There’s no doubt that the terms ‘fake news’ and ‘disinformation’ have become a regular part of our collective lexicon in recent years. It’s clear that the media, and social media in particular, can easily be co-opted for malicious purposes. While this phenomenon is now being recognized more readily in political contexts, not enough attention is paid to how mistruths are readily weaponized against brands to damage their reputations and finances.
Companies stand to lose significantly in terms of their potential revenues and overall brand image due to fake news. For instance, in 2020, Wayfair fell victim to false conspiracy theories alleging the furniture company was trafficking children through its site. The theories originated on Reddit, and then spread like wildfire through TikTok and Twitter. The hashtag ‘#wayfairconspiracy’ amassed more than 2.5 million views on TikTok in less than a week, while ‘#wayfairgate’ received more than 830,600 views.
Considering the digital context in which we operate, it’s vital for companies and high-profile figures to develop plans that prepare to defend against falsehoods that risk doing damage to their brands. Covering the following bases will prove crucial to any effort to defend against falsehoods:
- Identify and understand the motivations behind the falsehoods.
It’s important to identify what you’re confronting in order to determine the right response for it. This means understanding the motivations and intent of the culprits responsible for initiating and spreading the false claims. Sometimes, the incorrect information is a result of unintentional oversight / genuine misunderstanding as opposed to malicious intent – this is called misinformation. In other cases, there may be motivated adversaries at the root of the issue, spreading lies to tarnish the image of an entity they are hostile towards – this is disinformation. The third and final type of falsehood is the hardest to contend with because it involves truths that have been deliberately distorted to do damage – this is called malinformation.
Examine the social media accounts of propagators to identify suspicious behaviors (do they solely post about one issue? Is their account brand new? Do they not have a profile photo? Who are they engaging with? etc.) While a simple communication/education campaign may be enough to correct misinformation, disinformation and mal-information campaigns will require far more complex strategies.
- Stay on pace with the narrative by monitoring and listening.
With social media being as far-reaching and accessible as it is, even being a few hours late to respond to misinformation can be irreversibly damaging. Setting up real-time alerts from automated monitoring services for brand-related keywords is well-worth it; it can prove crucial in heading off fake news before it becomes mainstream.
- Start proactively shaping your own narrative.
In dealing with clients, it’s certainly always nice when there’s some time to prepare a strategy for response to an impending issue, as opposed to being in reactive mode. Take advantage of the knowledge you’ve gained about the molehill before it becomes a mountain… Work with a professional to anticipate what your adversaries might say or do and develop messaging, holding statements, and safeguards so that when the issue does become active, you’re ready to go. This is also the time to clearly identify and communicate your values to your audiences.
- Identify and develop validators.
Last but certainly not least, it’s important to identify and get ready to deploy your network of credible endorsers who can attest to your good character and speak in your defense in times of trouble.
CONTROL, by Fiayo. 