Public relations beware… ‘algorithm detects spin’

If spin is ‘text or speech where the apparent meaning is not the true belief of the person saying or writing it’, then spin doctors are in trouble as a Canadian mathematician has created a spin detector to comment on that country’s general election.

It’s based on a model for discovering deception designed by psychology professor James W. Pennebaker. This suggests that those who deceive make less use of first-person pronouns and exception words, such as ‘however’ and ‘unless’, while increasing their use of negative emotion words and action words.

Yet the whole thing strikes me as a flawed stunt for Queen’s University, Ontario. The Pennebaker model, with its focus is on deception, is a lie detector. Consequently, the spin detector only works if we accept that to spin is to deceive. This isn’t necessarily the case. An honest public relations professional, or ‘spin doctor’, is duty bound to present their case in the best possible light. That doesn’t mean setting out to deceive; it means acting as an advocate and playing a full, open and honest role in debate.
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