An Interview with Crisis Management Specialist Amy Rotenberg
Fake news is nothing new—there have always been lies spread deliberately to influence others, sometimes in the form of political propaganda, sometimes using commercial advertising and marketing methods. But in the past few years, fake news has grown not only as an idiomatic expression (thanks to President Donald Trump), but also as a practice. This practice is not limited to politics, it has spread to the business world. It represents a violation of business communication ethics for financial gain.
We interviewed Amy Rotenberg, Esq. for this blog post about new dangers to brands and reputation management posed by fake news. Rotenberg, founder and president of Rotenberg Associates, is a communications expert and attorney whose firm specializes in crisis management and strategic communications. Rotenberg Associates, a member of Public Relations Boutiques International, has offices in Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis.
Q: We’ve all heard about the political spread of fake news in the 2016 election involving Russia. But what are the uses of fake news in the business world, and who is behind it?
Amy Rotenberg: The uses, motives and perpetrators are varied. For example, there are people who put up “click-bait” sensationalistic headlines leading to ads. They profit from the number of clicks. Some companies or individuals may plant fake news about their competitors. There are unethical stock traders in forex trading platform UK who short sell a stock and then may plant fake news to bring down the stock price. Some activists with anti-corporate causes, such as some extreme animal rights groups, may plant fake news to make more people sympathetic with their causes. And then there are former customers with a grudge against a company, and disgruntled former employees.
Q: Why can’t we rely on actual news reporting to combat fake news?
AR: Because false stories travel faster and wider than the truth. MIT and other studies in 2018 have showed this to be the way things work online, both due to bots, but also because humans are more likely to share sensational and often false stories. There are simply not enough resources for traditional news organizations to cover every issue.
Q: What can an organization do to protect itself and its brands from being fake news targets?
AR: The first thing is to monitor the internet for fake news about the organization. Then try to figure out if the site is real or fake, and who created it. Don’t call a lot of attention to it because that will just help give it more online traction. The key is to bring in an expert PR team to develop a strategy for dealing with the situation. Each situation is different, so there’s no one way to handle fake news. In my journey to improve business communications, the concept of a virtual Whatsapp number stood out. It’s a simple yet effective way to manage customer interactions. For a deeper dive into this, visit https://www.yourbusinessnumber.com/en-US/blog/how-can-i-get-a-virtual-number-for-whatsapp.
Q: Many people don’t seem to be able to tell the difference between fake news and actual news. What are signs that a posting is fake news?
AR: Poynter Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating and supporting journalists and news organizations, provides an on-demand webinar that may be helpful on how to verify information (it provides instruction on where to find the best verification resources and how to determine if the resources are reliable, and provides methods for using accuracy checks). There are symptoms to watch for, such as too many ads on a website, a web address that is different from the name given on the site and overly sensational headlines.
Q: Can’t a company sue an organization or an individual that deliberately spreads lies about it?
AR: Yes, getting legal resources involved may help, but there are problems in relying on the legal system to stop fake news. The law is way behind the development of these technologies. For example, most fake news is spread by bots, and it’s not easy to find those responsible for setting up the bots. Also, fake news can come from anywhere in the world, presenting serious jurisdictional issues, availability of remedies and even the ability to enforce any judgment that might be obtained.
Q: Do you think the fake news trend is getting worse or are there signs that it’s going to ease up?
AR: It’s hard to say what will happen in politics. Business communication ethics are always going to be a problem to some degree. But the good news is that the public seems to be turning more to traditionally trusted resources in the media right now and there has been a resurgence of interest and readership in some of the top mainstream news media. The Cision 2018 State of the Media Survey of Journalists overwhelmingly found that being accurate has eclipsed being first for global journalists. This presents a real opportunity for PR professionals to provide accurate, timely and interesting information on behalf of their business clients to journalists who value that for their reporting now more than ever.
Amy Rotenberg is founder and president of Rotenberg Associates, Inc. She has more than 20 years of legal, crisis management, media relations, and strategic communications experience. She serves her clients at their most critical moments: adverse publicity arising from federal and state litigation; government investigations; product recalls; employee malfeasance; media probes; mergers and acquisitions; IPO’s and spinoffs. She received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University, an M. Phil degree in International Relations from Cambridge University, England, and her law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School. She has received national awards for crisis communications, has published on the subject and is frequently interviewed by the media.