“The Ethics of Visual Rhetoric & Photo Manipulation”
by Amber McDonnell | Xchanges 10.2/11.1
Visual Rhetoric: Power and Responsibility
Rhetoric can be defined as persuasive or effective communication. Defined by Aristotle, rhetoric is “an ability, in each particular case, to see the available means of persuasion” (Kennedy, 2007, I.1.2). Rhetoric can occur in the written word or in visual representations such as photographs, charts, and maps. Since rhetorical representations are persuasive, they hold some level of influence over audiences. Words and visuals can persuade an audience to take some sort of action, buy a product, or change their opinion on a particular topic. With such influence, communicators should take responsibility for their work and practice ethical communication.
Bruno Latour writes about the power that visual inscriptions have over an audience and the influence that such visuals are meant to have. Latour (1986) writes that victory goes to whoever is “able to muster on the spot the largest number of well-aligned and faithful allies” (p. 5). Latour makes the point that visuals do what the written word cannot — they offer a variable of proof that can enlist “well-aligned and faithful allies” that will lead to victory. In public relations, images can be used to gain allies in order to boost a person or company’s public image, resulting in victory for the public relations expert and their client. Such influence and power should be met with responsibility, which is where best practices in ethics come into play.
Nancy Allen (1996) draws a distinct line between the responsibilities of technical communicators to use best ethical practices in visual rhetoric, as compared to those who work in more creative fields, like advertising or fiction writing. Unlike practitioners in these fields, our role is not to “suspend disbelief” for the sake of art or creativity, but rather we are tasked with accurately portraying reality (p. 88). Technical work, and even the work of journalists and public relations specialists, requires the honest and accurate communication of information in order to be considered ethical. While photographs, by their very nature, are inherent mediations of reality, further alteration of such images can verge into inaccuracy. This is all to say that the work of technical communicators should be accurate before it is creative; and if a photo alters (rather than mediates) reality, then is it accurate?