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Forbes
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
How AI Is Rewriting Reality—And Why Media Literacy Is Our Best Defense
Dr. Lyric Mandell of MOXY Company is a media strategist and scholar merging credibility, creativity, and culture to shape communication. We live in a society where AI-generated images of presidents in papal robes or pop stars in pitiful props aren't just the brainchildren of bored internet users—they now circulate through official channels and have real-world consequences. The rise of AI-driven visuals from sources as superfluous as anonymous Reddit threads to as sacred as the White House shows how blurred the line between satire and statecraft is, and it's not just political theater. When military agencies experiment with deepfakes and public health campaigns feature AI-generated humans, it becomes clear: This is no longer just about technological novelty—it's a crisis of perception, authority and what we, as a society, agree to call 'real.' In his 2005 book discussing 'BS,' Harry Frankfurt reminds us that much of what circulates in public life is neither truth nor lie—it's language used without any regard for the truth. In the digital age, that indifference becomes content. And when this kind of insincerity becomes visually striking and algorithmically optimized, the danger isn't just that we misinterpret the message—it's that we stop caring whether the message is real. For communicators, this shift is seismic. We now operate in a landscape where audiences often don't care about who shares something—only how it makes them feel or how frequently it appears in their feed. And perhaps more unsettling is that much of this isn't malicious; it's rooted in media illiteracy. The erosion of traditional credibility markers—expertise, authorship and institutional trust—forces communicators to ask complex questions: How do we create messages that resonate in a reality where factual grounding is optional but ethical responsibility isn't? The stakes aren't just strategic—they're societal. Research suggests that false information spreads six times faster than truth and often appears professional enough to pass as fact, even influencing how governments, organizations and the public respond to events. As AI grows more adept at mimicking human behavior, our critical filters weaken. Although the technology is new, the terrain is familiar. As early as 1922, journalist Walter Lippmann theorized in Public Opinion that people respond not to actual events but to the 'pictures inside our heads'—mental shortcuts or 'stereotypes' that help us navigate chaos. In an age where media circulates in many-to-many networks, AI doesn't just reinforce those images; it manufactures them at scale. Media theorist Neil Postman calls this the entertainment-ization of public discourse. In Amusing Ourselves to Death, he argues that television renders 'serious' ideas digestible only when entertaining. AI-generated media becomes Postman's nightmare realized: politics as parody and medicine as memes. This overflow of information, although entertaining, also drains us. With people spending over two hours a day on social media, each swipe delivers another micro-dose of engagement—or irritation. This content overload leads to what scholars describe as 'information fatigue syndrome'—a cognitive condition marked by emotional burnout, decision paralysis and, most alarmingly, active avoidance of news and discourse. Research from Reuters suggests that people don't turn away from the news out of apathy—they retreat because the content feels repetitive, emotionally exhausting and beyond their power to influence. In an ecosystem where audiences can't—or won't—filter every post for truth or relevance, trust becomes optional and attention becomes reflexive. And AI accelerates this breakdown. When content never stops and everything feels true, our brains default to shortcuts. We adopt Lippmann's stereotypes—those 'pictures in our heads'—because interrogating every piece of media proves too exhausting. The antidote isn't withdrawal—it's critical literacy. In an 'apathy economy' where content circulates without conviction, modern communicators must create signals worthy of the scarce, fatigued attention users still possess—but at what cost? For communicators, this shift demands more than creative recalibration—it requires ethical clarity. In an environment where virality often outperforms veracity, the temptation rises: optimize for engagement, lean into outrage and co-opt the aesthetic of authenticity without accountability. But the real challenge isn't just how to get attention—it's how to deserve it. Credibility is no longer a given. If we want audiences to engage intentionally rather than impulsively, we must build trust actively—and often, uphill. This means resisting the allure of AI shortcuts that produce volume without value. It means recognizing that saturation breeds cynicism, and most importantly, it means creating content that contributes to literacy, not just visibility. Frankfurt warns that 'BS' is dangerous not because it's false but because it's indifferent. Postman warns that spectacle smothers substance, and Lippmann warns that our internal 'pictures' overpower facts. Today, all three thinkers converge at the intersection of AI and public discourse. The real danger we face isn't just misinformation—it's the erosion of consensus, not consensus as shared opinions but of shared processes: a collective understanding of how we evaluate and prioritize truth, source credibility and what constitutes reliable evidence. In a world where every post, video or AI-generated image circulates with the same weight—regardless of origin or intent—that consensus collapses. This collapse doesn't just disrupt public trust; it dismantles the conditions that make disagreement productive. Without a baseline agreement on how we determine what's real—and more importantly, why truth should still matter—we lose the ability to disagree meaningfully. We don't just fight over facts—we fight over whether facts exist at all. For communicators, this places a unique responsibility at our feet. We're not just competing in an attention economy but shaping a reality economy. Every message we craft doesn't just influence a market; it contributes to—or corrodes—the broader information environment. We must evaluate our impact not just within KPIs but across our social world. If we're all architects of attention, we're also stewards of its consequences—and that includes preserving a cultural commitment to truth itself. Forbes Communications Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?
Forbes
17-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
20 Ways To Turn Marketing Missteps Into Smarter Strategy Moves
getty Every communications professional has a story about a campaign that didn't land as they hoped. Maybe the message missed the mark, the audience didn't respond or the timing was off—whatever the reason, these "flops" often teach us the most. The key is taking the time to unpack what really went wrong and why, without rushing to move on. Below, 20 Forbes Communications Council members share some reflections and practical takeaways from past marketing misfires. These lessons can sharpen your instincts, strengthen your planning and help you spot weak points before they become costly. The failed campaign, the failed idea, is always an important reminder to take the swing and swing hard. What I took away from that moment was that it is vital to take the swing—armed with the research and information, coupled with what your experience tells you—and to trust it. Even if it "fails," you learn more from that swing and that informs the successes that are sure to follow. - Nina Mehta, MIT Technology Review Every failed campaign is a reminder to step outside our echo chamber. Great ideas need validation through data, testing and audience feedback. The biggest lesson? Strategy isn't just creative; it's collaborative. Success comes when we create with our audience, not just for them. - Lyric Mandell, PhD, MOXY Company Marketing involves risk and experimentation; we all have our share of flops. I learned that replicating a competitor's success didn't work for us, even if it was a good idea. The key is to learn, experiment and be creative, but focus on your unique brand, voice and value. That early flop shaped my approach. - Kayla Spiess, Searce Embracing failure as a learning experience is the core of an experiment-centric mindset. Taking calculated risks, prioritizing learning over pure performance and answering "Why didn't it work as expected?' creates the psychological safety needed to keep pushing boundaries. Teams working under this culture are up to two times more productive and three times more innovative than teams led without this framework. - Vanina Marcote, IBM I've absolutely had ideas flop, and it always comes down to losing sight of the data because I fell in love with a preconceived narrative. The biggest lesson? Your gut is powerful, but it needs grounding. Now I anchor every creative impulse in data and dialogue, relying on the team's collective wisdom as a sounding board to verify and refine intuition into something truly impactful. - Joshua Stratton, Against The Current Forbes Communications Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify? Yes, we once launched a campaign focusing only on product features, and it fell flat. The key lesson was to shift from product-first to audience-first messaging. Now, every campaign starts with audience pain points, ensuring a relevant emotional connection and better engagement. - Saakshar Duggal, Artificial Intelligence Law Hub One of the most valuable lessons I've learned in marketing is that just because you have a clever idea doesn't mean it'll succeed without a little extra creativity. I once launched a social campaign that sounded great on paper but flopped in execution. It taught me that smart concepts need bold strategies and out-of-the-box ideas, like influencer partnerships or unexpected approaches, to truly connect. - Victoria Zelefsky, Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation Yes—I once led a campaign that flopped because we assumed the audience knew our industry's jargon. The visuals were strong, but the message didn't land. The lesson? Test your messaging early. Now, I always bring in audience feedback before launch to avoid internal tunnel vision and ensure we're solving real problems, not just creating noise. - Maria Alonso, Fortune 206 I once launched a campaign with a focus on broad audience appeal, hoping to reach a wide demographic. It underperformed because it lacked specificity and didn't resonate deeply with any one group. The biggest lesson I learned was the importance of understanding your target audience's unique needs. Now, I focus on personalization and segmentation to ensure campaigns speak directly to the right ICP. - Antony Robinson, Novalnet AG We launched a digital campaign to gather video-based customer stories at scale through a vendor platform. The team tested different channels and messages, and even added incentives, but it didn't get us any stories. A few months later, we got 150 videos at our annual conference with the same mechanism, in a lively in-person setting. Context and timing often matter more than tools or incentives. - Rinita Datta, Cisco Systems, Inc. We once launched an email campaign filled with clever puns and eye-catching visuals, thinking creativity alone would drive engagement. It completely flopped. The biggest lesson we learned was that clarity always beats cleverness. Now, our focus remains on crafting messages that are clear, relevant and value-driven, ensuring the audience immediately understands what's in it for them. - Lauren Parr, RepuGen Our client insisted on placing our spokesperson on a daytime talk show, despite our target audience—senior execs and decision-makers—not watching. We advised against it and suggested more relevant platforms, but the talk show took priority. The result: lack of impact and board disappointment. The lesson: Always align strategy with where your target audience truly engages. - Katie Jewett, UPRAISE Marketing + Public Relations I've written sizzle reels that felt spot-on in the script but didn't work once they were cut. Or I loved it, and the client didn't. That's the creative space. Not everything hits. When it flops, I look at what landed and why. Sometimes it takes a walk around the block to accept the criticism. Creative work isn't about getting it right every time. It's about staying open-minded and trying again. - Rich Bornstein, Bornstein Media Our audience is giving us clues every day. If we listen to our audience, we build ideas based on their needs. However, if we jump into a conference room without the right research and analytics, we make the mistake of thinking we are so smart that we don't need research. That's pretty rare, and customers have a way of reminding us to listen. - Bob Pearson, The Next Practices Group In a previous role, my team tried to publish the company's first original research report based on trends and insights from platform usage. I underestimated the reliability of the data, and we failed. Since then, I've been able to produce multiple reports. Now, my first question is, "Do we have access to the right data to generate meaningful insights?" We only go ahead if I'm happy with the answer. - Rekha Thomas, Path Forward Marketing Not every idea lands—and that's the point. Real growth doesn't come from playing it safe. The magic is in the process, not just the outcome. I've learned to expect some misalignment, ask for feedback, embrace the discomfort and keep going anyway. Creative risk refines your craft, and failure is the cost of growth. - Amber Roussel Cavallo, Civic Builders We were so convinced our edgy, disruptive approach would resonate with a younger audience. We went all-in, pushing boundaries we thought our competitors wouldn't dare to cross. However, it turns out we misread the cultural moment—what we thought was daring came across as tone-deaf and, frankly, alienated a significant portion of our target demographic. The backlash was educational. - Patrick Ward, NanoGlobals Yes, all marketers have ideas that flop. It doesn't always mean the campaign or product was bad. Timing often plays a bigger role than we admit. The key is to dig into the data and ask: Was it poor messaging, product readiness or market timing? Some of my best-performing ideas today were ones that initially failed. I just launched too soon. - Prateek Panda, The biggest lesson I learned from flopping ideas is that reach without relevance is just noise, meaning you are just burning the budget if you don't back the hype with user value. For that reason, every idea must clear a north-star KPI and deliver a clear benefit before launch. - Jamie Elkaleh, Bitget Wallet Every marketer has ideas or campaigns that fail. Not every test beats the control. Every new idea is just a test to compare against what you are already doing. So, failure is simply part of the process. No marketing initiative is truly a failure as long as you learn from it. Every idea that underperforms teaches you more about what doesn't work. Learn from every campaign and you'll never "fail." - Tom Wozniak, OPTIZMO Technologies, LLC
