or Amazon are the more digitally-savvy
amongst us.
Ultimately, consumers are concerned
with the quality of the product or service
they are purchasing. Once a given brand
generates fake content about its services
or products, 59% would stop buying that
brand immediately, while 64% are said
to be more likely to only shop with that
brand if they know they are truthful about
their business.
Actually, fake news isn’t the problem,
advertising is - since our appetite for
‘new’ news now vastly outstrips supply.
Advertising rewards solely for the size of
the audience; the nature of the content
it funds is all but irrelevant, so long as
it comes with an audience. With such
disequilibrium between supply and
demand, and quality control on neither the
supply nor demand side, the consequences
are inevitable: vacuous content is produced
in order to advertise, rather than for its
own merit.
The impact that fake news has had on
the public image of tech companies,
particularly Facebook, is far-reaching and
its extent is not yet clear. The level of social
media influence in spreading fake news has
spurred a vicious public discourse about
Today, the public is
crying out for ac-
curacy, clarity, and
timeliness. Similar-
ly, brands, business-
es, and government
agencies are also look-
ing for valid strat-
egies to help build
connections, engage-
ment, and trust with
stakeholders.
The
way social media
timelines and news-
feeds operate means
that the reality is
being presented in a
very different way to
each individual.
14
MAL33/19 ISSUE
A research study conducted by Hill Holli-
day among 18-61-year-olds shows that 54%
of consumers seem to be wary of what they
read online. 41% verify what they read
against a second source and 38% distrust
sites that have provided fake content in the
past. What's quite absurd - 20% distrust ev-
erything they go through just because fake
news is somewhere out there.
both the platform owners/companies and
publishers of such content.
Companies such as Facebook and Google,
among other tech companies have come
under a lot of criticism from the industry
and indeed the public for their role in
aiding or abetting the spread of inaccurate
and false information while contributing
towards a business model crisis that
dominates the online advertising market.
2019 marks the first year that digital
marketing spends will outpace spend
across traditional channels like TV,
radio, and newspapers - which gives
digitally native brands the opportunity to
effectively compete with legacy companies
on their own digital turf. But the sheer
number of online platforms create the risk
of oversaturation - and a question among
CMOs of where to allocate marketing
budgets.
In addition, there's a fear that trusted
PR methods may be losing consumer
appeal because the proliferation of fake
news is exacerbating the distrust of media
coverage and the brands associated with
it. While there’s little doubt that brands
must look beyond telling their story
exclusively through traditional PR and
earned media in this digital age, the
pendulum may have swung too far in
the direction of social media advertising,
branded content creation, and paid
influencer endorsements.
Earned media is still the number
one way consumers say they discover
trusted products online. Furthermore,
consumers say news articles are also the
most impactful in shaping their buying
decisions.
The fake news era has created an appetite
among consumers for trustworthy
information from credible media outlets.
As a byproduct, digital news articles are
driving product awareness, and ultimately
purchases, more effectively than other
digital alternatives such as advertising
that have been commanding large budgets
online.
Why fake news could be a
brilliant opportunity for
brand engagement
The truth has seemingly become an
“unimportant or irrelevant concept” in
this era. The meaning of the post-truth
concept was explained in November
2016 by the Oxford Dictionary – as the
Word of the year: "relating to or denoting
circumstances in which objective facts are
less influential in shaping public opinion
than appeals to emotion and personal
belief."
Since 2017, President Donald Trump
has become one of the most frequently
mentioned names in the world with so
much controversy surrounding his brand.
Fake or misrepresentative news spreads
like wildfire especially because in many
circumstances, there is a very blurred line
between the truth and false information.
Today, the public is crying out for accuracy,
clarity, and timeliness. Similarly, brands,
businesses, and government agencies are
also looking for valid strategies to help
build connections, engagement, and trust
with stakeholders. The way social media
timelines and newsfeeds operate means
that the reality is being presented in a very
different way to each individual.
As a PR practitioner, you need to set clear
communication strategies by defining the
problem or opportunity you are faced with;
as well as the criteria for success regardless