When engaging in communication via digital channels, professionals need to be mindful of three forms of unethical communication:

1. Withholding information. Examples of this include avoiding taking responsibility for mistakes, presenting an incomplete set of facts when making a proposal, and failing to disclose factors that could affect how audiences interpret informationthe widespread adoption of social media has increased the attention given to the issue of transparency.
2. Distorting information.Examples of this include using averages to conceal extreme individual values, manipulating trend calculations to suggest future values that the underlying data might not support, or manipulating images to create misleading impressions.
3. Plagiarizing: This is presenting someone else's words or other creative product as your own; it can also be illegal if it violates copyright. The concept of fair useprovides some flexibility in using others' creative work without violating copyright, particularly for noncommercial use, but there are no precise guidelines on how much you can use.

Have you ever contributed to "social media outrage" (using your social media accounts to boost the anger about a contemporary issue by forwarding it or liking it) without stopping to think who might have originated the message or what the originator's motives might have been?

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