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Just a
Thought
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"False
history gets
made all day,
any day, the
truth of the new
is never on the
news."
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From
the Editor
Fake
news. You've
probably seen the
term in three
headlines today.
But, what exactly
is it and why are
those two words
suddenly on
everyone's mind?
Fake
news is exactly
what it sounds
like - falsified,
inflated, or
utterly untrue
articles published
as if they were
legitimate news.
Most of the
stories are
created to attract
clicks (and
thereby up ad
revenue), very
much in the spirit
of old-school
tabloid covers.
However, we've
been observing a
more purposeful
use of fake news
for some time, one
that emerged into
public
conciousness
during our most
interesting
election.
Fake
news was employed
heavily to
influence opinion
during the
election, with
cornerstones of
the modern
internet like
Google and
Facebook being
inundated with
false stories.
Once pointed out,
this fact drew a
lot of attention.
What many don't
realize is that
fake news has been
creating problems
on a smaller scale
since ages ago.
The
sad fact is that
even many stories
published by
mainstream media
today are what we
would consider
fake news.
Sensationalized
headlines,
unethical
reporting, and use
of utterly
untrustworthy
sources run
rampant. Then you
have the
blogosphere and
social media,
where any upset
individual has the
power to place
negative stories
that say literally
whatever they want
in front of your
stakeholders. When Facebook or Google cracks down on what's
included in
their news
feeds, that
helps reduce
fake news
coverage. But,
the bottom line
is that if
someone puts the
effort into
creating and
sharing "news"
of their own
they can get it
in front of your
stakeholders. We
do it for legit
news all the
time, on behalf
of clients in
crisis, even
when they're on
the wrong end of
traditional and
social media
reporting.
In the end what's important to most is what it
means to them
and their
business. And,
fortunately,
that's not too
complex. In
short, the rise
in awareness and
use of fake news
makes it more
important than
ever to be
monitoring for
key terms and
media coverage
related to your
organization,
and to be
positioned to
put out your own
version of
things from
platforms you
own and control
100%. You can't
rely on others
to tell your
story, but the
same tools that
allow fake news
- social media,
blogs, and
self-published
websites - to
proliferate can
be used to stomp
it out.
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Attention any
readers in Israel!
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Jonathan
Bernstein, our
company president,
will be visiting
Israel from May
1-11, 2017, and
always loves the
chance to meet
"Crisis Manager"
readers and other PR
colleagues when
overseas.
If you'd like to
connect with him
during the trip,
write to jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com. |
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Interested in
reprinting BCM
articles or blog
posts?
|
We're
happy to give
permission for
material to be
reprinted in hard
copy or online!
If you find
something you would
like to reprint,
simply submit a
request to jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.
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Blogs
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Here,
we share a
look at some
of the most
popular posts
from recent
weeks:
Do
you have a
topic you'd
like to see
featured in
our blogs?
Send an email
to erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com
and there's a
good chance
you'll be
seeing it
right here in
the next
issue!
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| Business
Announcements
(aka blatant self-promotion)
What
if you could
quickly find
out how your
stakeholders
perceive you
during a
breaking
crisis?
Bernstein Crisis Management now uses online
surveys and
other tools to
get immediate
stakeholder
perception
feedback,
during a
breaking crisis,
with the option
of continuing to
monitor
perception
post-crisis.
Are
There Any Holes
in Your Crisis
Planning?
Your organization may well have crisis prevention
and
response-related
plans in place -
but are you sure
they're going to
cover all the
bases? Bernstein
Crisis
Management's
Crisis Document
Audit is a
low-cost,
flat-rate
service which
will quickly
provide you with
a comprehensive
analysis of your
existing plans
and
recommendations
for improvement.
We're
Giving Away Keeping
the Wolves at
Bay and
other crisis
publications!
Several
new items have
been added to
our FREE crisis
management
library,
including Keeping
the Wolves at
Bay, the
widely used
media-training
manual published
by Jonathan
Bernstein.
Social
Media Crisis
Training
A solid social
media manager has
quickly become a
must-have for
organizations of
any size, and can
make an immense
difference by
driving in
customers and
building your
positive
reputation online.
The
problem is, the
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simply not
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crises, much less
take the steps
necessary to cope
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the damage that
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That's where we
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Bernstein
Crisis Management
is now offering
crisis management
training for
social media
managers, both
independent and
in-house, as well
as social media
firms.
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About
Us
Jonathan
Bernstein is
both publisher
of Crisis
Manager and
president of
Bernstein Crisis
Management,
Inc., a national
crisis
management
public relations
agency providing
24/7 access to
crisis response
professionals.
The agency
engages in the
full spectrum of
crisis
management
services: crisis
prevention,
response,
planning &
training. He has
been in the
public relations
field since
1982, following
five-year stints
in both military
intelligence and
investigative
reporting.
Write
to Jonathan at:
Erik
Bernstein is
vice president
of Bernstein
Crisis
Management, and
editor of this
newsletter.
Working in
crisis
management since
2009, Erik has
watched the
internet and
social media
change the
field. Today, he
brings that
experience to
bear assisting
clients to
protect and grow
their
reputations
using tactics
based on
real-world
knowledge and
experience.
Write
to Erik at:
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Legal Disclaimer (aka the small print)
All
information
contained herein
is obtained by
Jonathan
Bernstein from
sources believed
by Jonathan
Bernstein to be
accurate and
reliable.
Because
of the
possibility of
human and
mechanical error
as well as other
factors, neither
Jonathan
Bernstein nor
Bernstein Crisis
Management is
responsible for
any errors or
omissions. All
information is
provided "as is"
without warranty
of any kind.
Bernstein Crisis
Management and
Jonathan
Bernstein make
no
representations
and disclaim all
express,
implied, and
statutory
warranties of
any kind to the
user and/or any
third party
including,
without
limitation,
warranties as to
accuracy,
timeliness,
completeness,
merchantability,
or fitness for
any particular
purpose.
Unless
due to willful
tortuous
misconduct or
gross
negligence,
Jonathan
Bernstein and
Bernstein Crisis
Management shall
have no
liability in
tort, contract,
or otherwise
(and as
permitted by
law, product
liability), to
the user and/or
any third party.
Under
no circumstance
shall Bernstein
Crisis
Management or
Jonathan
Bernstein be
liable to the
user and/or any
third party for
any lost profits
or lost
opportunity,
indirect,
special,
consequential,
incidental, or
punitive damages
whatsoever, even
if Bernstein
Crisis
Management or
Jonathan
Bernstein has
been advised of
the possibility
of such damages.
A
service of this
newsletter is to
provide news
summaries and/or
snippets to
readers. In such
instances
articles and/or
snippets will be
reprinted as
they are
received from
the originating
party or as they
are displayed on
the originating
website or in
the original
article. As we
do not write the
news, we merely
point readers to
it, under no
circumstance
shall Bernstein
Crisis
Management or
Jonathan
Bernstein be
liable to the
user and/or any
third party for
any lost profits
or lost
opportunity,
indirect,
special,
consequential,
incidental, or
punitive damages
whatsoever due
to the
distribution of
said news
articles or
snippets that
lead readers to
a full article
on a news
service's
website, even if
Bernstein Crisis
Management or
Jonathan
Bernstein has
been advised of
the possibility
of such damages.
Authors of the
original news
story and their
publications
shall be
exclusively held
liable. Any
corrections to
news stories are
not mandatory
and shall be
printed at the
discretion of
the list
moderator after
evaluation on a
case-by-case
basis.
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