Key findings from the report: 

The main takeaway from the report is that the safety of people online is being threatened by individuals who engage in harmful behaviour and conduct. The significant number of submissions received demonstrated the long-standing trauma suffered by victims as a result of online abuse and the desperate need for action. 

As summarised by Committee chair Lucy Wicks MP, the report proposes a three-part response to the issue including; having social media platforms focus on user safety and enforce their policies; the government regulating and monitoring the sector; and users understanding that while respectful dissent and disagreement is a part of online discourse, abuse isn’t, and it should not be tolerated.

“The balance of responsibility for the safety of users online, which until recently has been primarily on users, must be flipped to ensure that social media platforms bear more of the burden of providing safety for their users.” 

The report makes 26 recommendations in total, the most noteworthy of these being: 

• Examining the extent to which social media companies actively prevent harmful attacks and providing the Australian Government with options for a regulatory framework, including penalties for repeated failures.
• Reviewing the use of algorithms in digital platforms to assess, for example, the types of harm and scale of harm that can be caused as a result of the algorithm used. 
• Implementing a mandatory requirement for all digital services with a social networking component to set default privacy and safety settings at their highest form for all users under 18 (eighteen) years of age.
• The appointment by the Australian Government of a House Standing Committee on Internet, Online Safety and Technological matters for further legislation and monitoring of the online world.
• Increasing the reach of educational programs targeted towards both adults and young people regarding online harms. 

A big step in the right direction: 

The finalising of this report “was a crucial step to making online spaces safer”, Committee chair Lucy Wicks MP explains. Whilst there is still a long way to go in terms of the implementation of these recommendations, it’s very positive to see action being taken to address the significant issue of the safety of individuals online.

To read the full report, click here:

https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportrep/024877/toc_pdf/SocialMediaandOnlineSafety.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf

For our previous article on The Inquiry Into Social Media and Online Safety, see here:

https://removify.com.au/blog/the-inquiry-into-social-media-and-online-safety-what-it-means-for-fake-reviews-and-anonymous-trolls/

The post UPDATE: The Inquiry Into Social Media and Online Safety Report is Released! appeared first on Removify.

At long last, on 1 July 2021, changes to Defamation Law came into effect, with key amendments that will have a significant impact on the publication of information. The reform has been labelled a ‘National Reset’, as it has the intention of “[resetting] defamation law to strike a better balance between protecting individual reputations and freedom of expression, particularly regarding matters of public interest”.

Australia’s previous Defamation Laws

In 2005, Australia introduced the Model Defamation Provisions (MDPs), the first defamation laws in Australia. The Model Defamation Provisions are a template of sorts, which underpin each of the statutes comprising the uniform defamation laws.

The MDPs were prepared by the Australasian Parliamentary Counsel’s Committee and each State and Territory subsequently enacted legislation in 2005 to give effect to the MDPs.

Accompanying the MDP’s, the Model Defamation Law Working Party (DWP) was established to report to the Council on eventual proposals for amendments. 

How did the 2021 changes come to be? 

Considering the fact that the first iPhone was not released until 2007, 2 years after the introduction of Australia’s defamation laws in 2005, revision and reform of these long overdue. 

In 2018, these uncontested, outdated laws were finally brought into discussion when the Council reconvened the DWP to review the MDPs.

The review was conducted in 2019 and 2020 and concluded with a recommendation to the Council for certain amendments prepared by the Australasian Parliamentary Counsel’s Committee be made to the MDPs.

Finally, on 1 July 2021, these changes came into effect in New South Wales (NSW), Victoria, South Australia and Queensland (QLD). 

What are the main changes? 

A large portion of the amendments to Australian defamation laws were modelled on the more recent UK Defamation Act 2013. 

The most significant changes included: 

• A new “serious harm” requirement. The new test reframes the tort of defamation to make it an element of the cause of action that the publication has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm to the reputation of the person.
• Some new defences, including a new “public interest” defence
• Amendments to the way damages for certain kinds of nasty reputational damage are capped
• A new approach to limitation periods that takes account of the fact content remains online for years

The key takeaway from these reforms is that it is more difficult for individuals to make a defamation claim as they must now establish that they have suffered serious harm or serious financial loss, due to the defamatory publication.

It’s important to note that these changes will apply to defamatory matters published after the commencement of the MDAPs in each jurisdiction, so existing proceedings will continue under the existing regime.

How is the recent High Court decision of Voller reflected in the new defamation laws?

On 8 September 2021, by a 5:2 majority, the High Court delivered the landmark Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd v Voller; Nationwide News Pty Limited v Voller; Australian News Channel Pty Ltd v Voller [2021] HCA 27 (Voller) decision. 

The High Court dismissed an appeal by three Australian media organisations, finding that they were the publishers of third-party comments on their Facebook pages. A majority of the Court found that the media companies facilitate, encouraged and thereby assisted the posting of comments by third party Facebook users and that this rendered the media companies publishers of those comments for defamation purposes.

Despite the recent changes to Australian defamation laws already being in effect at the time this decision was reached, the High Court did not discuss nor reference these recent changes.

As such, there is a push for the upcoming Stage two of the MDP review to address the Voller decision. As a Channel 9 spokesperson states, “we are hopeful that Stage two of the review … will take account of the High Court’s decision and the consequences of that for the publisher.” 

What happens next? 

Given the Council’s stated intention to introduce the reforms quickly, we expect to see additional changes caused by Stage 2 of the reform being brought into effect in the very near future. 

Read more: 

1. https://eresources.hcourt.gov.au/showCase/2021/HCA/27
2. https://www.justice.nsw.gov.au/justicepolicy/Pages/lpclrd/lpclrd_consultation/review-model-defamation-provisions.aspx

The post “At Long Last! Defamation Laws have FINALLY changed in Australia! Everything you need to know about the reform”. appeared first on Removify.

With Australia currently experiencing a national labour shortage, it’s as imperative as ever for businesses to ensure that their online brand image isn’t negatively impacting their recruitment and hiring strategy. 

The current crippling labour shortage

One of the many lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is a surge in job vacancies and a serious labour drought. As Bjorn Jarvis, head of Labour Statistics at the ABS explains,

“The number of job vacancies in November was around 74 per cent higher than it was before the start of the pandemic.”

This significant increase is having a monumental impact on the operation of businesses around Australia. 

To convert this percentage into the number of jobs, businesses have been trying to hire “almost 400,000 workers to fill vacant positions”, even before the omicron virus wave amplified the labour shortage. 

In what should be a time of recovery and redemption for businesses, “a record 85 per cent of Australian businesses report staff shortages are holding back their ability to operate at full capacity and capitalise on the $245 billion in household savings stashed away during the pandemic.”

The main cause of this shortage

The cause of this skill shortage has been primarily attributed to the closure of the border to foreign visa holders up until December 15 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Megan Lilly, Executive Director for education and training for the Australian Industry Group, summarised the impact of this closure perfectly when she states “quite simply, our available supply of skilled labour has shrunk since the commencement of the pandemic — the result of a lack of skilled migration, international students, backpackers, and other workers in Australia returning to their country of origin.”

No end in sight

Unfortunately, we haven’t seen the end of it. According to ACCI chief executive Andrew McKellar, “the worker shortage is getting worse by the day”. This was further supported by the preliminary Internet Vacancy Index released by the National Skills Commission at the end of 2021 which found that the problem is only set to grow in 2022. 

With no immediate end in sight, it is essential to ensure that companies are investing time and effort into their hiring process and more specifically, their online brand reputation.

Negative employee reviews are adding to the hiring struggle 

Job seekers being spoilt for choice in today’s climate means that they can afford to be picky when deciding which positions to apply for. As such, conducting an in-depth online search into a business prior to applying has become common practice.

The accessibility and popularity of platforms such as Glassdoor, Indeed and Seek means that with one quick search, job seekers are provided with a rare insight into the minds of a business’ previous employees. 

A significant 55 per cent of job seekers say that if they read a negative employee review while conducting this process, it would prevent them from applying entirely. That is, the presence of just one negative employee review can turn away over half of potential applicants.

Despite the significance of these statistics, only 34 per cent of HR managers say that unflattering ratings by employees on online review sites matter. In actual fact, the reality is that all HR and Employer Branding Managers should have to repair and improving their online brand image as a priority in their recruitment and hiring strategy. 

So, what can you do to improve your online business reputation? 

If your business’s ability to successfully recruit is currently being impacted by negative employee reviews, the following steps can be taken: 

Removal of negative reviews– In many instances, the negative reviews that have been posted by former employees are misleading, defamatory or entirely false and untrue. The prompt removal of these reviews is the most effective way to restore your company’s online image. 

Generation of positive reviews– Happy employees rarely take to the internet in comparison to unhappy, disgruntled employees. Actively encouraging this process can be of great benefit to your business’ reputation. 

Monitoring of review platforms– Too often negative employee reviews pile up and affect hiring processes without a business even noticing. It’s important that businesses are constantly monitoring and reviewing employee review platforms such as Glassdoor and Indeed so that efficient action can be taken. 

“In summary, not all hope is lost. While the worldwide skill-shortage caused by COVID-19 has been largely uncontrollable, businesses have the ability to manage their online reputation. With this, they can significantly improve their chances of hiring quality employees in these trying times.” Roisin Henden – People and Culture Manager at Removify.

The post Australia’s crippling labour shortage- Is your online reputation contributing to your hiring struggle? appeared first on Removify.

In late 2021, The House Select Committee on Social Media and Online Safety commenced the ‘Inquiry into Social Media and Online Safety’ (‘The Inquiry’), addressing the posting of negative reviews that are not founded in real customer experiences. That is, fake reviews.  

In the words of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, a significant motivating factor for the commencement of The Inquiry was “to unmask anonymous online trolls”. 

Who’s behind it?

The House Select Committee on Social Media and Online Safety, chaired by Lucy Wicks, MP for the NSW seat of Robertson, was established by a resolution of appointment that passed the House of Representatives on 1 December 2021. It is this committee that are responsible for the commencement of The Inquiry. 

Why are they doing it?

The introduction of the Inquiry occurred in part as a result of a significant increase in false and negative online reviews as short-staffed small businesses around Australia continue to suffer the effects of Covid-19. 

Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Bruce Billson, said in his recent submission to the Federal Government that more than 30 businesses had come to the Ombudsman trying to help gain support against fake reviews in recent years.

Following the latest comments by the ombudsman, a Google spokesperson told CMO 55 million reviews and nearly 3 million fake business profiles that violated policies were blocked on its platform in 2020. 

In addition to protecting small businesses, The Inquiry has a particular focus on children’s safety online and protection from the extreme content they are frequently exposed to. 

Why does it matter? 

While the more obvious flow-on effects of fake reviews such as damage to a business’ reputation and subsequent loss of revenue are being addressed, the primary focus of The Inquiry is the negative impact this content is having on the nation’s mental health. 

Mr. Billson said “as a small business owner’s identity is often intrinsically linked to their business, fake reviews contribute to mental health strains”. 

With the ever-growing statistics of Australians suffering from poor mental health, the Federal Government are adamant on big tech being held accountable for their conduct and contribution to the prevalence of mental illness. 

What is the current status of the Inquiry? 

The parliament committee held two hearings in December of last year, with submissions closing last week. Nearly 60 submissions were received in total, ranging from social media platforms such as Twitter, TikTok and Google, to traditional media operators and regulators, state-based children’s safety and school groups, digital industry bodies and wellness groups. 

When will the Inquiry be finalised? 

The final report on the inquiry into Social Media and Online Safety will be presented on or before 15 February 2022. 

What does this mean for small businesses? 

The intended impact of the inquiry is the introduction of laws that will force social media and online platforms to remove this fake content and in some circumstances, reveal the anonymous poster’s identity. 

“This should include giving small businesses more transparency on the evidence they need to provide a digital platform to have a fake review reviewed and removed,” the ombudsman said.

Home affairs is in the process of developing regulations and will look at how other jurisdictions manage this issue. Such regulations would involve improving the transparency and oversight of how tech companies use algorithms and compelling them to disclose internal data.

That is, the result will hopefully mean giving some of the power back to small businesses who, for quite some time, have been stripped of this power by these “anonymous online trolls”. 

Read more:

1. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Social_Media_and_Online_Safety/SocialMediaandSafety/Submissions
2. https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_Representatives/About_the_House_News/Media_Releases/Google_Meta_TikTok_and_Twitter_to_appear_before_committee

The post The Inquiry Into Social Media and Online Safety- What it means for fake reviews and anonymous trolls. appeared first on Removify.

Those cafe, pub and restaurant owners who’ve survived the initial phases of lockdown by delivering, will attest to the fact that this has been nothing more than mere survival. Hospitality businesses are labours of love that, even at the best of times, tend to sustain themselves on making ends-meet and then turning an okay profit.

Now, as economies find their footing with phased reopening of businesses the world over, restaurant and pub owners face the challenge of satisfying their first walk-in customers and profiting in an atmosphere that’s anything but warm, welcoming and vibrant.

Moreover, businesses are concerned about fielding negative online reviews when they’re both more likely to occur, and more damaging. Thankfully, there’s a light at the end of that tunnel…

Phased reopening and the impact on your business

Business owners, like yourself, are wondering on ways to thrive again, as nations like Australia and the US begin allowing the trepidatious return of walk-in restaurant customers.

Sector guidelines from authorities like Australia’s R&CA, and the CDC in the US, stipulate stringent preventative measures to be taken in food & beverage establishments keen to reopen doors under the final phases of lockdown, and things are looking tough.

F&B service is all about customer satisfaction but, to give you an idea, let’s imagine you’re a walk-in customer in Australia:

• You may be asked to wait in your car for your table to clear
• You’ll see distancing guideline signs outside and inside
• You may notice drastically reduced seating and, in some cases, partitioning between tables
• On entering, you’ll have your temperature checked, and will be instructed on distancing and hygiene guidelines
• There will be limited staff
• The restaurant, even if ‘full’, won’t be full at all, and it may be even emptier, if many people in your area are too worried about risk to eat out
• You’ll need the CovidSafe app on your phone, and you’ll need to sign in on entry
• There will be no condiments on your table, you’ll get a disposable menu and you may have plastic knives, forks and plates
• There will be hand-sanitizer everywhere; everyone will be wearing face-masks
• On the bright side, your table should be quite clean!
• Smoking areas might be off-limits
• Wherever you look, something will remind you that the world is not as it was, you may start to feel uncomfortable, with so many reminders of risk
• To top it off, you can’t visit the restaurant bar or hit the pub for a nightcap afterward

It’s not pretty, and many restaurant owners have spoken out, declaring that reopening is not even viable under these measures: “not only must we turn a profit with reduced covers, but staff service is affected and the atmosphere is dismal!” How will customers respond? Your worst fear is that they respond will a bad online review, deterring potential customers and cutting profits even more.

We all hope that your business will see only customers who’re aware and considerate of the regulations placed on you, who’ll applaud your dedication and your friendly, though limited staff.

Yet, there’s always that one customer who’ll find fault with the measures you’ve had to put in place, or won’t appreciate your service in the pall of this less than ideal atmosphere. Unfortunately, it’s that one customer who’s likely to jump on the smartphone and do damage with a bad online review.

Boost business during the drought by removing bad online reviews

Online reviews can make or break a cafe, restaurant or pub at the best of times; it only takes one or two unfair online reviews to steer potential customers away, regardless of how many stellar reviews you’ve had in the past. Under the present circumstances, a bad review can be even more damaging.

Not only are restaurants under new regulations more likely to see bad reviews, consumers are also far more likely to look spots up online before they leave home. It’s more essential than ever that you uphold your reputation with a 5-star online review status.

You can tackle this problem by eliminating fake or unfair reviews from your Google and other review platforms. Whether for one review or continued support, whether those reviews where pre-COVID-19 or occurred as a result of new regulations, they can be permanently and legitimately deleted.

Another way to tackle this problem is to contact customers directly as soon as they leave a review to try to rectofy any of the issues they’ve had – although this isn’t always possible due to the anonymity of their online profiles and the possibility that it could very well be a fake.

Make your business a light in the darkness

While new hospitality guidelines may seem daunting, it’s important to remember that businesses like yours offer a light in the darkness when people need it the most. We’ve been pacing the rooms in their homes for months and most are starved just to sit with others, enjoy a meal we didn’t have to cook.

Most customers you see will be grateful for the haven of good-times you’re providing, sympathetic of the limitations your business is having to endure and, most importantly, itching to order off your disposable menu.

We’d like to thank you for the light you’re shining, in the wake of COVID-19 and we, at Removify, are here to help ensure that, even in this strange new world, you once again learn to thrive.

The post How To Boost Your Hospitality Business, In The Wake Of COVID-19 appeared first on Removify.

Natural Daylight Is Critical

Your body regulates energy and sleep largely based off natural light. It is very important and helpful to make sure that you get some natural light in through your eyes, and on your skin, first thing in the morning. That natural blue light is basically what tells your body “wake up” but also “be awake around this time tomorrow”.

Normally you would get this on your commute to work, because even 5-10 minutes walking to/from a train station is enough. Whereas if you find yourself totally cooped up, rolling out of bed, to bathroom, to kitchen, to your work desk, without ever getting natural blue light in through your eyes, your circadian rhythm will be negatively affected and you’ll start finding it harder to sleep at night, you’ll be groggier in the morning and you’ll have less energy during the day.

Tip: Sit in front of your best window for breakfast, stare out the window for a bit planning your day, anything to get natural light into your eyes early in your day. If you can’t do that, there are free apps you can get which simulate natural light, it’s the next best thing. Search for “blue energy light” or similar (which means turn OFF your blue light filter when using it. This is the one time you DO want the blue light.)

Android option: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spillby.android.blueenergylight&hl=en_AU
iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/blue-light-therapy/id537446731?ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Your Morning Routine

Many of you know this one already, but it’s important to for separating “work” from “play” or “relaxing time”. Get out of the habit of rolling out of bed and plonking down to work. “Get ready for work” in as close to the same way you would if you were coming into the office, including the way you dress. If you start sloppy, you’ll stay sloppy! Don’t be surprised if you feel in a better “work mode” if you dress more closely to what you wear to the office. The schedule is also important for regulating your energy, again, you need to set the habits of when you’re working and when you’re not. This will be especially helpful for those of you who DON’T have a totally dedicated office at home that feels like a different place.  

Tip: Get up for work at your usual time and the time you’d normally spend on commuting to make yourself breakfast and get ready for the day (this is also a great time to chuck in some exercise!)

Keep Moving

If you’re not careful, you’ll get to the end of the day and discover you’ve taken maybe a few hundred steps for the day, when it would normally be thousands. This will slowly kill your energy, tighten your muscles, add weight, and a million other negative impacts. At a minimum one of the best ways to be more active is to drink a lot of water. Fill up a big jug and make a habit of drinking it – for example, every time you’re on a Slack (or equivalent) video chat, or even set an alarm every hour if you have to. If you add the Slack app to your phone, every time you’re on a work call, stand up and walk around while you chat. Find habits that make you move.

Tip: If any of you want to take it a step further, adding accountability is what tends to keep you exercising. For example, start an office challenge, whoever opts in can pick a challenge that they set themselves to do once a day – like maximum push-ups or squats or sit-ups (or all of the above). You can even create a Slack channel #exercise-accountability and at a set time every day you post your scores. 

FOOD 

You’ve probably all now discovered that uh-oh, I have to think a bit more about what I’m going to eat for EVERY meal now, especially if you don’t have easy options around your house. Like exercise, it’s critical to your energy and state of mind. 

• Buying a lot of healthy snacks helps a lot (don’t buy junk food or you’ll eat it!!! The choice about eating bad food or good food is made when shopping, not when opening the pantry or fridge)
• Cook bigger dinners so that you can have it for lunch.
• Of course, Uber Eats now and then to mix things up. 
• Consider the likes of My Muscle Chef to let them take care of a lot of meals
• Start an office cook-off where you post photos of your best chef moments.

Alter Your Environment 

The point on this one is that a very common cause of disorders like insomnia is that it can be influenced by an environment that remains so constant that the mind and body gets confused as to what “mode” it should be in. For all of you who are working from your bedrooms or in a studio – it’s really important to try and find a way to get out. You should be getting out of your home and going for a short walk on your breaks. This is also a saviour for your posture (check out some of our teams #wfh set ups below!).

If you live in a household where multiple people are working from home, try to buddy-up in their work space one day out of the week. The added benefit to this is that you can have some banter and chatter throughout the day so you don’t feel as isolated. if you don’t have that, try a virtual buddy-up over Skype of Whatsapp.

Tip: Even if it is temporary, don’t under estimate the power of a good setup. A good chair (or standing desk) that’s ergonomically fitting will make your working from home life so much easier. Don’t get into the habit of predominantly working from your couch or kitchen bench. 

Music & Background Noise

Some people like to work in silence most of the time but other find it productive to have general background noise. You an search for ambient background music on Youtube or head outside into your backyard to enjoy the sounds outside (although right now in Australia the only sounds we’re enjoying are rain sounds!)

Tip: Check out Coffitivity which has different options for ambient noise that makes you feel like you’re in a café, but without it being distracting: https://coffitivity.com/

The post The How To’s (And How Not To’s) Of Working Remotely appeared first on Removify.

Like everyone, at Removify we’ve had to adjust. Our team has been working from home since the middle of March, and fortunately as a tech-driven company this was a seamless process for us. We had already performed “test runs” during the last Christmas & New Year holiday period, and our internal systems do not rely on our team members to be in the same room whatsoever.

The only impact to our operations have been “downstream”, while we wait for some of the publishers we work with to catch up and respond to our queue of requests. For example, Google has moved a significant portion of its workforce to remote work. This caused some initial downtime, however we are seeing their team “ramping up” again now and expect that a slightly throttled version of “business as usual” will resume for them soon.

Many other publishers we work with were already powered by remote teams, and have therefore not been impacted.

How does this impact me if I need content removed?

New Clients

If you need new content removed, it is largely business as usual. Contact our team to show the troublesome content, so that we can give you the most up to date expectations for that content.

With virtually all commerce now starting online one way or another, the way your company appears is more important than ever. Losing potential new business due to poor “brand hygiene” could be truly catastrophic.

Existing Clients

If you are an existing client, all we ask is a little patience. We are working harder than ever, and any delays are almost certainly due to publishers such as Google temporarily holding things up.

We encourage you to use our online portal to view the current status of your project and to communicate with your Account Manager as needed. We will still notify you of any important progress that occurs.

Since Day 1, Removify was built to support businesses in times of distress. Let us assure you, nothing has changed!

Click here to contact the team, they’re isolated at home and would love to hear from you!

The post We’re Business As Usual During COVID-19 appeared first on Removify.

You’ve followed the rules – played fair and invested so much of yourself into your online community. Likely, you’ve nursed it from when it was a baby hatchling with under 100 followers.

And now that it’s doing well someone swoops in and takes your name, maybe pops in an underscore somewhere and boom they’re threatening everything you’ve worked so hard to build.

Right now, they might be trying to sabotage your reputation. But you don’t have to just sit there and take it. So whether you’re accounts been hacked or cloned – this is the practical guide that you need.

What is hacking?

Hacking is when someone has accessed your account without your permission. What hackers generally do is source your login details, enter your account and change the login details, so you no longer have access to your account. 

Unfortunately, it’s a regular occurrence, and you’ll be particularly vulnerable if your brand as an influencer generates income. In a moment, we’ll be discussing what you can do to prevent your account from being hacked.

Three steps to prevent hacking

• Make as many identity factors exclusively offline
  Your phone number, address and passwords are easy to pinch by a hacker if they exist online. So it’s time to take that identifying information down from the internet and place it in a well-hidden notebook.

• Use different passwords for all of your social media accounts
  Having the same password is really just asking for trouble. So this is something to change pronto if you haven’t already. Unfortunately, if they get into your Facebook, then it’s a matter of minutes before your Instagram and Youtube or whatever combination of accounts you use is taken over.

• Report copyright infringement – here are the relevant guides to reporting a personal account hack on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

What is identity cloning?

On the other hand, cloning involves someone taking your brand and duplicating it. Copycat accounts can look legitimate, and there’s a real danger of your community genuinely thinking that the content is being created by you. That’s why your reputation is in jeopardy as the views and content being published on a cloned account rarely align with what you want to portray. Possibly, they’ll even be making money as they pitch this fake account to business offering influencer services.

It’s scary stuff.

If you’ve a large following this is almost certain to happen, but again there are steps you can take to minimise cloning and the effects that it can have on your brand. 

Steps to prevent identity cloning on Facebook

The Facebook group, which includes Instagram, has been getting more serious about protecting all users’ account privacy – especially after the Cambridge- Analytica scandal caused shares to plunge by 19%. So what does this actually mean for you and your online brand?

As of last year, Facebook has partnered with DoubleVerify. Now hackers find it much harder to hack your account and actually get away with it. DoubleVerify provides marketing measurement software, data and analytics all to authenticate that brands are who they say they are and are publishing content fit for the targeted audience.

Fortunately, Facebook has become a lot more responsive to account owners and there is a linear path to catching the bad guys:

1. Find cloned accounts – search Facebook for your name to see whether other accounts are impersonating you. And just be aware that not every result will be someone maliciously cloning your account – some people will simply share your name!

2. Don’t engage in a suspicious request – you can message them to encourage them to take it down, but if no response is given and the account remains live:

3. Report the offending account to Facebook – click the “…” icon in the upper right of their profile page.
   
   
   Select “Find Support or Report Profile”.
   
   
   
   Click “Pretending to Be Someone”  and click send!
   
   
   

4. Review every couple of weeks –  this prevents the damage getting worse. It makes sense that the longer you leave a cloned account active, the more time it has to damage your reputation.

Steps to prevent identity cloning on Instagram

1. Find cloned accounts – search Instagram for your handle to see if there are really similar ones to be found. And just be aware that not every result will be someone maliciously cloning your account – some will just have the same name as you!

2. Don’t engage in a suspicious request – you can message them to encourage them to take it down, but if no response is given and the account remains live:

3. Report using the Instagram Report Form  – follow the simple steps to report a cloned account.

4. Review every couple of weeks – this prevents the damage from getting worse. It makes sense that the longer you leave a cloned account active, the more time it has to harm your reputation.

Hacking case study: Gigi Hadid

In 2019, Gigi Hadid’s Twitter was hacked – and badly. The hacker posted anti-Semitic tweets on her account. The “racially-charged tweets included the phrases “I wish Germany won WWII’ and the statement “Hitler did nothing wrong”.” Identity theft doesn’t get much worse than this. 

With over nine million followers, swift reputation management really was paramount. And so in a public statement, Hadid published an Instagram post informing her audience of the hack:

Her fans rallied against the hacker, and the move actually improved her engagement. So it can be an effective strategy to call out hackers instead of brushing the hack under the carpet. Transparency is something that aids long-term success on social media.

We’re here to help protect your reputation and make sure that your brand thrives despite the threats.

The post Attention Influencers: Prevent Hacking and Cloning Across Socials appeared first on Removify.

A Hobby Or Career

People like to be heard, and with the recent increase in video reviews, they also like to be seen. Sometimes, people review in a particular niche because they love that particular topic, product or service. More and more people are leaving video reviews on platforms such as YouTube, where many people have now become celebrities for reviewing certain products. An example of this is YouTube sensation Ryan, the 7-year old who makes over $20 million a year from reviewing toys. With the attraction people have with fame, being a reviewer is now a legitimate career, whether stumbled upon accidentally or crafted with intention.

As A Form Of Expression

Leaving a review is a simple and easy way for consumers to express themselves and have their opinions heard by the business owner. The internet has given anyone and everyone a platform to vent their frustration after an underwhelming experience, or to praise a brand for surpassing expectations. It’s an empowering feeling for consumers to know that their reviews can make or break a business. By placing brands on a pedestal or throwing them under the bus, online reviews can impact a businesses bottom line. If an experience strikes an emotional chord with a customer, both good and bad, they are more likely to leave a review. 

To Help Fellow Buyers 

One of the main reasons consumers leave reviews is to help their peers make better purchasing decisions. If a consumer has a terrible experience with a brand, they want to let others know about it so they can avoid making the same mistakes. Vice versa if they have a fantastic interaction with a brand, they want others to know about it, while at the same time rewarding the brand for their service with a glowing review that may bring them more business. Sharing your buying experiences can make it easier for others to make more informed choices. In doing so, many consumers feel a sense of purpose and pride after providing a “public service” to their fellow shoppers. 

Showcase Industry Knowledge

The reality is that leaving a review serves as a means for people to showcase their expertise, by giving them a platform to be acknowledged by their peers. Reviews give people the chance to show people their knowledge in a particular field. Whether it be food, books or movies – some people want to be seen as a domain expert and reviews provide them a way to achieve this. People feel a sense of satisfaction in knowing they’ve potentially helped others with their knowledge by steering them in the right direction with an informed & objective cons versus pros analysis of a product or service. You can find whole tech review forums where indsutry professionals or specialists from all parts of the world come together to rate products through their own knowledge filter. For example, your average person might review the latest phone based on user interface, but an expert might delve deeper into the graphics and CPU updates as well.

To Help Brands Improve

In addition to helping out their peers, consumers also surprisingly seek to help businesses improve. If customers leave a negative review, the best brands will act on this accordingly. In a world where the customer is at the centre of everything, businesses must strive to provide the best customer experience possible. Businesses need to look at the positives of receiving a negative review – it’s an opportunity for them to improve. Smart business owners will take feedback and comments on board and use it to make the appropriate changes to their business. Many consumers hope that businesses will act upon their feedback and make the recommended improvements so that their business can do better. You’ll get this vibe from a reviewer who maybe has some grievances with the product but will compliment the customer service – they’re out to give some legitimate constructive criticism.  You can see these types of reviewers in the mid-tier 3-star reviews that both have constructive criticism and a little bit of praise.

From venting ones frustrations to wanting to give back to the community, there are many reasons why consumers write reviews and it shows no signs of slowing down. Customers have increasingly high expectations of the brands they interact with, which is why customer experience is fast becoming the number one priority for businesses across all industries. Reviews help ensure the best businesses are rewarded for their efforts and can force the underperforming ones to step up their game. The power is in the hands of the consumer, and it’s up to businesses to meet their expectations or feel the wrath of another scathing review.

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However, what we’ve curated here are the companies whose reputations were burned to the ground. And like the phoenix in Harry Potter, they’ve somehow managed to experience some crazy rebirth out of the ashes of their demise. 

Some of the scandals we’ll be diving into are beyond your average company whoopsie – we’re talking catastrophic allegations that caused public uproar. And these are the company’s that have bounced back. We want to make it clear that we don’t condone any of the actions any of these businesses have undertaken. Still, these stories speak more to how a business, even one that saturates a global market, can damage and then be subsequently saved by their iron-clad reputation.

Scandal #1: Volkswagen

So how did the world’s largest auto-manufacturers manage to get into a situation that required them paying out €30 billion in compensation and repair costs? It all came out with a massive diesel emissions scandal. 

Dubbed the diesel dupe back in 2015, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in the US uncovered that the German brand had built in software into the vehicles so that they could detect when they were being tested, and then change their performance. Volkswagen admitted that 11 million cars worldwide were fitted with these devices and were essentially cheating the emissions tests.

How did this affect VW?

The brand’s credibility plummeted with what’s known as the ‘defect device’. And these were sophisticated pieces of kit. The engines were capable of interpreting when a test scenario was being carried out by monitoring speed, air pressure, engine operation and the position of the steering wheel. VW really wiped out trust in their brand, particularly as public concern over climate change was emerging as a central issue.

And it got worse before it got better. As reported by Bloomberg, once the company was alerted to the fact that EPA had revealed their car models emitted between 10 and 40 times the legal levels of nitrogen oxide, which is responsible for smog, they called an emergency meeting in Wolfsburg. The attendees were virtually all white and German, and many were engineers and scientists by way of profession. Needless to say, that the two-minute apology video was a disaster.

What was their rebranding strategy?

Fast forward to 2018, just three years later, and it has once again become the number one car manufacturer on earth. So if anyone tells you that you can’t recover from bad press, they’re clearly misinformed.

To overcome such breaches against emission regulations on this global scale, Volkswagen had to provide some real commitment to redeem their brand. In 2017, Volkwagen embarked on by far the largest program of electrification in the global car industry, pledging to spend $20 billion to develop battery-powered or hybrid models of their entire fleet – by 2030. 

Jochen Sengpiehl, CMO of Volkswagen, says: “We have created a new holistic global brand experience on all channels and across all touchpoints.

“As a general principle, the aim in future will not be to show a perfect advertising world. In our presentation, we want to become more human and more lively, to adopt the customer’s perspective to a greater extent and to tell authentic stories.”

This is a clever strategy as it shows a movement away from the non-democratic culture of before. The company completely rebranded it’s company ethos. 

They’ve also recently come out with a statement that; “By formulating new content and with new products, the brand is undergoing a fundamental transformation towards a future with a neutral emission balance for everyone. Now is the right time to make the new attitude of our brand visible to the outside world.”

Scandal #2: Nike Scandal

You’d be right to question which one, we’re all too familiar with the child labour scandal. It seems that no matter how many unethical boundaries that Nike oversteps they are unwaveringly come out relatively unscathed.

First, there was the sweatshop scandal. Back in 1997, rallies took place admonishing Nike’s use of horrific labour conditions in their overseas sweatshops. Even the CEO of the time, Phil Knight acknowledged that “the Nike product has become synonymous with slave wages, forced overtime and arbitrary abuse”. It is really understating things to call this a scandal – really, we’re dealing with a massive human rights catastrophe here, and their brand shouldn’t have recovered from this.

Now, we’re going to tackle their most recent debacle – the gender inequality scandal of 2019.

What happened?

The Oregon Project, headed by Nike, was founded in Beaverton, Oregon in 2001. The aim was to promote American long-distance running. However, on October 10, 2019, an investigation resulted in a four-year ban of longtime coach Alberto Salazar for his treatment of female athletes.

“I joined Nike because I wanted to be the best female athlete ever. Instead, I was emotionally and physically abused by a system designed by Alberto [Salazar] and endorsed by Nike,” Mary Cain, professional middle-distance American runner, expressed in an op-ed in The New York Times. 

The all-male team that coached her demanded that she be “thinner and thinner and thinner”. Cain subsequently went on to break five bones and lose her menstrual cycle.

Chief executive, Mark Park released a statement announcing “This situation, along with ongoing unsubstantiated assertions, is a distraction for many of the athletes and is compromising their ability to focus on their training and competition needs; I have therefore made the decision to wind down the Oregon Project”.

Back in May, Kara Groucher and Alysia Montano told the Times that their contracts with Nike were cut during their pregnancies. Not even a month later, Olympian, Allyson Felix, released a similar story in the NY Times.

How did this affect Nike?

This is an important one to discuss as despite the massive allegations, distrust and boycotting that currently taking place in outrage to the brand – sales have not dropped.

They rose by 1%. Yet this graph from Marketing Week outlines the mere 4% positive sentiment that exists for Nike.

So, how does a global brand that has been proven to produce apparel by way of child labour, gender discrimination and reported sexual abuse in the company to have a brand value of $15.9 bn?

As Richard Williams remarks in his Guardian article, “In their grand scheme of things, any piece of controversy enhances one of the world’s mega-brands.” 

What was their rebranding strategy?

Despite their scandals, Nike has had a foolproof strategy to redeem their seemingly irredeemable actions.

And here it is – when Eliud Kipchoge, Kenyan athlete, broke the 2-hour marathon record, he was wearing Nike’s latest pair, the ZoomX Vaporfly Next%. Whenever new milestones are about to be reached by incredible athletes, Nike swoops in and slaps their swoosh on the side of the foot about to make history. 

Williams ends his article by getting to the crux of why Nike is here to stay: “no one has yet found a better way of persuading generations of rappers and skateboarders that buying the same sports kit is the best way to express your essential individuality. The end of the Oregon Project is unlikely to change that.

Scandal #3: Starbucks 

You’d laugh at some of the ‘scandals’ portrayed by Starbucks – using too much ice, underfilling lattes, redesigning their cups. But one really rocked the boat.

Two black men were arrested in a Philadelphian Starbucks branch. The cafe’s staff rang the police, accusing the men of trespassing, despite them explaining they were in the store waiting for a business meeting to begin.

The arrests were recorded by a cafe customer and went viral, and the company was slated online for the blatant show of racial discrimination.

As The Associated Press outlines: “Nelson and Robinson, black men who became best friends in the fourth grade, were taken in handcuffs from the Starbucks in Philadelphia’s tony Rittenhouse Square neighbourhood, where Robinson has been a customer since he was 15.”

In no uncertain terms, this was a massive dent to mega-brands reputation.

How did this affect Starbucks?

Starbucks made a bold statement by closing 8,000 stores in the USA for a racial bias training day to be attended by all employees. The company lost an estimated $16.7 million in sales for the closures. 

What was their rebranding strategy?

Amidst the public uproar, the Starbucks executives showed how seriously they took the incident and made it clear that this did not align with their mission. Starbucks has long held its stores to be a “third place” – separate from work and home: “where everyone is welcome and we can gather,” as outlined in their company policy.

Loyalty is paramount in surviving in any industry, but few more so than your local barista. The CEO of Starbucks called the arrest “reprehensible,” but didn’t stop there. The training day and multi-point plan to get their entire global network of teams respecting all of their customers was a bold statement that people related to and respected.

Scandal #4: Martha Stewart

Cast back to 2002 when a news story broke that the US Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating Martha Stewart for her insider trading. Stewart was forced to step down as Martha Stewart’s Living Omnimedia’s CEO. The negative press hailed down on her – and it only got worse.

2003 saw the incredibly successful former model, chef and business person charged for insider trading. She was caught selling stock in a biopharmaceutical company in 2001 after receiving an unlawful tip from her former stockbroker. 

As the Business Insider retells, she was “found guilty on all counts, including on charges of obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and making false statements”.

How did this affect Martha Stewart?

The celebrity icon spent five months in West Virginia’s Alderson Federal Prison Camp. When the sentence came out in court, reporter Ann Thompson for the NBC News reveals the reaction, “you could hear this gasp. No one could believe it, no matter how you thought the trial was going, that this would be happening to this woman who is one of the biggest celebrities in this country of making false statements.”

Financially, the day before news broke of the insider trading investigation, Stewart owned over 30 million company shares worth an estimated $591 million. The company was worth over $954 million.

Once the scandal became known to the public, stocks took a severe nosedive. Stewart’s holdings dropped to $162 million by October 2002.

What was her rebranding strategy?

Fast forward five years and Martha has a 600 strong workforce along with no less than 7,000 products to her name. At this time, she has 71 books published, four magazines in circulation and four new television shows on air. 

Martha herself captures how her brand survived the scandal in an interview with Oprah, “Our partners never left us, and our beloved consumers never left us. They are the readers of the magazine, the users of our recipes, the wonderful people who buy our products, who look for the good in the brand. And the brand is strong.”

And her brand really is thriving all done to her connection to her customers. 

So how is her brand faring in 2020?

With a fashion line being rolled out, her 100th book just published – her brand is well and truly back to its glory days. She’s even released a cooking show with her friend, Snoop Dogg. The Emmy-nominated show is in its third season. Clearly, Stewart’s dynasty couldn’t be further from the dramatic legal issues of 2003.

Scandal #5: Facebook

How could we leave Facebook out of any list of reputation scandals? The Zuckerberg empire went under fire in x due to their privacy breach.

As James Sanders in the Tech Republic puts it, “A decade of apparent indifference for data privacy at Facebook has culminated in revelations that organizations harvested user data for targeted advertising, particularly political advertising, to apparent success.”

The biggest offender: Cambridge–Analytica. This political consulting and strategic communication firm headed both the pro-Brexit and Trump’s 2016 election campaign.

The firm was just one example of a company able to gain access to Facebook user’s personal data, mainly due to Facebook’s inadequate safeguards. The fact that users are also required to agree to broad terms and conditions before using Facebook’s services has led to series misuse of personal data.

How did this affect Facebook?

Facebook’s market value dropped by $119 billion and shares plunged by 19%. According to Rupert Neate in the Guardian, the collapse of Facebook’s share price was the biggest ever one-day drop in a company’s market value. 

And it all happened as the company was reaching new heights. The company hit a record high of $630 bn the day before the scandal came out. One day later and they were down to $176 bn.

This scandal scared people, with all of the other scandals mentioned, the general public was appalled, outraged, shocked.  But in this case, millions of people worried that their data privacy was being violated.

Actions on Facebook such as likes, shares and posts have dropped by almost 20%, according to the business analytics firm Mixpanel. The next month saw user actions drop a further 10%.

What was their rebranding strategy?

Zuckerberg kept his head low for five days before emerging with a stark statement on CNN, “we have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can’t then we don’t deserve to serve you”.

Zuckerberg and his PR team worked hard to convince users that Facebook had “fundamentally changed [its] DNA”. 

However, the real reason that in just six months Facebook was back to enjoying market share highs was simple. They’ve built such an extraordinary cultural network that leaving it feels like losing touch with the world. 

So, this begs the questions – how do you build a reputation so formidable that you can recover from a public catastrophe such as this? The answer is, an excellent PR and Communications team, a Global repuation repair action plan (and it doesn’t hurt to have a market monopoly, this one of course being the hardest to acquire).

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