Pseudo-Event

A pseudo-event is an event produced by a communicator with the sole purpose of generating media attention and publicity. These events lack real news value, but still they become the subject of media coverage. Pseudo-events can include press conferences, advertisements, speeches, campaign events, and other similar events with little value in terms of content and importance. Pseudo-events are carefully choreographed productions that follow a prepared script and leave nothing to chance. They are scheduled in advance, and journalists are informed of the specific time when the event occurs, which makes covering pseudo-events very convenient. Pseudo-events are also dramatic, which makes them interesting for the public, and produce iconic images, such as big enthusiastic crowds and hand shaking and baby kissing. In short, pseudo-events are a public relations tactic.

The term was coined by American scholar Daniel J. Boorstin in his book about the effects of media publicity and advertising on political and social practices in the United States in the 1950s. Boorstin defined a pseudo-event as an ambiguous truth that appeals to people's desire to be informed. He argued that being in the media spotlight is a strong incentive for public figures to stage artificial events, which become real and important once validated by media coverage. Boorstin described pseudo-events as the opposite of propaganda, although both forms of communication have similar consequences and result in public misinformation. Propaganda slants facts to keep the public from learning the truth, while pseudo-events provide the public with artificial facts that people perceive as real.

Pseudo-events are often used by political candidates to gain media attention during elections. Sometimes candidates stage pseudo-events in order to distract journalists' attention from real, more important events unfavorable to them. Opponents of candidates also stage pseudo-events in an effort to divert media attention from the competitor's event. Political pseudo-events are criticized for lowering the quality of political dialogue because they focus on image and horserace information rather than on issues and substances. Real dialogue is replaced by sensationalistic, dramatic, and emotional images that provide the viewer with a distorted sense of reality.