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For major companies, managing the fallout from internal mis-steps — from botched responses to political crises to executive misconduct — has always been tricky. But safeguarding reputations is only getting tougher.
對於大公司來說，管理內部失誤造成的後果——從對政治危機的應對不當到高階主管的不當行爲——一直是個棘手的問題。但維護聲譽的難度正在不斷增加。
It was difficult enough when corporate crises were more tethered to true events or decisions. Now, falsehoods and disinformation can derail companies as online fakery can morph and multiply quicker than ever before. The use of artificial intelligence to produce false material such as deepfake videos more easily has only heightened the risks.
當企業危機更多地與真實事件或決策相關時，情況已經相當困難。如今，虛假資訊和錯誤資訊可以使公司脫軌，因爲網上造假比以往任何時候都更快地演變和擴散。使用人工智慧更容易地製作虛假材料，如深度僞造影片，只會加劇風險。
Governments have long complained about disinformation undermining elections, inciting unrest and deepening societal divides. Businesses are now in the crosshairs, too. “Over the last couple of years, disinformation has been on the rise and now it is spreading like knotweed,” said Julian Payne, global chair of crisis and risk at consultancy Edelman.
長期以來，各國政府一直抱怨虛假資訊破壞選舉、煽動動亂和加深社會分歧。企業現在也成爲攻擊目標。諮詢公司愛德曼(Edelman)危機與風險全球主席朱利安•佩恩(Julian Payne)表示：「在過去的幾年裏，虛假資訊一直在增加，現在它像節節草一樣迅速傳播」。
Arla Foods, the owner of the UK’s biggest dairy co-operative, has learnt the hard way. After recently announcing a trial of a feed additive aiming to reduce methane emissions in dairy cows, some customers pushed to boycott milk products. A social media storm ensued featuring unfounded and bizarre claims that the additive was part of a plot to depopulate the world by creating fertility issues, and conspiracy theories linking the additive to Bill Gates. UK regulators have approved the additive, Bovaer, as safe, while its manufacturer has blamed “mistruths and misinformation” for the frenzy.
英國最大的乳製品合作社的所有者Arla Foods已經嚐到了苦頭。在最近宣佈試用一種旨在減少奶牛甲烷排放的飼料新增劑後，一些客戶推動抵制牛奶產品。隨後，社群媒體上掀起了一場風暴，一些毫無根據的離奇說法稱，這種新增劑是透過製造生育問題來減少世界人口的陰謀的一部分，還有一些陰謀論將這種新增劑與比爾•蓋茲聯繫在一起。英國監管機構已批准新增劑Bovaer是安全的，而其生產商則指責是「不實資訊和錯誤資訊」造成了這種狂熱。
In a separate instance a few years ago, US retailer Wayfair was targeted by a campaign making wildly spurious allegations that its cabinets “listed with girls’ names” had children hidden in them as part of a child trafficking ring.
幾年前，在另一起事件中，美國零售商Wayfair成爲一場運動的目標，該運動毫無根據地指控其「以女孩名字命名」的櫥櫃中藏有兒童，是販賣兒童團夥的一部分。
A survey by Edelman of almost 400 top communications and marketing executives found that eight in 10 worry about the impact of disinformation on their businesses. Fewer than half feel prepared to tackle these risks.
愛德曼對近400名頂級傳播和行銷高階主管進行的一項調查發現，每10人中就有8人擔心虛假資訊對其業務的影響。只有不到一半的人認爲自己做好了應對這些風險的準備。
And it is not just from outright disinformation — the deliberate spread of falsehoods to deceive. Companies also need to be mindful of misinformation, which is accidental, and malinformation, which exaggerates truths or changes their context to cause harm. Threats can take many forms — fabricated news, phoney social media accounts and fake text, audio or video content. Online superspreaders, often aided by AI, intensify these attacks, allowing disinformation to ricochet unpredictably. After all, lies spread faster than the truth.
而且，不僅僅是徹頭徹尾的虛假資訊——故意傳播虛假資訊來欺騙。公司還需要注意意外的錯誤資訊和誇大事實或改變其背景以造成傷害的虛假資訊。威脅可以採取多種形式——捏造的新聞、虛假的社群媒體賬戶和虛假的文字、音檔或影片內容。在線超級傳播者通常在人工智慧的幫助下加強這些攻擊，使虛假資訊不可預測地傳播。畢竟，謊言比真相傳播得更快。
Boycotts can hit finances, but the damage to reputations is just as significant. Employee safety is also an issue. In 2020, unfounded 5G conspiracies that linked the new mobile phone technology to health risks led to attacks on telecom engineers working for BT’s Openreach in the UK.
抵制活動可能會影響財務狀況，但對聲譽的損害同樣顯著。員工安全也是一個問題。2020年，毫無根據的5G陰謀論將新手機技術與健康風險聯繫起來，導致在英國爲BT的Openreach工作的電信工程師遭到攻擊。
While hate-spewing internet warriors are not new, the speed at which generative AI is now used to create both fake messages and the accounts behind them means companies have to “increase their capabilities to defend themselves”, said Payne. Companies had gone from having a day to “get your ducks in a row” to four hours, he added. “Then it’s like taking a water pistol to a raging inferno.”
雖然散佈仇恨的網路戰士並不新鮮，但生成式人工智慧現在用於成立虛假資訊及其背後賬戶的速度意味著公司必須「提高自身的防禦能力」，佩恩說。他補充道，公司從過去有一天時間來「準備就緒」變成了只有四個小時。「然後就像用水槍對抗熊熊烈火。」
Boardrooms appear delayed in accepting disinformation as a priority, just as they were with cyber security. “We are seeing a similar journey,” said one executive who helps companies track such campaigns. Top ranks “are often out of touch with the polarising dynamics of digital world conversations”.
董事會似乎遲遲沒有將虛假資訊作爲優先事項，就像他們對網路安全的態度一樣。「一位幫助公司追蹤此類活動的高階主管表示：「我們看到了類似的歷程。高層「往往與數字世界對話的兩極分化態勢脫節」。
So what should a company do? Bosses should consider whether their policies on geopolitics, climate change or other issues make them likely targets. Finding so-called “tripwires” and testing crisis responses can highlight weaknesses.
那麼，公司應該怎麼做呢？老闆們應該考慮他們在地緣政治、氣候變化或其他問題上的政策是否會使他們成爲攻擊目標。找到所謂的「絆腳石」並測試危機應對措施可以突出弱點。
Instinctively, calling out falsehoods quickly after an attack makes sense, but this can amplify the fabricated message, pushing it from obscure corners of the internet into the open.
從本能上講，在攻擊發生後迅速揭露虛假資訊是合理的，但這樣做會放大捏造的資訊，將其從網路的隱蔽角落推向公開場合。
Mapping and tracking disinformation sources must become strategic imperatives, said Jack Stubbs, chief intelligence officer at Graphika, which specialises in understanding online communities. “Your operating environment is this online information space,” he said.
專注於瞭解網路社區的Graphika公司的首席情報官傑克•斯塔布斯(Jack Stubbs)表示，繪製和追蹤虛假資訊來源必須成爲戰略要務。他說：「你的操作環境就是這個在線資訊空間。」
Equally important is building credibility in advance. If executives have repeatedly lied to shareholders or the public, it will only undermine any crisis response. The hope is that consistent transparency means they are more likely to be believed when it counts. In a digital world where false narratives spread faster than ever, companies can no longer rely on outdated playbooks.
同樣重要的是提前建立信譽。如果高階主管一再對股東或公衆撒謊，這隻會削弱任何危機應對措施。希望是，透過持續保持透明度，他們在關鍵時刻更容易被信任。在一個虛假資訊傳播速度比以往更快的數位化世界中，公司不能再依賴過時的策略。