BY
CHINOMSO JOY OBIOHA
ABSTRACT
In today’s world, false information within the online space is a big problem for companies. It can hurt their reputation and the trust people have in them. This study examines the best ways for companies to address this problem. It suggests a method that combines preparing ahead of time (proactive trust-building) with reacting smartly to a crisis (reactive crisis response). The study used a mixed-methods approach. First, a survey was carried out to observe how building trust and reacting to a crisis affects a company’s reputation. Second, interviews were held with 10 senior company leaders to understand how they use these strategies. The survey results showed that both building trust beforehand and reacting well during a crisis helped protect the company. Most importantly, the results showed that reacting well works much better when a company has already built a lot of trust. The interviews showed that top companies are moving from just reacting to problems to actively controlling their own story. They also said it is important for different departments in a company to work together. The study concludes that to survive online misinformation, companies must mix proactive and reactive plans. Leaders need to see trust as an important asset and change how their companies work to protect it.
Keywords: Misinformation, organizational trust, crisis communication, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and strategic integration.
