Recognising A Press Release Repackaged As News
Launch library · evergreen read
A press release is written by an organisation specifically to promote itself, and some outlets republish these releases with only light editing applied, presenting essentially promotional material in the visual format of independent reporting. The distinction matters considerably because the two serve very different underlying purposes entirely, even though they can look nearly identical at first glance.
Telltale signs include language that reads like marketing copy throughout, an absence of any outside perspective or critical question raised anywhere, and phrasing that closely mirrors an organisation's own official announcements word for word, rather than reflecting any independent account of the events being described to readers.
Searching for the very same announcement across multiple outlets and comparing the wording carefully quickly reveals whether a story reflects genuine independent reporting or a release simply passed along with only minimal changes made to the original promotional text first supplied by the organisation itself in question.