Fake Break(s) Reputation

It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.”—Benjamin Franklin

The reputation of any brand, organisation, individual, political leader is formed and shaped by the information available in the public domain. The information could be directly from the company through their own channels, or through word of mouth or earned media.

The power of media has always been there to help build perception but today (digital) media is not only acting as a media but is defining the message. A quick web search on a brand and what appears online as news reports, comments, reviews, feedback, experience helps shape the brand's reputation. The digital world also has empowered the consumers than ever before as consumers can not only find news but also create news/views which has the potential to spread across geography worldwide audience.

With the growth of digital media the media consumption habit has drastically changed. With inexpensive data and on-the-tap information available on the mobile screens, news sources are no longer the newspapers, radio or TV. Data from the studies by Pew Institute show nearly 60% of the people regularly use social media for news. Unfortunately, social media platforms are also the key to spread fake news which goes vital and at an unmanageable pace.

For generations, misinformation and fake news continue to be used to control and manipulate public perceptions and reputation and now social media has given access and power to all. In the past few years, we have witnessed propaganda of misinformation and hoaxes disseminated through print, graphics, and social media has altered the social landscape of this nation. A few years back in the book India Misinformed: The True Story, written by Pratik Sinha, Dr Sumaiya Shaikh and Arjun Sidharth from the team fact-checking website Alt News, the authors through a series of case studies debunk fake information, identifying the purveyors of fabricated news by exposing the social media machinery working behind the menacing stories.

This power of creating and distributing information by anyone is one of the biggest challenges being faced by brands. Wrong news could occur as a result of unintentional human error, inaccuracies, misquote, lack of proof-reading, fact-checking etc. But fake news is a deliberate attempt to malign a brand’s reputation with fabricated and twisted information to serve the agenda. With easily accessible technology, today it take one click to share a (mis)information and see it getting viral toppling market value, reputation of public figure and brands.

Then there is another problem of websites and blogs which propagate fake and unverified news and information. These websites designed as news portal add credibility to their articles by placing genuine images and also mainstream digital brand advertisement. With most brands, using third-party automated platforms, the brand managers have limited control over online ad placement, resulting in brand ads sometimes appearing next to fake news in total conflicts with the organisations values and purpose. The 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer revealed an epidemic of misinformation with 57 percent of people believe government leaders, business chiefs and journalists are spreading falsehoods or exaggerations.

If you lose money for the firm, I will be understanding. If you lose reputation, I will be ruthless.” – Warren Buffet.

For brands, reputation is of the utmost importance and organisations with positive reputations are perceived as providing more value from their brands resulting in higher sales, loyal customers and also attract better talent and business partners. But what happens when a fake news of a brand goes viral.

Let’s look at 4 case studies that attempted to malign a brand’s reputation.

British Airways staff (fake) farewell video

A two-minute video claimed that the British Airways airline had terminated its entire workforce from June 15, 2020. This video shared as a farewell message from BA staff, went viral on social media giving the impression that the airline is shutting operations. But a fact check cleared that the video was ‘fake’ as British Airways has only proposed a job cut, but it has not been implemented yet. 

Domino’s Pizza

In 2018 a video claiming to be BBC, exposed the ‘fake cheese’ used by Domino’s Pizza in India. Made like a sting operation interview with voiceover in heavy British accent and a white-skinned reporter with anonymous whistleblower Indian chef made the video ‘look’ authentic. BBC denied making the contentious video exposing Domino’s Pizza in India, which had gone viral. 

Coca-Cola: Honestly Scandal Fake Video

In 2013 Coca-Cola, took out a video ad to address the problem of obesity in the United States. Soon this video resurfaced with a new voice-over ‘stating’ that Coca-Cola advised its consumers to avoid using their products. Though this was a fake video not released by the company, it went viral damaging the brand reputation. 

Apple iPhone : fake iOS 7 video 

A hoax video on social media in 2013 tricked iPhone users into thinking the latest software upgrade had also made their phones waterproof. The hoax claimed that iOS 7 included a "smart-switch" that automatically protected the iPhone's "delicate circuitry ... it will shut off the phone's power supply and corresponding components to prevent any damage". 

The author is Anup Sharma, who is a StoryTeller with two decades of experience in Public Relations and Corporate Communications. He is also the Senior Director at Public Relations Consultants Association of India

Anup Sharma

Guest Author The author is a StoryTeller with two decades of experience in Public Relations and Corporate Communications. He is also the Senior Director at Public Relations Consultants Association of India