When an organization comes under fire from a rumor, disinformation campaign, or an outright lie, they are facing what is commonly known as a fake news attack. While organizations face reputational and monetary losses, public relations practitioners must address the causes, symptoms, and consequences of exposure to fake news.
News reports reveal some insights about organizations and fake news, but without first-hand accounts from company insiders, it’s impossible to know what it’s really like to survive a fake news attack. Public Relations faculty members Professor Michele Ewing and Associate Professor Cheryl Ann Lambert, Ph.D., sought out the insider perspective from practitioners who have successfully steered organizations through fake news crises. They interviewed 21 corporate public relations practitioners, 12 from corporations and nine from agencies. They discovered that practitioners use specific techniques to avoid falling prey to fake news, and to manage fake news crises.
Minimizing fake news crises
To avoid falling prey to fake news crises, public relations practitioners listen online for potential issues and are thus better prepared for crises that could emerge. They use social listening tools to monitor keywords and investigate emerging issues. Practitioners also use tried-and-true strategies for environmental scanning to gather intelligence about trends and other factors that can impact a company and/or industry. By monitoring influencers — particularly those with which they have relationships — practitioners can minimize the spread of fake news. These influencers can set the record straight when inaccurate information is shared about an organization. Practitioners integrate potential fake news attacks into their crisis plans to plan for various scenarios. The threat scenarios related to fake news focus on social content and conversations. Practitioners also minimize criticism through direct messaging, which provides an opportunity to correct false information.
Managing a fake news crisis
To manage a crisis originating from fake news, senior public relations practitioners listen, assess, and avoid fueling the fire. They assess the situation by analyzing the scope of the issue, including the credibility and reach of sources to determine response strategies. Practitioners also engage people who are important to them. It’s vital to connect with key stakeholders (like employees) to make them aware of the situation and to share facts about false information. Practitioners paint a counter narrative rooted in facts through owned channels to manage fake news crises by using existing channels to communicate the organization’s narrative. Some situations require the direct approach of meeting the source of the false information where it’s being communicated. In such situations, practitioners address fake news within its space to set the record straight without a defensive tone. Media relations and social media strategies should be integrated for effective communication during fake news crises, and practitioners advise maintaining relationships with news media. News media should be quickly directed to factual information and credible sources so they can help stop the spread of false narrative by communicating accurate information.
Fake news isn’t going away. The more we understand best practices to prevent and manage it, the more we can safeguard honest and transparent communication.
Note: This project was supported by a Legacy Scholar Grant from The Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication at The Pennsylvania State University’s Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Pennsylvania State University.
Michele E. Ewing, APR, Fellow PRSA, is a professor and public relations-sequence coordinator in the School of Media & Journalism. Connect with her via email (meewing@kent.edu) or Twitter ().
Cheryl Ann Lambert, Ph.D, is an associate professor and graduate coordinator in the School of Media & Journalism. Connect with her via email (clambe17@kent.edu) or Twitter ()