In-House Counsel Guidebook: How to Handle Internet Defamation and Online Reputation Attacks August 2014 | Page 3

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Introduction

O

nline reputation attacks have become one of the easiest and
most impactful mechanisms for individuals and companies to
cause serious damage to businesses.
These types of attacks can originate from a variety of sources, but most
commonly the “attackers” are competitors, disgruntled employees,
disgruntled customers, disgruntled investors, extortionists or other
people and businesses who become upset with a company (or
associated individuals) and want to cause that company serious
damage.
Further, these attacks come in many forms. Some common types
of attacks include making a slew of defamatory postings on gripe
websites such as Ripoff Report and Pissed Consumer; posting false
information on social media websites or apps, including Facebook
and Twitter; anonymously sending defamatory emails to clients or
customers; posting false reviews on Yelp or similar websites; altering
Wikipedia entries about a company or particular executives in an
embarrassing or otherwise harmful way; or creating websites or
blogs and posting disparaging information on these platforms. The
common misperception is that this conduct is somehow protected.
It is not.
Considering the ease with which these types of attacks can be
initiated, and because of how quickly content can spread on the
internet, online reputation has become a top concern for businesses
and executives. In fact, according to “Exploring Strategic Risk,”
Deloitte’s 2013 survey of 300 executives, reputation was cited as the

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