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In today’s digital age, reputations can be built and broken at the click of a button.
At a time when social media and online sources rule the court of public opinion and mis- and disinformation are dominating the online space, the threats facing the reputations of those who are successful, in the spotlight or under scrutiny are increasing exponentially. Here, we are going to refer to the commonly used definitions; where misinformation is factually inaccurate or misleading content which is innocently or naively published; whereas disinformation is false information that is deliberately and maliciously propagated to promote a certain narrative. Ultimately both are types are inaccurate, and it is merely the motive behind publishing the inaccurate information that is different.
At Schillings, we’ve been managing and protecting reputation for 40 years, and have seen first-hand how new technological developments present evolving threats. We’ve also supported clients to successfully build resilience to get ahead, protect their reputation, and harness new opportunities.
Now is the time to get on the front foot.
The digital landscape
Today’s fast-developing AI tools, combined with the speed and reach of social media and online sources, has created a breeding ground for mis- and disinformation that poses a risk to businesses and individuals.
The sources of such false information are just as varied as the people who have access to the internet. Anyone from disgruntled former employees, competitors, or those who simply just want to attack those who are successful, can now easily deploy sophisticated attacks and smear campaigns, junk news, spam websites, fake social media accounts and posts and deepfakes to spread inaccuracies and attack their targets – and at pace. A single social media post, or a hyper-realistic deepfake, can trigger a fast-spreading, viral story which could lead to an individual being cancelled or cause a business’s share price to drop almost instantly.
Without a true narrative, accompanied by appropriate online channels to counter such disinformation, this type of content quickly comes to define a person’s or business’s entire profile. Indeed, this inaccurate content can often end up informing business decisions, appearing on due diligence databases such as World-Check. This inaccurate information prevents individuals from banking and onboarding, not only resulting in a reputational impact, but an operational one too.
Among all of the noise, it’s much harder for any of us to spot the ‘truth’ and identify the falsehoods; and this is only getting more challenging. The evolution and accuracy of AI tools, the speed and volume of information flow (on social channels, in particular) and the divisive nature of online debate means that often there is no consensus as to what the truth actually is. We have no doubt all heard the expression that we live in a ‘post-truth’ world. But what does this really mean? It does not mean that there is no longer the truth – of course there is. It means that whereas before we could tend to agree on the facts as the truth, and then debate our views and opinions arising from those agreed facts, now the situation has devolved where the debate is around the facts themselves – and the truth is treated like opinion. This raises real concerns and frequently leads to false and inaccurate information being elevated to truth. The position should be - as Daniel Moynihan famously said - that “You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.”
Against this backdrop, taking control of your narrative and building a resilient reputation that can withstand such attacks has never been more crucial. At a time when others can and will easily tell their skewed version of your story for them, it is now that you need to prioritise identifying your key audiences and communicating your true position to them.
In this article, we share five steps to help you build a resilient reputation, to ensure you are in the strongest position to weather any (social) media storm.
Five simple steps to reputational resilience
1. Investigate
You firstly need to identify what information exists about you online. Although investigating your online profile may sound like a simple task, - especially when it seems that anyone with access to Google can become an armchair detective - a thorough and comprehensive assessment of an individual’s or business’ online presence goes much further than a casual search engine trawl.
A full audit, ideally conducted by professional and expert investigators, will identify not only what assets exist on the surface web (effectively Google), but also what is available on the deep web and in compliance databases. It will also flag any data that has been compromised and is available on the dark web. You can then begin to understand what information (true, false and often private) is publicly available, how you are perceived as a result of this, and where the vulnerabilities or gaps are.
2. Delete
Where any available information is inaccurate or contains false statements, you can get these corrected, and in some cases, removed. The old adage that once something is published online it is there forever has no basis in reality. Some of these factual inaccuracies may be accidental, but sometimes – and with increasing frequency – deliberately false content, or disinformation, is created and spread with malicious motivations.
Today, it is even more important than ever to ensure your online profile is accurate, given this information is fed into AI tools. Ask ChatGPT a question and it will scour the internet to find content that may answer that query – regardless of whether that information is true or not. This false information has the potential to substantially affect your profile, damaging your reputation in the court of public opinion, and affecting business when this information informs due diligence, compliance databases and influences stakeholder decisions.
3. Strategise
Once inaccuracies have been addressed, now is the time to build resilience – combatting any remaining inaccurate information, and defending against future inaccurate content. To do this, you will firstly need to think about what you want to achieve, whether for your business, investments, philanthropy or other interests. Do you want to reach new audiences? Connect with stakeholders? Maximise your brand? Or simply to remain visible for transparency and discoverability reasons.
Identifying these goals, and working with technical and communications experts, you can then begin to develop and implement a strategy with these objectives in mind, using the right tools to build digital resilience and strengthen your online profile.
In all of this, ongoing media monitoring will allow new content and reporting surrounding you and your business or family to be quickly identified and addressed, whether this content requires correcting, removing, or amplifying.
4. Communicate
With a plan in place, you will need to work with your communications advisors to develop reliable and truthful content that is representative of you and your business, and which is designed to achieve your goals. This content can be shared via your owned channels, such as websites and social profiles as well as newly built, relevant channels
Remaining private is unsurprisingly often a priority for many: however, there is a difference between maintaining discretion and having no online presence; effectively existing in a communications vacuum. The risk of having no information about you available is that there are no facts to counter potentially inaccurate content – that exists now or arises in the future. One single negative event could quickly define you if that is the only information available online.
In reality, today, having no online profile is simply not an option: not only will it limit opportunities, but it may also even lead to reputational damage. At a time when others can so easily tell your story for you, it is now that you should prioritise shaping your own profile - with a certain degree of transparency - for audiences that matter.
5. Optimise
With accurate, positive content created that positions you and your business in a strong position to meet your goals, the focus should now be on ensuring that narrative reaches the right people. Here, engaging with technical experts who can optimise that content is wise. They will not only enhance positive content but can work to displace any narratives that might work against your goals.
Harnessing opportunity
Although the online world presents many challenges, threats and risks, there is also a positive side to the technical evolution. We’ve seen how clients can successfully manage and benefit from the online landscape by taking hold of their narrative and shaping their reputation for themselves, reaching new audiences and seizing new opportunities.
After all, if used correctly and managed carefully, a digital profile is a powerful tool. Not only is it your business card, but a strong profile can maximise your exposure (in the right way and to the right audience), expand your reach and strengthen your reputation - making it more resilient in the face of inaccurate information, attacks and a crisis.
Given the pace of technological developments and the continuous rise of cancel culture, it has never been more important to put measures in place to protect yourself from the risks inherent in our digital world - whilst enabling you to exploit its possibilities and harness its strengths.
