New tactics for fighting online rumors with the truth

People have been spreading rumors since long before the internet appeared. But social media has accelerated the speed and reach of rumors like nothing before.

False information about brands, products or services that gets posted online can be particularly damaging. But the digital age also offers new countermeasures that complement the traditional tools organizations use to combat to falsehoods.

A combination of viral marketing strategies and consumer science now can help executives or marketers fight rumors in the same spaces where they spread online, said Jisu Huh, an advertising professor at the University of Minnesota.

These new techniques, according to Huh's research, can help win back the trust of those social media users who are more likely to believe rumors than the truth.

"The typical route for rumor-refutation campaigns is making these public announcements through mass media, some kind of reputable news sources or through the company's website or the company's social media account," Huh said.

"The better ways to reach these people and make sure they are going to receive your rumor-refutation message and are going to believe the refutation message is through exactly the same information route, the same communication channels where they are exposed to rumors."

When a rumor hits, Huh recommends the seeding strategy used in online marketing campaigns, targeting rumor-fighting messages at social media users who are likely to share these messages on their networks.

Rather than relying only on mega influencers, those with millions of social media followers, companies also should prioritize reaching nano-influencers, with up to 10,000 followers, Huh said.

Such niche influencers have smaller but tightly-knit networks often highly focused on certain subjects. Followers may see these influencers and the anti-rumor messages they share as more trustworthy.

"Trust research in social media generally says that if a message comes from a trusted source, that message has a better likelihood to be shared by other people and the chain dissemination effect is more likely to occur," Huh said.

In some instances, partnering with small-scale influencers to have them share messages on a company's behalf may be more efficient and effective, Huh said. But any compensation or incentives those influencers receive would have to be disclosed.

Finding these nano-influencers is where computer science comes in, said Huh, who directs the Minnesota Computational Advertising Lab, a research team of U students from both journalism and mass communication and computer science.

In addition to monitoring user-generated social media content, Huh said, companies also should employ or partner with computer scientists who can map out the network channels through which online rumors spread.

"You have to take a look at the network — who's following whom, who's retweeting whom, who's sharing with whom and which one shared what," Huh said. "You can target them with specifically designed rumor-refutation messages so that the rumor-refutation messages can spread out through exactly the same route as the rumors spread out."

Arik Hanson, an independent social media and public relations consultant in the Twin Cities, said he stands by "the usual steps for battling disinformation, rumors and crisis situations." Mapping networks that spread online rumors seems expensive and time-consuming to him.

Maintaining a consistent presence and voice on social media can help companies build credibility with social media users, Hanson said. The focus should be on channels companies can control.

"If you have owned channels where you can control the message, that really helps," Hanson said. "A blog or a podcast or anything that's in your domain. It's not sexy but it works."

Hanson also encourages company leaders to have a presence on LinkedIn and Twitter, in addition to corporate accounts.

"If a crisis happens, we could use a voice out there that's authentic and real and can refute disinformation," he said.

When a company faces rumors, Jim Lukaszewski, who has four decades of experience in crisis consulting, recommends following point No. 26 on his "Contention Survival Manifesto." That is, "correct and clarify what matters promptly."

"Get to the truth so you can correct the record," Lukaszewski said. "What's really crucial is to look at the things they're alleging or the things that are rumored and make sure that you're talking about those things specifically and positively. Whether it's rumors or facts taken out of context, these are really corrosive and you have to respond or it will hurt you."

Todd Nelson is a freelance writer in Lake Elmo. His e-mail is todd_nelson@mac.com.