Protecting Your Clients From Online Reputation Attacks
Reputation management has become more complex but PR pros must be even more vigilitant and treat reputation management as a proactive, ongoing discipline.
Episode Summary
Someone takes a ten-second clip from your client's webinar. They rearrange the words, slow the footage at an unflattering moment, and post it with a caption that says the opposite of what your client actually meant. By morning it has ten thousand views and a comment section full of people who have never met your client and are now certain they know exactly who they are.
This is not a hypothetical. It is a documented pattern and it is becoming part of the standard risk landscape for executives, founders, and thought leaders. In this episode, Karen Swim, APR, and Michelle Kane talk through what PR professionals need to be doing right now to protect clients from manipulated media and online reputation attacks: owning the narrative before someone else does, building a presence that creates a baseline of trust, having a crisis plan in place before it is needed, and why executives who stay silent are actually more vulnerable, not less.
The through-line: a little paranoia goes a long way. But paranoia without a plan goes nowhere. The practitioners who will serve clients best in this environment are the ones who treat reputation management as a proactive, ongoing discipline, not a fire drill.
Timestamp Highlights[00:00] The internet and reputation risk. Karen and Michelle open on the current online climate — the deliberate use of clipped and manipulated video to shape narratives about executives and public figures. The pattern is intentional: taking real words out of sequence, pairing misleading captions with genuine footage, and exploiting the way people look mid-sentence or mid-laugh.
[~02:00] Own your narrative before someone else does. Michelle makes the case for proactive narrative ownership — establishing credibility across multiple platforms and channels so that if a manipulated clip appears, there is an existing body of authentic content to counterbalance it. The owned media argument from the PESO framework applied directly to reputation defense.
[~03:15] The PESO framework and owned channels. Karen brings in the PESO formula: the reason owned media is non-negotiable is exactly this. When something blows up, your client's own channels — their website, their podcast, their social presence, their published writing — are the receipts. Listening tools and monitoring also come in here: you cannot defend what you cannot see.
[~04:14] Having a rebuttal plan ready. Michelle describes a practical response approach — including the option of a direct, light-touch video rebuttal on YouTube or social channels. Address the clip head-on, with humor where appropriate. The principle: you are going to be the story no matter what. Make sure you are the one telling it.
[~05:43] A little paranoia goes a long way. Karen and Michelle acknowledge the tension between the vigilance this environment requires and the need to actually function without fear. The answer is preparation, not paralysis: airtight messaging, thorough Q&A prep, and crisis plans that exist before they are needed.
[~06:20] Why executives should be more visible, not less. Karen pushes back on the instinct to keep executives out of the spotlight. Executives who are well-known to their audience — whose values, personality, and voice are familiar — get the benefit of the doubt when something looks wrong. Executives who are invisible have no bank account of trust to draw on. Visibility is not vanity; it is reputation infrastructure.
[~08:33] Executive visibility as a business imperative. Karen reframes the conversation for clients who resist the camera: this is not about personal brand or ego. It is about the executive's role in shaping company storytelling and building the trust that sustains organizations. In an era of eroding institutional trust, a human face and a consistent voice matter more than ever.
[~11:07] Closing thoughts and social media landscape. Michelle closes with a reminder that social media platforms are not reliable distribution partners — the algorithm is not working in your favor. All the more reason to tell your story in multiple ways, across multiple channels, and not to cede that ground to anyone else.
Resources & Additional Information
- Solo PR Pro: Membership and Resources — including tools, community, and peer support for independent practitioners
- That Solo Life: All Episodes
- That Solo Life: Contact and Questions — send questions or comments to Karen and Michelle
About the Show
That Solo Life is a podcast created for public relations, communication, and marketing professionals who work as independent and small practitioners. Hosted by Karen Swim, APR, President of Solo PR Pro, and Michelle Kane, Principal of Voice Matters, the show delivers expert insights, encouragement, and practical advice for solo PR pros navigating today's dynamic professional landscape.
Listen to all episodes and catch up on previous conversations at thatsololife.com.
Did this episode inspire you? If you found value in this conversation, please take a moment to leave us a review. Your feedback helps us reach more solo pros just like you! Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode.
0:12 MICHELLE KANE: Hey, Karen. So the internet. KAREN SWIM, APR: The internet is wild, right? And it's unfortunately a big part of PR Pro's life. MICHELLE KANE: It is. It is. And, you know, especially this time of year with people trying to sway your opinions, we're seeing some ugly bits out there. And you know, it's become the norm. But, you know, as you and I were talking, it made us think about how we really need to be mindful of protecting our clients and their online image, because anybody can just scissor a clip and make someone look bad. KAREN SWIM, APR: It. Yeah. And that is our jobs are just becoming so much more complex in terms of proactive crisis management because you see people take, you know, so if you have an executive that speaks or, you know, does webinars or does, you know, live streams and many, many, many do is we're focusing on executive branding and executive thought leadership.
1:17 People will take words, clips that and shape them to make their own narrative to whatever they think about the executive or the company. And while those words might be real, the order that they were set in is different. The expressions are, you know, and I see this particularly when it comes to women, how they take video and they try to make women look crazy or stupid. No one looks good mid-sentence. Mid-laugh, you know, if you're caught, but people do this intentionally and that's, you know, that's another level of reputation management for us to watch out for.
1:58 MICHELLE KANE: Definitely, definitely. And not to make you paranoid, because I've also seen some spots where it is clear that the person was being filmed with, you know, a 10,000 mile zoom lens. And you could, you know, you could tell though, and just superimpose someone asking a question and then being unresponsive and it's like, come on now. So not to, not to make us super paranoid that, oh my gosh, I can't just walk around and look around, you know, outside or anything. It's, it's really, it's, it's a difficult thing to bear. But I do think it speaks back to one of the bells we ring often is that you should own your narrative and, you know, talk about it often and, you know, just make sure you have other places of, you know, other credibility points.
2:44 KAREN SWIM, APR: Yes. MICHELLE KANE: So that if this ever does happen, it gives you some wiggle room to have, you know, some benefit of the doubt. You know, there's always going to be some people that just jump on the train and run with it. But I think it's now more than ever to really establish your thought leadership on your own platforms before this even becomes, you know, hopefully it doesn't become an issue, but before it does. KAREN SWIM, APR: Yeah, I agree. And you hit on like the owned, owned media, which is, you know, we always come back to the peso formula that this is why it's so important not to lean on one thing.
3:28 But when it comes to proactively managing, you know, you know, reputation, I think own channels are really important. And then having your own receipts, you know, of what was really said and not, you know, having statements prepared and having a crisis plan in place so that when something blows up because it feels like, you know, something eventually is going to blow up for everybody, and it could be a small blow up that you can, you know, snuff right out. So you have to just be prepared. And there's, there's just so many points that we have to, you know, really watch this is where tools, listening tools can come in really handy to help us because, you know, you can't be everywhere at once, even if you have a team of people.
4:14 MICHELLE KANE: Right, right. And as you said, have a plan, you know, depending on how comfortable your client is with the camera, I mean, you could even do your own rebuttal on YouTube and keep it light, right? You may have seen this clip. Well, everyone looks bad when they're putting a fork full of salad in their mouths kind of thing. You know, address it head on. And as we've said this for decades, right, you know, address the story because you're going to be the story no matter what. So make sure you're taking the lead before someone else does. KAREN SWIM, APR: Yeah. It's I mean, it's so unfortunate that, you know, we live in a world where we really.
5:01 Paranoia has to be the lead. We have to we have to anticipate, you know, 22 steps ahead. And I mean, PR pros have always done that. But this just is one more thing on our plate that we really have to watch. We have to watch the words that are we that are said. We have to make sure that messaging is airtight, that we've checked everything that it, you know, we're not making references that are unwanted in any way. Right. When there are questions, you know, asked of, you know, our clients, we have to make sure that they are fully answered with out room for doubt or, you know, nefarious interpretation.
5:43 MICHELLE KANE: Seriously, seriously, you know, and, and at the same time you really can't live your life with that fear per say. KAREN SWIM, APR: 100%. MICHELLE KANE: Yeah. You know, you need to carry about your business and. But as we know, a good plan will get you very far. So always have a plan. I always say a little paranoia goes a long way. So we don't have to be locked into fear by it. And really just look at it as an opportunity to make sure that you're already telling your story. Well. Yeah. Because, you know, the internet's going to internet no matter what we do. But I. KAREN SWIM, APR: Agree. You know, and I think that this actually is the case for why executives shouldn't be hiding and only speak when it's absolutely necessary.
6:31 The more that people see you here, you get to know you. That builds trust. You know, we have to remember that even though you know you're selling a service, it really is all about creating relationships with your audience. And when they know you and, and when they know, like, yeah, you know, that that executive would never say that or that's that doesn't sound right. Right. Then you built up, you know, something that you can withdraw from with your audience and your audience will come to your defense. But if you're silent and nobody really knows how you think, how you feel, what your values are, as you know, as leading a company and what your company's values are, you get into trouble. And so I think that speaking out more often really allows you to do it with confidence and allow people to see your heart and know who you are.
7:28 MICHELLE KANE: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I, I couldn't have said it any better that, you know, the more you put yourself out there, the more people will know, you know, if news comes in that doesn't align with who they know you to be, it's like, yeah, that that doesn't seem quite right. So it's, it's really important to build up that arsenal of trust, for lack of a better word. I mean, I couldn't even think peripherally in the sports world, even though our. It's a sad, sad time for all Philadelphia sports. We were saying this must have been the sacrifice we made to get King LeBron up everything else. But just a little bit around, you know a couple of the Eagles players.
8:10 You had Lane Johnson decide to retire. He's been very open about his mental health. And you had some jerks on national broadcasts questioning that if oh they're losing. He just you know, it's like, well, no people in the region know who Lane is and what he stood for. And yeah, nice try. And they've had to walk those comments back. So, you know. KAREN SWIM, APR: Because people will seize on an opportunity to say anything. And I know that I know that our client, a lot of our clients the executives don't want to be, you know, they, they just, they're not interested in being filmed. They don't want to talk. They just want to do their job and shine the light on on the people that work for them.
8:52 But this is not a vanity play, right? And, you know, we've all known executives that want the vanity. It's not about vanity. This really is part of your job, as you know, an executive, as a founder, to really lead and shape the brand storytelling and let people see who the company is through you, it is really critical. And it's more critical than ever these days because of, you know, how important trust is and how trust is eroding in big companies. You have to give it a people story. MICHELLE KANE: Yeah, yeah. And I mean, you know, it, it's as simple as I mean, my goodness, how many decades was Frank Perdue on our screens talking about his chickens? Now, of course, I can't vouch for behind the scenes, but yeah, you knew he was the guy.
9:41 KAREN SWIM, APR: Yeah. MICHELLE KANE: And you knew what he was claiming. KAREN SWIM, APR: Yeah. MICHELLE KANE: You know and it's it's things like that. Know your executive might not be your prime pitch person, but they certainly are the face of the organization. And that should if you're doing it right, that should run deep throughout the organization, just not someone they trot out. So yes. KAREN SWIM, APR: 100% agree. MICHELLE KANE: It's not vanity. It's not for show. It just is. It really isn't that it's not easy, but it's simple. KAREN SWIM, APR: Yeah, I agree, I love that. And I mean, you know, God bless the internet. It giveth and taketh. MICHELLE KANE: It does, it does. And, you know, we need all the laughs we can get these days. So if I could just keep us laughing.
10:31 I know my, my guilty pleasure are the, the the compilations of people falling, sorry, people who fell and got hurt. But it's funny. KAREN SWIM, APR: For me, I don't know. It changes, you know, wedding disaster stories. For some. MICHELLE KANE: Reason, they're just super. KAREN SWIM, APR: Entertaining. MICHELLE KANE: Yeah. They're good. Or even the the box mattresses people are getting ricocheted when they open their box mattresses. KAREN SWIM, APR: I haven't seen those. MICHELLE KANE: Oh they're good. KAREN SWIM, APR: Our algorithms can be right. We'll have to. That's another thing that we PR pros have to. MICHELLE KANE: Oh yeah. That's another rant, right? Yes. Algorithm. Yeah. So and all the more reason, honestly, to be telling your story in many ways on many different platforms, because we've found the social media landscape is not entirely reliable.
11:24 KAREN SWIM, APR: And not that is so true. MICHELLE KANE: Certainly not in your favor. Well, we hope you got something out of our time together today. We love these little chats about what's going on out there and in our heads. Hit us up at that solo life.com. If you have questions or comments, please do share this around. KAREN SWIM, APR: Thanks for joining us. See you next time.