> That's not "virtue signalling." If everyone involved in the interaction is cynical about the organization, no virtue is being signaled. The "decision makers" most of all know the true nature of the party.

Its naive to assume that none of them consider the true nature of the party to be what constitutes "virtuous."

> I think the word you're really looking for is just "signalling" or at least a different kind of signaling than "virtue signalling." You're really torturing that term into meaninglessness here.

Sure.

> "Virtue signalling" really only applies to situations where at least some people genuinely think they're signalling virtue or that others would actually perceive it that way. One end or the other can be cynical, but not both.

Value signaling is perhaps a more value-neutral way of expressing the same sentiment.