Full Disclosure

Full disclosure is the deliberate attempt to make available all legally releasable information—whether positive or negative in nature—in a manner that is accurate, timely, balanced and unequivocal, for the purpose of enhancing the reasoning ability of publics and holding organizations accountable for their actions, policies and practices.

Full disclosure is the opposite of secrecy. It means that the organization is an open book. If a blogger is reviewing a product and is practicing full disclosure, the writer would need to let readers know if the company provided the product and if any compensation, monetary or otherwise, was received from said company.

With this information available, readers would know that the blogger did not just buy the product and decide to review it, but rather the blogger was approached and perhaps compensated by the manufacturer to do so. The reader could then make an informed decision about the review and its contents.