I am very excited to kickoff a series of monthly interviews with some of the most successful public relations and crisis communications experts in the business. Our first guest is Wiley Brooks, founder of The Wiley Brooks Company, a Seattle-based crisis communications consultancy. Mr. Brooks has counseled companies and organizations on crisis communications and issue management for more than 20 years. He began his career as an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor before becoming media relations director of a large healthcare organization. In 1988, he opened his own PR agency. In 1991, Wiley turned his personal professional focus entirely to crisis consulting.
How to Stop Internet Defamation
July 9, 2012 by 1 Comment
In the age of Tripadvisor, Yelp and other popular online review and complaint sites, postings (often anonymous) can seriously damage the online reputation of businesses from Main Street to Wall Street. What can you do if you are the victim of libel or slander against your business?
False statements of fact about a person that are printed, broadcast, spoken or communicated to others are usually characterized as libel or slander. Libel typically refers to written statements or visual depictions, while slander refers to verbal statements and gestures.
It is possible to sue an author of a defamatory post for libel. First, you will need to file a lawsuit against the author or “John Doe” – the unnamed author. Then you must seek a subpoena to obtain the identity (e.g., name and IP address) of the author, if unknown. Finally, you must obtain a court order that the post is false or defamatory. You may receive monetary damages (including the potential for punitive damages) and an injunction for the webmaster to remove the offending material.
If this sounds like a time-consuming and expensive venture, fraught with risk and the potential for more bad publicity, it is. [Read more…]
