Reputational risk of deep fakes: don’t let fake news get away with it
In a world where digital technologies are becoming increasingly advanced, we are facing a new challenge: deep fakes and fake news. These deceptively real manipulations of media content have the potential to fundamentally change our perception of reality.
Once out in the world ...
Society’s response to this is difficult: the new technologies are often still underestimated or merely used for entertainment purposes – and many people believe that they would recognise that the images are wrong if they looked closely. However, this point has been passed and the quality has long been too good.
And even technical solutions for recognising fakes are of little help. Because once out in the world, every fake is liked and forwarded and feeds the appropriate opinion bubble before a fact check has even begun.
Far-reaching consequences
The consequences can be severe, from disinformation and reputational damage to the erosion of trust in the media and news in general. In addition to a ‘vigilant’ society that must learn to value authentic information again, corporate communications can contribute to de-escalation. The measures help to protect the integrity of corporate communications and to be able to react effectively in the event of a fake attack. Because even if it remains a race, we cannot and must not capitulate to deep fakes and fake news.
What can corporate communications do specifically?
- Continuous monitoring: Companies should constantly monitor their media portrayal, especially on social networks.
- Proactive and rapid response: A clear and decisive response is required when fake news is spread about the company. Counterstatements should be published promptly in order to curb the spread of false information.
- Transparent communication: An honest and transparent line of communication strengthens public trust and can undermine the credibility of false information. This is considered a kind of ‘basic immunisation’ for any (supposed) negative news.
- Training to improve media skills: Employees should be trained in recognising and dealing with fake news so as not to contribute to its spread themselves.
- Use of fact checks: companies can carry out and publish their own fact checks to directly disprove false information.
- Proactive education: in the run-up to emerging fake news campaigns, information about possible disinformation narratives and manipulative techniques can mitigate the impact of fake news.
- Build external partnerships: Collaborate with experts and fact-checking organisations to help verify content.