Responding to an unfolding corporate crisis can be challenging and difficult enough for companies without having to deal with the added burden of combating disinformation about the situation. But that is exactly what happened to Astronomer, a data analytics company, that found itself caught up in a headline-making crisis it did not create.
Its CEO was seen on a giant screen embracing a woman who was not his wife during a Coldplay concert in Massachusetts. The images of the couple, who quickly turned away from the camera, went viral.
Byron was identified in the images that tens of millions of people around the world saw via social media and news reports. In the aftermath of many crises, it is not unusual for those involved to apologize and express remorse for their actions, which is why no one was surprised when an apology attributed to the CEO was posted on X a day after the concert.
But it was soon discovered that the apology was a fake. According to a statement issued by Astronomer, Byron had not issued the apology, the BBC reported.
It is an unfortunate reality of the digital age that deepfakes are getting more sophisticated and anyone can post anything about anybody at any time and appear on some social media platforms to be someone they are not.
The good news is that there are several best practices organizations can follow when people post falsified apologies about a crisis. The sooner this type of hoax is dealt with, the better, so it does not siphon off corporate resources that should be focused on the crisis itself.
Crisis Response Best Practices To Address Disinformation Threats
Prepare
Update company crisis management plans to account for the possibility of fake apologies being issued on behalf of your company, its officers, and other officials. Test the organization’s responses to fake apologies on a regular basis when conducting worst-case crisis scenario exercises and simulations.
Policies And Procedures
Based on the following recommendations, have policies and procedures in place so that employees and executives will know what to do in response to fake statements. Review the procedures with executives and staff on a regular basis and include them when onboarding new employees.
Monitor
Have a member of your staff or a consultant pay close attention to what is being said in real time about your company and the crisis on social media platforms and by news outlets.
Notify
Take steps to ensure that company officials will be immediately notified if someone posts or issues a fake apology or statement, or one is reported by the media.
Respond
As soon as the officials are notified about the fake apology, seek to set the record straight right away. That means using all available communication channels and methods to deny the disinformation, including posting the denial on social media platforms, websites, email messages, and press releases. Share the denial with employees, customers, vendors, and other stakeholders.
Follow-up
Continue to check social media and media outlets to ensure that the company’s denials about the fake apology or statement are being reported accurately. As needed, issue another round of corrections or denials until you confirm they are being included on social media and news reports.
Keep Paying Attention
Pay attention to how other companies and organizations respond to falsified apologies or deepfake crises. What can you learn from what they did and how they did it, and how would you apply those lessons?
The fake apology that was attributed to Byron was not a one-off incident. The proliferation of disinformation such as deepfakes is a trend that is likely to continue and worsen. That is why the sooner companies are equipped to deal with fake apologies and other hoaxes, the better.
