ISC 311 - Sorting Ethical Lenses

⭐️Rights Based

or Deontological

-obligation based

“Consumers have a right to know when content is sponsored, regardless of whether the campaign is effective”

Rights-Based

-Obligation Based

“Even if no one complains, collecting data without consent is wrong because it violates personal autonomy.”

Virtue Ethics

-Person-Based

“This campaign may succeed, but it reflects poorly of the character of the organization.”

Justice of Ethics

-outcome-based

“Even though most people benefit, this approach unfairly targets vulnerable populations.”

Deontological

-obligation-based

“Even if this campaign increases sales, it is unethical because it involves deception.”

Justice Ethics

-outcome based

“Would this still seem fair if you don’t know whether you were the advertiser of the audience?”

Role Ethics

• Obligation-based

“Our job as communicators is not just to persuade but to serve the public interest.”

Ethics of Care

• person-based

“We should prioritize protecting children from psychological harm over maximizing engagement metrics.”

Consequentialism

-outcome based

“If this message prevents more harm than it causes, then it is ethically justified.”

Ethics of care

-person-based

“This message ignores how emotionally vulnerable this audience is and could deepen their distress.”

Virtue Ethics

• person-based

“An ethical leader would choose transparency even when it hurts the brand’s image.”

Role Ethics

• obligation-based

“As communication professionals, we have a responsibility to be honest with the public, even when our client disagrees.”

Consequentialism

• Outcome-based

“We need to compare the overall good produced by this campaign against the potential harm.”

Virtue Ethics

• person based

“A trustworthy organization would not rely on fear to persuade its audience.”

Justice Ethics

• outcome-based

“The benefits of this campaign mainly go to wealthy audiences while the risks fall on marginalized groups.”

⭐️Role Ethics

• obligation based

or Deontological

“This practice may be legal, but it violates our professional duty to disclose conflicts on interest.”