Abstract
Baha’ism, as an organization striving for its survival in societies, attempted to demonstrate its usefulness and benevolence to the general public in each community after unveiling its faith. The features that conceal the organizational goals of Baha’ism behind a service-oriented mask and public relations. This policy change within the Baha’i organization has led to the use of methods to control culture and public opinion, especially through the media. Good public relations serve as one of the platforms for Baha’ism’s advertising campaign in any community. The method that can attract a wide range of audiences with minimal financial and human resources, or even through media. In this article, we first become familiar with the various aspects of effective public relations by a well-known organization. Then, we critically examine this powerful tool within the context of the Baha’i organization. This analysis completely distinguishes the fundamental nature of Baha’ism from the perception of it as a separate religion. It also empowers the audience to recognize the toxic advertising methods of Baha’ism and shape their own timely reactions.
What is good public relations?
Public relations (PR) is a strategic tool that shapes an organization’s image and drives tangible outcomes. It impacts reputation, relationships, public opinion, crisis management, brand awareness, and financial performance. Effective PR involves tailored strategies, transparency, and ethical behavior. Customizing approaches to the organization’s context is crucial.
PR builds trust, navigates crises, and enhances an organization’s overall success by fostering positive perceptions and strong connections with stakeholders. . Public relations (PR) significantly impacts organizations in several key ways:
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Reputation Management
A positive reputation pays long-term dividends. PR involves proactive efforts to build and maintain trust through consistent messaging, transparency, and ethical behavior. During crises, PR professionals play a critical role in damage control.
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Relationship Building
Strong stakeholder relationships are foundational. PR practitioners engage in dialogue, address concerns, and create a supportive ecosystem where stakeholders feel valued and connected.
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Influencing Public Opinion
PR campaigns shape public perception. Positive opinion impacts consumer behavior, regulatory support, and overall business environment. Media outreach, storytelling, and sentiment monitoring are key strategies.
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Crisis Management
PR shines during crises. Effective communication, empathy, and transparency help rebuild trust and minimize reputational harm.
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Brand Awareness
PR raises an organization’s profile. Consistent messaging, media coverage, events, and social media campaigns contribute to brand visibility.
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Financial Impact
PR isn’t just about image; it affects the bottom line. Positive perception attracts investors, customers, and partners. Also, tailoring PR strategies to the organization’s unique context is essential for success.
2-PR a main factor in Baha’i media for public management mind
Baha’i organization manage public minds through a combination of proactive and reactive strategies. In fact, Baha’i media supply these strategies. Here are some key approaches:
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Sharing positive stories
It can build a strong, positive image that can help mitigate the impact of negative Baha’i media coverage.
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Crisis Management Plans
Having a well-prepared crisis management plan is the licensee of entering the Baha’is belief into international meeting with out any specialization. These unskilled plans with training spokespersons are enough to handle media. because a media sensationalism can absorb the public minds without any logical reason! Here, yellow titles of Baha’i media answer most of media inquiries effectively with a little energy and time.
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Building the Community
Fostering connections with the community and stakeholders can establish a resilient network that supports organizations during media crises.
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No Transparency and Honesty
Being transparent and honest in communications helps maintain trust. Addressing issues directly and providing clear, factual information can prevent misinformation from spreading.
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Ilegal and Unethical Considerations
All communications arrange in a way against laws and ethical standards in the world. so that it helps protect Baha’i organization from legal repercussions and maintains its integrity for a time as a holy region.
Therefore, effective public relations (PR) play a critical role in shaping Baha’i organization’s image, managing crises, and fostering trust. the Baha’is by sharing positive stories, implementing crisis management plans, and building community connections, organizations try to escape navigate media challenges.
While it is an accepted principle that transparency, honesty, and adherence to ethical standards are essential for maintaining credibility and safeguarding the Baha’is against legal repercussions.
3-Baha’i’s Strategic PR for Media Impact
The Baha’i organization’s media strategy is designed to be inclusive, educational, and supportive, focusing on building a positive image and fostering unity among their followers and the broader public.
By employing these strategies, Baha’i organization can effectively manage media threats and maintain their reputation. Some tools help the Baha’is to overcome the challenges and interrupts the minds to understand the map behind; control the culture by Baha’i media.
The Baha’i organization leverages this power lever by investing in financial resources and establishing targeted media platforms. Visual, auditory, and artistic appeal provide the tools for Baha’ism’s advertising. The use of women as advertising instruments in Baha’i media attracts many intellectuals and various social and ideological currents. These currents have been strategically chosen and predicted for the majority representation of the Baha’i population.
Now, we want to examine the media activities of the Baha’i Faith, and the official global consensus website of the Baha’is.
4-PR parameters in Baha’i media
A nimble public relations strategy can protect an organization from potential media threats, maintain its good reputation, and ensure that audiences are informed about the activities and stories of that group.
According to Edward Bernays, known as the father of public relations, public relations is the engineering of consent to create a favorable and positive atmosphere towards an idea, individual, product, or institution. He believed that
“Public relations involves something that I call the engineering of consent. And in a democratic society, everything depends on the consent of the people.”
Now, what does this have to do with the Baha’i Faith organization?
Although it can be said that the Baha’is do not have a serious media project to promote its beliefs, it has been able to create a stir in public opinion when needed.
The entire direct media activities of Baha’i organization can be summarized into four sections:
1-A nine-language website
2-A series of documentaries made about their activities
3-The institute’s news reports
4-An image bank.
When we look at this organization’s social media like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and YouTube, we notice that there are no media projects similar to other cults and sects. Even the controversial media campaigns of this group, such as the “Our Story is One” campaign, which was repeated 250 million times in 33 languages, were more due to the support of human rights groups as a counter to the discrimination faced by this group in several countries, rather than a strong media effort.
You might ask, then how is the voice of the Baha’is present in the media when we see at least no direct media work from them?
Regardless of the fact that the Baha’is have placed themselves among the discriminated minorities over the years and have been seen this way, the answer is one thing: “Good Public Relations.”
Let’s remember that you don’t always have to do something spectacular in the media; sometimes just saying what we do and engaging the audience with your work is enough.
It can be said that the Baha’i organization, whose followers number only about 1.5million worldwide, has taken a different approach in the media field. However, it has chosen not to have a loud public media presence, but rather a nimble public relations strategy.
So, we have an organization with three characteristics:
1-Dispersed followers who feel threatened
2-A limited population
3-Low noise in affiliated media.
Therefore, the best defense strategy for Baha’i organization is introducing their history, holy sites, and events to audiences in different languages through a multilingual website. Or storytelling about successes in local development projects and expressing beliefs through long documentaries and preserving their visual heritage by creating an image bank.
5-Conclusion
Based on analyses and studies conducted on the Baha’i organization, over the years, instead of directly introducing its core principles and responding to questions from both Baha’is and non-Baha’is, the organization has skillfully managed its public image. It has strategically shaped public perception through effective public relations. Even if individuals eventually realize the truth, the shadow cast by Baha’i institutions is so magnified that they fear separation.
George Washington, a military general and the first President of the United States, believed that an attack is not just for achieving a victory. So, it can be concluded that Baha’i organization as a protection use this strategy: “The best defense is a good offense!”
Baha’is, following the guidance of their central institution, the Universal House of Justice, employ media coverage policies to conceal their true objectives behind other media narratives. They use independent Baha’i scholars as “researchers,” arrange compelling interviews on platforms like BBC, VOA (American Radio), or Manoto, and maintain strong public relations at the United Nations. These tactics are part of their repertoire.
Over the years, the Baha’i organization has tried to convey its values to its audiences and explain who they are and what they do understanding the Baha’i media strategy involves media literacy and awareness to navigate it effectively in the virtual space.
Through a media strategy akin to public relations.
These are questions that, if answered correctly by a religious organization, it can be less worried about the judgments of a generation whose source of judgment is the virtual space and the transparent data available in this space.
Now, it’s essential to recognize that the best response to this Baha’i media strategy is media literacy and awareness. By understanding these activities within their proper context, we can navigate them effectively.