Research, at least as far as the cyber industry is concerned, seems to take a limited number of forms. For the most part, it seems to be about looking for technical vulnerabilities. Sometimes it appears as a sentence starting “Research proves that…”, usually in a message from a cyber company with kit to sell. Occasionally it’s pulled from some genuine primary research, such as the DCMS/DSIT security breaches survey. In that case, it tends to be selective and alarming, when a more reasoned reading of the source might point to a less disastrous picture.
So, we have a reinforcement of the messaging on buying more tech; we have sales messages disguised as objective research; and we have selected quotes aimed at yep, selling more kit. I can’t help thinking that somewhere along the line, research has been repurposed. More often than not, it’s now just a tag added to a sales message. Is any of this covered by the Advertising Standards Authority? 🧐