Tony McChrystal heads the EMEA team of ReputationDefender, the world's most prominent online reputation management firm.
In essence, a defamatory statement is a falsehood perpetuated with the intent of causing serious harm to reputation. If directed at a business, this harm is likely to result in significant financial loss.
The perpetrator may be known or unknown to the victim. The culprit could be a disgruntled ex-employee, a competitor, a former romantic partner or an internet troll. Irrespective of the source, the real-world consequences of a damaged reputation can be catastrophic for people and businesses.
A victim of defamation has several options open to them. Hiring a lawyer is an obvious route and is an appropriate strategy in some situations. However, it is important to keep in mind that court action may not be enough in isolation. The damage to their reputation may have already been done.
Indeed, in some situations, filing a lawsuit can culminate in ‘the Streisand effect', where the attempt to cover up sensitive information only has the effect of amplifying it instead, particularly if the information in question is gossip worthy in some way. The term was coined by a reporter in 2005 after Barbara Streisand took a photographer to court to force him to remove an image of her home from his website. The photograph had only been downloaded a handful of times until she initiated legal proceedings, but it subsequently gained almost half a million views as a result of publicity surrounding the case.
There are several alternatives to the legal route when dealing with defamation. Some victims simply opt to ignore it, without responding publicly to the negative statement to prevent it attracting more attention. Others opt to issue a public response, defending their good name in the hope of stopping false information spreading further. Trying to get defamatory material deleted is fruitful for many, particularly if the content violates the terms of service of the website on which it is published. Finally, suppression can also be surprisingly effectively, burying the bad press in a deluge of positive material and driving it down the Google search results.
Unfortunately, online defamation is a rising problem today, with unscrupulous individuals hiding behind a shield of anonymity and posting negative content with deliberate intent to scupper a business or ruin a person's reputation. Nevertheless, victims do have several options open to them in terms of getting defamatory content taken down and seeking restitution.
