The dangers of misinformation – and how to avoid it
How vigilant are you about checking your content for misinformation? If your brand doesn’t have processes in place to prevent it, probably not vigilant enough.
Did you hear the one about Will Ferrell apologising to Sunderland fans? Apparently, the Hollywood comedy actor said sorry after mocking Sunderland Football Club for the “tears of sorrow” his team, Queens Park Rangers, was about to inflict.
The apology – worded “Haway man, sorry” – was relayed on Twitter in February and reported by BBC News. The problem? It wasn’t from Ferrell at all, but from a parody account.
The BBC apologised, but the story has not gone away. Search ‘Will Ferrell Sunderland’ and you’ll see outlets from The Guardian and Yahoo to MSN and AOL reporting on the corporation’s mistake, and Twitter users piling in below the line. Embarrassing.
So if the BBC can fall down such a seemingly obvious pit, what is your company doing to avoid something similar? Some companies are actively using their platform to tackle misinformation – such as The Washington Post’s ‘Misinformation Mondays’ on TikTok and the AI news app called Artifact, which aims to stop the spread of misleading stories online.
Recent research from Gartner predicts that by 2027, 80% of marketers will establish what they term “content authenticity functions” to protect against misinformation and other fake material. This is encouraging and no doubt motivated in part by the reputational concerns surrounding the use of AI ChatGPT to produce content, or the fallout from a number of recent decisions by Twitter, including a reduction in the number of staff that regulates false claims.
So how does all of this apply to you? Here are three steps you can take to avoid spreading misinformation and ensure your customers continue to trust you.
3 ways to ensure your brand is sharing facts rather than fiction
1. Establish a fact-checking process
Whether it’s a social media post or a feature based on multiple interviews – and whether it’s delivered through video, audio, still imagery or text – it’s crucial that any piece of work leaving your newsroom gets fact checked by at least one person. At Speak, we know that reputation is everything, so this is an integral part of our process. Any name, place, date, statistic, historical reference – anything that we’re presenting as ‘fact’ – is rigorously checked against trusted sources to ensure that nothing erroneous slips through.
2. Review with a sceptical eye
As we have seen all too often in recent UK and US politics, just because somebody in authority says something is true, doesn’t mean it is true. And we all know which way trust in politicians is going. Why should your customers or social media followers continue to trust you if you haven’t ensured that what you’re telling them is correct? Adopt a sceptical position and verify every fact with reputable sources. And even then, if it sounds unlikely, check, check and check again. As we’ve seen above, even the BBC can be fooled.
3. Be transparent
It can be tempting to make sweeping statements to promote your brand. But you need to ensure that you are giving your audience the full story – and not omitting necessary information – or you will run the risk of damaging the relationship with your audience and facing potential legal ramifications.
Previously, the dairy alternative brand Oatly tried to boost its sustainability credentials in its advertising. But unsubstantiated claims regarding its carbon footprint led to these ads getting banned and a hasty apology from the company following multiple complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority. Suddenly, a company that prides itself on being ’science-based’ looked anything but. By all means, make great claims – but only if they are ironclad. Your credibility is at stake.