So-called “fake news” or disinformation is hardly limited to political topics and discourse, and its roots are far older than the social media platforms which, in recent years, have served as an amplifier.Disinformation also can impact corporate entities, either deliberately (spread and amplified by competitors, disgruntled customers, or advocacy organizations), or more virally (such as rumors or out-of-context misinformation repeated or shared in online forums or across social media).
Once held, beliefs formed by misinformation or disinformation can be very hard to change. One only needs to look at the misinformation campaigns surrounding the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines that have been faced by Pfizer, Moderna, and other pharmaceutical companies, not to mention the 5G conspiracy theories that have impacted the rollout of new network infrastructure.
Sometimes, misinformation or disinformation may not even be based on real events. Fitness equipment manufacturer Peloton saw its stock drop 11 percent after the airing of the pilot episode of the “Sex and the City” reboot series “And Just Like That…”, when the Mr. Big character drops dead of a heart attack after using his Peloton cycle.
Another serious example is the so-called Pizzagate scandal, which accused Washington, D.C., pizzeria Comet Ping Pong of being a front for a child slavery ring. The impact on the small business was massive; the restaurant lost customers, and obscene reviews appeared on the company’s Facebook and Yelp pages, even though the scandal was a hoax. The pizzeria’s owner received death threats, and reportedly, employees’ home addresses were leaked online as well.
Unfortunately, according to a 2018 MIT study, falsehoods spread more broadly, faster and deeper than true information. Researchers conducted a longitudinal study of news stories on Twitter platform from 2006 to 2017, and found that false news reports are 70% more likely to be retweeted than true news stories, reaching the first 1,500 people six times faster. The study also found that people are most often amplifying the false information, as automated bots spread true and false information at the same rates.
That’s why it is important to constantly monitor for false information, and stop its spread before it can poison customers’ and prospects’ view of a brand or company. While it is impossible to monitor every site, forum, or tweet, it is imperative to develop a strategy for managing the potentially devastating acts of misinformation.
- Assess risks, particularly those specific to your organization. While disinformation can take many forms, it is important to conduct an assessment to identify potential disinformation actors, their methods, and associated risks representing the greatest threat to your company. These can be potential competitors, advocacy groups, political actors, or even disgruntled customers.
It is also important to consider the potential impact of corporate decisions that may spur an actor to respond via disinformation, such as announcements of layoffs, a decision to support (or not) a particular cause or movement, or decisions related to product changes (such as changing suppliers). In the case of larger organizations, it is also important to review the risks related to high-profile employees and users of a product or service, who may damage the company or brand reputation through their actions.
If the company takes a stand on a controversial issue, which often can be related to politics, religious freedom, social justice movements, or other hot-button issues, it is important to devise a strategy for managing the potential fallout (in terms of distortions of that positioning or reasoning behind it), as well as real-world business impacts, such as customer defections, loss of revenue, and changes to the company’s reputation or position in the market.
- Create and make visible a statement about your organization, its values, and its policies, which can be referred to in the event of misinformation. This is especially important with respect to issues relating to treatment of customers, employees, subcontractors, and vendors, but should also encompass other potentially sensitive issues (such as corporate ethics, human rights, and data privacy, storage, sharing, and retention).
- Build a community of advocates. Corporations cannot shy away from social media, and should establish an ongoing positive narrative around the company, which can be supported by influencers, celebrities, and perhaps most importantly, customers. By establishing a consistent and positive ecosystem before any attack occurs, disinformation attacks may not stick as easily, and these advocates may quickly spring to defensive action. The key is to hold continuous and frequent authentic conversations and interactions with customers across all channels, to build up a repository of goodwill which can be used so that if negative information occurs, customers will turn to the organization first to verify the truthfulness of the attack.
- Should an attack occur, it is important to respond forcefully without repeating misinformation. The correct facts should be repeated and reinforced, along with any supporting information, both internally generated and via trusted third-party content. Rely on the goodwill generated by the actions taken previously to build up a community of advocates, as well as referring to demonstrated patterns of “good” behavior.
- Above all, involve the people that are directly engaging with your customers. Simply telling customers to refer to a statement on the website will turn off customers with questions, and may lead them to question the company’s sincerity or authenticity. Train customer service agents, sales agents, and all other staff how to handle misinformation, and provide them with the tools to forcefully, yet politely, refute the misinformation or disinformation surrounding the company.
Author Information
Keith has over 25 years of experience in research, marketing, and consulting-based fields.
He has authored in-depth reports and market forecast studies covering artificial intelligence, biometrics, data analytics, robotics, high performance computing, and quantum computing, with a specific focus on the use of these technologies within large enterprise organizations and SMBs. He has also established strong working relationships with the international technology vendor community and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events.
In his career as a financial and technology journalist he has written for national and trade publications, including BusinessWeek, CNBC.com, Investment Dealers’ Digest, The Red Herring, The Communications of the ACM, and Mobile Computing & Communications, among others.
He is a member of the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP).
Keith holds dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Magazine Journalism and Sociology from Syracuse University.
