The Stakes Have Never Been Higher in this Era of Brand Disinformation and Deep Fakes.

Imagine waking up to find your brand trending on social media for all the wrong reasons. Within hours, a single post claiming unethical practices by your company goes viral, flooding your inbox with concerned messages from customers, investors, and the media. This scenario is not far-fetched, but a stark reality faced by companies every day. These narrative attacks, fueled by misinformation and disinformation, can wreak havoc on a brand’s reputation and financial standing.

Over the years, my agency has successfully defended many clients against social media trolls and planted stories in the media. However, with the growing accessibility of affordable technology, incidents of disinformation have become more pervasive and damaging, originating from anyone and anywhere.

The significance of brand disinformation in today’s digital landscape cannot be overstated. Approximately $78 billion a year is lost due to perception manipulation, with publicly traded companies alone suffering $39 billion annually from disinformation-related stock market losses. The World Economic Forum has even named disinformation as the top global risk for 2024. In such an environment, narrative attacks pose a higher risk than ever before, demanding that brands and their agencies remain on high alert.

Narrative attacks are not just random, misguided comments; they are calculated assertions designed to shape perceptions about a person, place, or thing within the information ecosystem. They can start with a single post that escalates rapidly, causing severe financial and reputational damage. These attacks can blindside companies, catching them unprepared and leaving them scrambling to mitigate the fallout.

Understanding Narrative Attacks

Narrative attacks are deliberate attempts to manipulate public perception by spreading false or misleading information about a brand, person, or event. They differ from regular negative press or consumer complaints in their intent and execution. These attacks can take two primary forms: misinformation and disinformation.

Misinformation refers to the spread of incorrect information without malicious intent. In contrast, disinformation involves the deliberate dissemination of false information to deceive and manipulate an audience. Whether the false narrative is used to create controversy and clickbait, or for more nefarious reasons, brands must always be on their guard.

In 2020, Wayfair, a popular online furniture and home goods retailer, became the subject of a baseless conspiracy theory alleging its involvement in human trafficking. This rumor, which originated and quickly spread on social media platforms, falsely claimed that the company’s expensive furniture items were being used as a front for trafficking children. Despite the complete lack of evidence, the theory gained significant traction, forcing Wayfair into damage control mode. The incident highlighted the immense power and danger of viral disinformation, demonstrating how quickly false narratives can spread and cause serious reputational harm.

The Mechanics of Narrative Attacks

Narrative attacks often begin with a single, seemingly innocuous post on social media or a fringe news outlet. This initial post is designed to catch attention and stir emotions, leveraging sensational or provocative content to go viral quickly. From here, the attack can spread rapidly across multiple platforms, aided by algorithms that prioritize engagement over accuracy.

Social media plays a pivotal role in the propagation of these attacks, providing a fertile ground for false narratives to flourish. Bots—automated accounts programmed to spread specific content—amplify the reach of disinformation, making it appear more widespread and credible than it actually is. Dark web forums and other less-regulated corners of the internet also contribute by coordinating attacks and sharing strategies for maximizing impact.

The speed and scale at which these attacks can unfold are staggering, often blindsiding brands and leaving them with little time to respond. Understanding the mechanics behind narrative attacks is crucial for developing effective defense strategies, as it allows brands to anticipate potential threats and react swiftly to mitigate damage.

For example, General Mills faced a sophisticated narrative attack involving deepfakes across popular social media platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube. The deepfakes portrayed the company’s executives making controversial statements and endorsing harmful practices, which quickly went viral. Fortunately, the company’s swift and multi-faceted response helped contain the damage and restore trust among its consumers.

Oatly, known for its environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional dairy products, faced a wave of misinformation about its ingredients.

Who is Behind Narrative Attacks?

Narrative attacks often target brands, driven by various motives. Political organizations may attempt to manipulate public perception to influence elections or discredit opponents. Financial motives are also prevalent, with businesses engaging in attacks to manipulate stock markets or undermine competitors. Corporate sabotage aims to disrupt rivals and gain market advantage, while ideological groups may oppose corporate practices to promote social or environmental causes.
Common perpetrators include political parties, advocacy groups, and competitive businesses seeking to harm their rivals. Media outlets focused on sensationalism and clickbait contribute significantly by spreading false information to increase traffic and ad revenue. State actors, including government agencies and hackers, often engage in these attacks for geopolitical purposes. Additionally, influencers and public figures with large followings can inadvertently spread disinformation, further complicating the issue.

Understanding these motives and identifying the usual suspects behind narrative attacks is crucial for brands. This knowledge helps in developing effective strategies to detect, counter, and mitigate these threats, ensuring the protection of brand reputation in an increasingly complex information landscape.

The Current Landscape of Brand Disinformation

The scope of brand disinformation extends far beyond individual companies, representing a global challenge with substantial economic repercussions. According to a recent report, 88% of investors now consider disinformation attacks a serious issue, influencing their investment decisions and market perceptions. In the US alone, 53% of respondents believe that CEOs and business leaders should actively combat the spread of misinformation, yet only 25% feel that current efforts are sufficient.

The broader impact of these attacks is staggering. The World Economic Forum has highlighted that disinformation campaigns not only harm individual brands but also undermine entire sectors, destabilizing markets and eroding public trust. This widespread manipulation of perception can lead to significant stock price fluctuations, as well as long-term reputational damage that is difficult to repair.

Oatly is a Swedish food company that produces oat-based products, primarily known for its oat milk. Despite Oatly’s raison d’être of promoting healthy, environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional dairy products, it faced a wave of misinformation about its ingredients. Claims that Oatly’s products were unhealthy and environmentally damaging spread rapidly, causing significant reputational harm and necessitating a robust public relations response.

High Stakes and Growing Risks

The stakes of brand disinformation have escalated dramatically in recent years. The increasing sophistication of deep fakes and AI-driven disinformation has exacerbated this threat, making it more challenging to discern truth from falsehood. These advanced technologies can create hyper-realistic but entirely fabricated audio, video, and images, which are then disseminated rapidly through social media and other online platforms. This evolution in disinformation tactics has made narrative attacks more effective and harder to counter.

Certain sectors are particularly vulnerable to narrative attacks due to their critical nature and significant influence on public trust and stability.

• Financial Services: The financial sector’s susceptibility to disinformation is exemplified by the potential for false rumors to cause stock market instability and panic among investors. A single, well-placed narrative attack can lead to billions in market value loss, as seen in cases where companies were falsely accused of fraud or unethical practices.
• Healthcare: Healthcare organizations face unique challenges from disinformation, particularly regarding the safety and efficacy of medical treatments and vaccines. Misinformation can lead to public health crises, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, where false claims about vaccines spread widely, undermining vaccination efforts.
• Public Sector: Government agencies are frequent targets of disinformation, which can erode public trust and disrupt governance. Narrative attacks against public institutions can incite unrest, influence election outcomes and complicate policy implementation.
• Education: The education sector is not immune, with disinformation affecting perceptions of educational policies, institutions, and personnel. False narratives can lead to decreased enrollment, funding challenges, and reputational damage.
• FMCG/Packaged Goods: Fast-moving consumer goods and packaged goods are particularly susceptible to disinformation regarding product safety and quality. As in the Oatly example, false claims about ingredients, sourcing, and manufacturing processes can lead to consumer boycotts and significant financial losses.
• Restaurants: The restaurant industry is highly vulnerable to disinformation, given its reliance on public perception and health standards. A notable example is when my agency managed a crisis for Starbucks where an activist group occupied a location by laying on the floor to protest what they claimed was tainted water used to make coffee. This accusation, posted online with video of the occupation, was independently proved to be false, but the incident still caused significant disruption and required a focused response to restore trust.
• Technology: Tech companies are often at the forefront of narrative attacks due to their high visibility and the public’s reliance on their services. For example, false claims about data breaches can rapidly damage a tech company’s reputation and market value.
• Retail: The retail sector is vulnerable to disinformation about labor practices, product safety, and corporate policies. A false narrative about the use of child labor or unsafe products can lead to consumer boycotts and significant reputational damage. For example, Target faced a disinformation campaign that leveraged social media to propagate misleading and damaging claims about the company’s intentions when it promoted LGBTQ+ merchandise. The ensuing controversy resulted in financial repercussions and highlighted the vulnerability of even well-established brands to targeted narrative attacks.
• Travel and Tourism: This sector is susceptible to false claims about safety, health standards, and environmental practices. Disinformation can deter tourists, leading to substantial financial losses. For instance, misleading information about the safety of a destination can cause a significant drop in tourism.
• Consumer Electronics: Companies in this sector face risks from disinformation about product defects, privacy issues, and security vulnerabilities. False narratives can lead to widespread distrust and financial loss, as seen in cases where rumors about battery explosions or data leaks spread rapidly.

These sector-specific vulnerabilities highlight the pervasive and far-reaching impact of narrative attacks. Each example underscores the urgent need for strategies to detect, counter, and mitigate the effects of disinformation.

AB InBev experienced significant backlash after partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney to promote Bud Light.

Are Marketers Ready?

Despite the growing threat of narrative attacks, a significant number of marketing leaders feel unprepared to handle such crises. Recent surveys reveal that the majority of marketing executives lack the knowledge and resources needed to protect their brands against disinformation. They express uncertainty about both preventative measures and effective strategies to deploy once an attack has occurred. This lack of preparedness highlights a critical gap in the current approach to brand management and crisis response.

Insights from recent events involving marketing executives from companies listed in the Global Fortune 2000, Forbes’ annual ranking of the world’s largest public companies, underscore the widespread concern and the urgent need for better preparedness. During a recent summit, over 450 marketing leaders from top global companies gathered to discuss the increasing threat of disinformation. The consensus was clear: most companies are not equipped to handle narrative attacks effectively. Many executives shared stories of unexpected attacks that caught their organizations off guard, leading to substantial financial and reputational damage.

Preparing for Narrative Attacks

First and foremost, brands must always be always aware of potential threats via monitoring. Fortunately, companies can leverage a variety of technologies and platforms to support their preparedness and aid their response to a narrative attack.

Social media monitoring tools like Hootsuite and Brandwatch help track mentions and keywords, while dark web monitoring services such as DarkOwl and Recorded Future detect threats from less visible parts of the internet. Disinformation detection tools like Blackbird.AI and Newsguard identify and counter false information, and bot detection platforms like Bot Sentinel and SparkToro analyze social media for bot activity. Media monitoring and verification tools such as Mention and Factmata ensure content credibility, and integrated crisis management platforms like Crisis24 and Everbridge provide comprehensive monitoring and response capabilities. Using these resources enables brands to detect, counter, and mitigate the impact of narrative attacks effectively.

In addition, effective internal communications and rapid response plans are the cornerstone of defending against narrative attacks. The foundation of these plans is a dedicated crisis communications team that can swiftly mobilize when an attack occurs. This team should include members from various departments who are trained to handle high-pressure situations and communicate clearly and effectively.

Equally important is the establishment of robust information verification processes to ensure the accuracy of the information being shared both internally and externally. This involves verifying the sources of information, cross-referencing facts, and quickly debunking false narratives before they gain traction.

Advanced preparation of statements and stakeholder communications are essential tools in a rapid response plan. These pre-drafted messages should address potential scenarios and be tailored for different audiences, including customers, investors, employees, and the media. Having these resources ready allows the crisis team to respond swiftly and consistently, maintaining control over the narrative and mitigating potential damage.

A multidisciplinary response team is vital for effectively managing narrative attacks. Depending on the industry and size of the company, this team should bring together leaders from marketing, product development, IT, communication, cybersecurity, and risk management, along with any external advisors and agencies, as well as the CEO and one or more member from the board of directors. The diverse expertise within this group ensures a comprehensive approach to both preventing and responding to attacks.

Regular collaboration is crucial for this team’s success. Monthly or quarterly planning sessions provide an opportunity to review and update response strategies, conduct simulations, and ensure all members are aligned and prepared. These sessions can also be used to analyze recent incidents, learn from them, and adjust plans accordingly.

By fostering strong communication and collaboration among key stakeholders, companies can build resilience against narrative attacks. The goal is to be proactive rather than reactive, anticipating potential threats and having a well-coordinated response ready to deploy at a moment’s notice.

Responding to an Attack

The first step in responding to a narrative attack is identifying the origin and spread of disinformation. This involves comprehensive monitoring of social media platforms, dark web forums, and media outlets to pinpoint where the false information originated and how it is spreading. By mapping the dissemination paths, companies can better understand the scope of the attack. This analysis helps in calculating the potential impact and informs the strategies for a targeted and effective response.

Discerning between bot-driven and organic narratives is crucial in shaping the response. Bot manipulation can amplify false narratives, making the attack appear more widespread than it actually is. Identifying bot activity involves analyzing patterns that indicate automated behavior, such as rapid reposting or identical messages from multiple accounts. Once bot involvement is confirmed, the strategic response should focus on disrupting these networks and preventing further amplification. This may include reporting bot accounts to platform administrators and increasing the visibility of accurate information to overshadow the false narratives.

Not every narrative attack warrants the same response. Determining when to engage publicly versus when to monitor and wait is a critical decision, and one that may require professional guidance. For high-impact attacks that gain significant traction and pose substantial reputational risks, a public response may be necessary. In these cases, leveraging brand evangelists—loyal customers and influencers who can counter the false narratives—can be highly effective. Constructive engagement with naysayers, addressing their concerns and presenting verified information, can also help mitigate the spread of disinformation.

For example, AB InBev experienced significant backlash after partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney to promote Bud Light. This partnership led to coordinated disinformation efforts, widespread boycotts, and notable market volatility as false narratives about the company’s values and practices rapidly spread across social media. The swift escalation of the situation highlighted the critical need for agile crisis management to protect the brand’s reputation and mitigate financial impact.

In response, AB InBev swiftly implemented a series of strategic crisis management actions. They issued public statements to clarify their association with the transgender influencer and reaffirm their commitment to diversity and inclusion. The company actively engaged with their customer base through social media, providing transparent communication about the intentions behind their campaign. To combat the spread of disinformation, AB InBev increased their monitoring efforts to quickly identify and address false narratives. Additionally, they collaborated with influencers and brand advocates to amplify positive messages and counteract the disinformation. These comprehensive efforts helped stabilize the situation, mitigate market volatility, and restore some level of trust among stakeholders.

Creating and disseminating counter-narratives is a proactive approach to mitigating harm. These counter-narratives should be well-researched, factual, and resonate with the audience’s values and beliefs. Authenticity and transparency play pivotal roles in this process. By openly addressing the issue and providing clear, truthful information, brands can rebuild trust and credibility. Effective counter-narratives not only refute the false information but also reinforce the brand’s commitment to integrity and truth.

Taylor Swift came under attack with the circulation of AI-generated explicit photos, which falsely depicted her in compromising situations.

Individuals, particularly celebrities and industry leaders are also susceptible to these types of assaults. Taylor Swift came under attack with the circulation of AI-generated explicit photos, which falsely depicted her in compromising situations. The images were widely shared on social media, causing significant distress among her fanbase and raising concerns about her reputation and privacy. Swift’s team acted quickly to mitigate the impact. They issued statements across all major platforms, emphasizing the fabricated nature of the images and condemning the misuse of AI technology. Legal action was also pursued to hold the perpetrators accountable and to remove the explicit content from circulation.

Moreover, Swift’s team launched a campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of deepfakes and AI-manipulated media, positioning her as an advocate for digital safety and privacy. This proactive stance not only helped mitigate the immediate damage but also strengthened her brand’s commitment to authenticity and integrity.

Clearly AB InBev and Swift teams were trained and prepared. Brands can learn from these examples by ensuring their response includes both immediate actions to counteract the false narratives and long-term strategies to address the root causes of such disinformation.

One of the best ways for brands to remain vigilant and prepared against false narratives is by partnering with experts, like Rose, who understand the intricacies of narrative attacks and can safeguard brand reputations and ensure narratives remain authentic and trusted.

References:

1. World Economic Forum. (2024). Top Global Risks Report.
2. Drew Neisser. (2024). “Brand Disinformation—How Marketers Can Prepare for Narrative Attacks.” Ad Age.
3. Survey of Global Fortune 2000 Marketing Executives. (2023). Event Insights.
4. General Mills Crisis Response Team. (2023). Internal Report on Deepfake Mitigation Strategies.
5. Taylor Swift Legal and Communications Team. (2023). Statements and Campaigns on AI-Generated Content.
6. Forrester. (2024). “Top Cybersecurity Threats: Narrative Attacks and Deepfakes.”
7. Blackbird.AI. (2024). “Narrative Intelligence and Disinformation Defense Strategies.”
8. Wasim Khaled, CEO of Blackbird.AI. (2024). Interview on Leadership Next Podcast.
9. AdAge. (2024) “Brand Disinformation—How Marketers Can Prepare For Narrative Attacks”