Blog with Integrity: A Response to FTC Guidelines

Bloggers Susan Getgood, Liz Gumbinner, Kristen Chase and Julie Marsh created Blog with Integrity as a response to the Federal Trade Commission’s review of guidelines allowing the agency to target bloggers for failure to disclose conflicts of interest, and targeting the companies that compensate those bloggers with free merchandise or cash.

Bloggers can enter the Website, take the pledge (below) and display the Blog with Integrity badge on their blogs. More than 400 bloggers have signed on so far.

The Blog with Integrity pledge:

By displaying the Blog with Integrity badge or signing the pledge, I assert that the trust of my readers and the blogging community is important to me.

I treat others respectfully, attacking ideas and not people. I also welcome respectful disagreement with my own ideas.
I believe in intellectual-property rights, providing links, citing sources and crediting inspiration where appropriate.

I disclose my material relationships, policies and business practices. My readers will know the difference between editorial, advertorial and advertising, should I choose to have it. If I do sponsored or paid posts, they are clearly marked.

When collaborating with marketers and PR professionals, I handle myself professionally and abide by basic journalistic standards.

I always present my honest opinions to the best of my ability.

I own my words. Even if I occasionally have to eat them.

Join Baratunde Thurston (left), The Onion’s Director of Digital and author of How to Be Black, for an entertaining look at creative social media campaigns in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. Other speakers include Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Tim Devane (bitly), and SocialTimes' writer Devon Glenn.   Register now.