’s now required by the FTC

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WHAT IT DEMONSTRATES

Trust and transparency

You have nothing to hide

You respect those in your social networks

You’re a responsible partner

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$$ = advertisement/endorsement

“Truth in advertising”

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Endorsements must be truthful and not misleading.

If the advertiser doesn’t have proof that the endorser’s

experience represents what consumers will achieve by using

the product, the ad must clearly and conspicuously disclose

the generally expected results in the depicted circumstances.

If there’s a connection between the endorser and the marketer

of the product that would affect how people evaluate the

endorsement, it should be disclosed.

TRUTH IN ADVERTISING

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Cash or In-Kind

Payments

Free Product

and Samples

Free Trips

Contests /

Giveaways

Sponsored Posts

Product Reviews /

Free Samples

Employer/Client /

Sponsor

Reference

MATERIAL CONNECTIONS

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“Does this affect or appear to affect

my credibility or bias?”

MATERIAL CONNECTIONS

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AS A BLOGGER YOU SHOULD HAVE…

A disclosure policy or statement on your blog or website

Disclosures within a blog post

Disclosures when sharing information on your

social networks or in media interviews

Documentation of your partnership

with a company or brand

Don’t worry, I’’ll show you what these look like

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A MARKETER’S RESPONSIBILITY

It’s the brand or advertiser’s responsibility to inform the

bloggers they’re working with about transparency and

disclosure

• Guidelines typically written into a contract

A company will monitor to check what brand ambassadors

are saying about their products, looking for proper disclosure

• Will follow-up if disclosures are not consistently used

Both parties are responsible to abide by FTC guidelines

• But ultimately YOU are accountable

• It’s your responsibility to be familiar with online

endorsement guidelines

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Use clear notations to

describe any material

connection

• #client

• #sponsored

• #ad

• #sample

• #paid

WHAT DISCLOSURE LOOKS LIKE

To ensure proper disclosure

on social media:

Write separate posts for

each individual social

platform, as #hashtags and

@tagging often don’t

translate.

BEST PRACTICE – SEPARATE POSTS

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I received [product/sample/information]

from [company name].

[Company name] sent me [free products/coupons].

I was paid by [company name] to review this

[product] or create this recipe.

By posting this recipe, I am entering a contest

sponsored by [company name].

I am an employee (or representative) of

[company name].

I would like to recommend my sponsor,

[brand/company name].

This post is sponsored by [company name].

BEST PRACTICE – CLEAR LANGUAGE

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“Do I need a

disclosure statement or hashtag

… or is a page on my website enough?”

BEST PRACTICE – PROMINENT LANGUAGE

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DISCLOSURE: BEYOND THE BLOG

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When not restricted by character count,

be transparent and use full and clear communication.

On-Air, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, etc.

#Ad: My peanut butter bar

recipe is gr8 snack for kids.”

“This post is #sponsored by

@companynametag”

“I am employed by

@companynametag”

DISCLOSURE: BEYOND THE BLOG

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If restricted by character count (e.g. Twitter), spell out hashtag

completely and tag company sponsoring/paying:

#sponsored

#client

#paid

#ad

#sample #freesample

@companyhandle

SOCIAL CHANNELS

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If you are paid specifically to write a post,

use #Ad at very beginning of post.

According to FTC, consumers should be

told up front when they are being

advertised to.

Because posts get cut off when being

retweeted/shared, #Ad is required at

beginning to ensure full transparency.

SOCIAL CHANNELS

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You have a material connection when attending

a sponsored trip or event.

Indicate with every post that the trip or event

is #sponsored

Tag the company paying for trip, sponsoring

the event

Do not abbreviate #hashtags or use vague

#hashtags

#Cauliflower is not clear and transparent; is

it commodity board, branded product or

university paying for the trip?

SPONSORED TRIPS

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No character count restriction:

“Having a blast in California on the

#cauliflowerfarmtour. #Sponsored trip

by @companyhandle”

Restricted character count:

“Learning how #cauliflower is grown.

#Sponsored by @companyhandle”

SPONSORED TRIPS

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Disclose any material connections to

your editor

Clearly disclose connection within

body of article or in your author‘s bio

If you write for a publication that

doesn’t accept sponsored content or

won’t disclose relationships, do not

write about the products/services of

your clients, even if client isn’t paying

you to incorporate messages into that

particular article

WHEN WRITING FOR MEDIA

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Disclose material connections to producer during pitch

Verbally disclose relationship during on-air segment

For print interviews, disclose material connections to person interviewing you (do it in writing so there’s proof of your disclosure)

Be proactive in providing wording that mentions the material connection, such as a “consultant to…”

Disclose relationship when sharing media clips or photos on your social channels

MEDIA INTERVIEWS AND VIDEOS

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DISCLOSURE POLICIES

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Create a section on your blog or

website that identifies all

marketing relationships and

financial interests

Should be prominently featured

on blogs, not buried within a site

This is not a replacement for

disclosure in individual posts

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SAMPLE DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS

effective

date

your

relationships

how you work

with marketers

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Ann Taylor LOFT invited bloggers to attend an

exclusive preview of its new summer

collection. “Bloggers who attend will receive a

special gift,” the invitation read, “and those

who post coverage from the event will be

entered in a mystery gift card drawing where

you can win up to $500 at LOFT!”

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In small print on the invitation:

“Please note all bloggers must post

coverage from our event to the blog

within 24 hours in order to be eligible.

Links to posts must be sent to [email

address] along with the code on the back

of your gift card distributed to you at the

event. You will be notified of your gift

card amount by February 2. Gift card

amounts will vary from $10 to $500.”

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“We were concerned that bloggers who attended a preview on January 26, 2010 failed to disclose that

they received gifts for posting blog content about that event.”

Mary K. Engle

Associate Director of Advertising Practices

Federal Trade Commission

April 20, 2010

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What Was the Resolution?

FTC ultimately determined not to recommend an enforcement action

because it was the first and only such preview for bloggers; very few

bloggers posted content from LOFT and some did disclose.

LOFT adopted a written policy stating that the company would not issue

any gifts without first telling bloggers that they must disclose the gift in

their blog.

FTC said it will expect the company to “take reasonable steps to

monitor bloggers’ compliance with the obligation to disclose gifts they

receive from LOFT.”

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#DesignLab #Ad, #Sponsored

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RESOURCES

Ethical and Legal Issues Related To Blogging and Social Media May 2013; 113:688-690.

http://www.rds4disclosure.org/

http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus71-ftcs-revised-endorsement-guideswhat-people-are-asking

http://cmp.ly/

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Let’s open it up for questions… and look at some real life scenarios

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TRUE or FALSE?

A comprehensive online disclosure policy on your blog or website fully covers you.

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FALSE

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You must disclose your affiliation with a company or product within a blog post

and in all your social networks. Each time you Tweet or post on Facebook, for example, you need to disclose this “material

connection” by indicating #sponsored, #client or #ad.

Your relationship – even if simply free products

were provided – must be mentioned within the individual blog post, not just in

your disclosure statement.

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TRUE or FALSE?

You have a contract with a food brand to serve as a spokesperson or advocate. You are writing a blog post that recommends this product. Since

you were not paid for this specific mention you do not need to disclose.

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FALSE

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TRUE or FALSE?

You are a member of an advisory panel for a food commodity board and receive a yearly

honorarium. You start a Pinterest board that features this food You should disclose your

relationship on Pinterest and your blog.

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TRUE

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TRUE or FALSE?

You conducted a satellite media tour on behalf of a food brand, and were paid to write a blog post. If you mention that you were paid in your post you do not need to disclose on Facebook if you share

a media clip of your interviews.

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FALSE

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TRUE or FALSE?

A blogger not in compliance with the FTC guidelines may be fined up to $11,000.

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FALSE

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TRUE or FALSE?

You attended a sponsored event where a food company presented promotional information about

a product. Because you weren’t paid, you don’t need to disclose anything in your tweets or

Facebook posts.

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FALSE

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TRUE or FALSE?

If a restaurant “comps” you for a meal without you asking for it and you write about the

experience, you don’t need to disclose.

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FALSE

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TRUE or FALSE?

You have a year-long contract with a company and have been asked to comment on different blogs

that are critical of this food or beverage. You need to disclose that you're working with this company

when adding comments.

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TRUE

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TRUE or FALSE?

You are being paid to do a Twitter chat for a client, or you’re a consultant to a food company or

commodity board and they’ve asked you to be the guest expert for a Twitter chat.

You should disclose with every tweet.

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TRUE