Have to like any story that opens w/ the “truth shoes” quote, as does today’s Noam Cohen piece on rumors. He takes a good look at some recent and not recent examples of manipulation of media for personal gain, noting correctly that speed of information flow makes the problem ever more acute.
Herewith, a couple of quick rules:
For companies:
1. Ensure you are tracking what is said in ALL media, not just ones the CEO reads. Yes, this includes social media.
2. Have appropriate channels of communication to ALL media, not just mainstream press.
3. Have someone empowered to respond VERY QUICKLY if he/she believes reputation or financial damage is incipient.
For individuals:
1. For heaven’s sake, bring a critical point of view to all the information you see. My pa used to say believe half of what you see and none of what you hear. I’m thinking he was optimistic. If it is too good to be true, it’s probably not. If it’s too bad to be true, ditto.
2. Fact check social media using social media technology. First post by someone on an agregator site? Warning. Brand new YouTube account? Warning. Wait five or ten minutes and check again – fact checking can happen online pretty quickly.
3. Get out of your information silo regularly. Don’t just rely on news/opinion from one or two outlets, browse views that you disagree with. That way your chances of spotting rumors are way higher.