{"id":11191,"date":"2017-05-24T16:40:34","date_gmt":"2017-05-24T14:40:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mention.com\/blog\/?p=11191"},"modified":"2025-03-05T13:23:33","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T13:23:33","slug":"protect-your-brand-fake-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mention.com\/en\/blog\/protect-your-brand-fake-news\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Protect Your Brand Against Fake News and Alternative Facts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In some ways, it\u2019s a great time for the media and those working with it. Content formats are versatile and exciting. Platforms are coming up with cool features. You can usually go five minutes without someone bashing you or your brand in the comments section.
But if you\u2019re a member of the media or your job relies on interacting with it, these are also some risky times.<\/strong>
Especially if you\u2019re a brand that the public or media has latched onto for the wrong reasons. :X
In an age of grassroots journalism, where anyone can livestream what\u2019s going on around them to Facebook, and there are more ways around media gatekeepers than ever…stakes are high.
There\u2019s this \u201cviral outrage\u201d culture where as soon as something sparks outrage, people are quick to judge before getting all the facts. <\/strong>We saw it with United Airlines back in March, for example. When teenagers in violation of a dress code went viral<\/a>, thousands cried out in anger over United having a dress code for paying customers.
Only…oh wait.
Then we find out these weren\u2019t paying customers. Kind of changes things. But at that point, a lot of damage had already been done to their brand reputation. So when, say, another incident with a passenger happens a month later, the public already has a negative perception of you.
And it can spin out so quickly.<\/strong>
Just one person uploads or shares a partial version of the story.
Conclusions are jumped to. Alternative facts are created. The misinformation spreads. Next thing you know, your brand is the subject of some fake news.
You feel like you\u2019re running for president, and not in the good way.<\/strong>
You may not be able to predict when a misunderstanding will happen or go viral, but that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t prepare. Misinformation and false negative PR can be handled with a good crisis communications plan.
In this post, we\u2019ll talk about what you need to do if \u201cfake news\u201d about your brand ever goes viral, and how to handle a crisis as well as Scandal\u2019s Olivia Pope (hopefully with less drama).
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Your process to protect your brand against fake news and alternative facts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: respond directly<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first thing you\u2019ll want to do, when applicable, is respond directly to the original piece of content that went viral or started the story.
\nIf it\u2019s a tweet, reply or quote it in a new tweet. If it\u2019s a Facebook post that you can comment on, do so. With a blog or news site, leave a comment. You get the deal.
\nWrite a kind, polite, \u201ccustomer support-friendly\u201d response that clears up any wrong information without isolating, accusing, or getting angry<\/strong> at the source. After all, you don\u2019t necessarily know if this was intentional or just a misunderstanding.
\nThis does a few things that can help you.
\nFirst of all, you\u2019re going straight to the source to straighten out the facts. In terms of how the information has spread, this is starting at the beginning of the chain.
\nSecondly, it makes your response visible and noticeable to people viewing the original piece of content. For example, if someone is looking at a viral tweet about your brand, they can also see the replies in the thread, where your direct and public response would show up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: find and respond to people reacting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve gone straight to the source, it\u2019s time to deal with the angry online mob it may have started. Now, don\u2019t waste your time setting the record straight with every hater.<\/strong> But there are certain situations where you will want to respond to people continuing to spread the misinformation.
For example, if there are influencers, customers, or other people very important to your business who aren\u2019t just believing the fake news, but helping disseminate it, that can have a big impact on your business\u2019s reputation in the long run. It\u2019s worth reaching out and attempting to correct their perception.
Use media monitoring<\/a> and social listening to watch the spread of the original story and find anyone else discussing the issue. Then you can respond similarly to how you did with the source in step #1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 3: communicate with \u201cyour people\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Next, it\u2019s time to turn to the people who have your back<\/strong>: customers, leadership\/executive team, parent companies…any other key stakeholders<\/a> who need to be informed.
Once you\u2019ve taken a few steps to \u201cstop the fire from spreading,\u201d you can turn to a few of the other three dozen things that need to be managed during a sticky communications crisis.
First up: who in your own company needs to be informed whenever there\u2019s a negative PR or communications issue? Your crisis comms plan<\/a> should lay this out so you know what to do in the moment. Go tell them what they need to know and what, if anything, you need from them to help you remedy this whole shebang.
Next, your customers, your cheerleaders, and your advocates. Communicate with your audience. Make sure they know what is fact and what is fabricated. These are people that are loyal to you, and their opinion of you matters even more than those of prospective customers and the general public.
Assure any stakeholders of the full story, how your brand is handling the story internally, and anything else that people giving you money might need to feel secure continuing to trust you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 4: use content to set the facts straight<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Finally, the best way to get people to stop believing alternative facts are to hit \u2018em with the 100% true facts to replace them with.
\nContent can be used to amplify any message in your communications strategy, including correcting misinformation<\/strong> and improving your reputation<\/a>. The key is to do it strategically.
\nIt may seem best to start creating a bunch of content about anything but what got people talking. For example, if you had a customer service incident go viral and get misinterpreted, you don\u2019t want to avoid talking about your customer support. If you start creating content about everything but what people are talking about, they\u2019ll know you\u2019re just trying to distract them.
\nInstead of using content to distract from the fake news at hand, use it to join the conversation<\/strong> and educate the public about how things really are.
\nLet\u2019s say the issue at hand is someone misinterpreting one of your hiring policies and a post about it has been shared everywhere. You can create content for your website, for different social media channels, and anywhere else about what hiring at your company is really like.
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Tips for doing it well<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Use your network to help you squash fake news<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you\u2019re trying to correct vast misinformation out there, you\u2019re trying to spread a message. That\u2019s just like any other campaign, really. So just like any other campaign, you want to leverage your network of influencers, advocates, employees, and more.
\nFor example, back in step 1, you can ask people to like or share your direct response to the source of alternative fact. That helps their own audiences see it, and can help your reply rise to the top of the overall conversation thread.
\nAnd in step 4, once you\u2019ve created content, your network can help you – as always – by sharing it. The people in your corner can help you in a fake news crisis the same way they can in any other campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be! Proactive! Be, be! Proactive!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t want to be that person who finds out via someone else that you\u2019re in the middle of a crisis. That\u2019s embarrassing, and that gives you a pretty late start that can make it hard to catch up to the news. When the news isn\u2019t even \u201creal news\u201d in the first place, you\u2019re just giving it more time to be believed.
Instead, make sure you\u2019re the first to know about things by using brand monitoring<\/a>\u00a0to find any potential crisis. By closely monitoring which, if any, negative or \u201cred flag\u201d keywords are being used with your brand name or related terms, you can find bad stories before they spin out of control.
Some monitoring tools<\/a>\u00a0even have built-in features to help you be the first to know if a communications crisis has hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use content to change the convo, not distract<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We touched on this before, but I really want to hit home how important it is: don\u2019t try to distract people from a crisis – fake news or not – by spewing out a ton of content. Sure, creating a bunch of content can be a great way to deal with it, but not as a distraction.
\nInstead of using content to start a completely new, unrelated conversation about your brand, use it to add to and the direction of current ones happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you handle fake news?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"crisis<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Something like having fake news or misinformation about you going \u2018round is an interesting type of PR crisis<\/a> – your brand didn\u2019t necessarily do anything crisis-worthy. But that doesn\u2019t mean your go-to crisis communications plan can\u2019t save the day.
\nStick to your plan, follow the steps, and account for the issue that in addition to regular crisis management, there\u2019s also a layer of education around what the real facts are.
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