Ethical Online Reputation Management: What Can — and Cannot — Be Done
Promises to 'delete' bad press are everywhere. Here is what responsible online reputation management actually involves.
Read articleEvery organisation will eventually face a moment when something goes wrong in public. A system outage, a safety incident, an allegation against a senior leader, a viral complaint. In Kenya's fast-moving media environment — where a screenshot can travel from a WhatsApp group to national television in a matter of hours — the first day of a crisis often decides how the whole story is remembered.
The organisations that come through well are rarely the ones with the most polished statements. They are the ones that act quickly, tell the truth and stay consistent. Here is a practical framework for the first 24 hours.
Hour 0–1: Establish the facts and the team
The first instinct in a crisis is to say something. The better instinct is to understand what has actually happened. Convene a small crisis team — typically the chief executive or a delegated senior leader, legal counsel, communications, and the head of the affected function — and agree on three questions:
- What do we know for certain, and what is still unconfirmed?
- Who is affected, and is anyone at risk right now?
- Who needs to hear from us first?
Assign one person to own the facts log. Rumours fill every information gap, so a single, updated record of verified information is essential.
Hour 1–3: Issue a holding statement
You do not need every answer to communicate. A short holding statement acknowledges the situation, shows that you are taking it seriously and commits to updates. It should express genuine concern for anyone affected, state what you are doing now, and say when people can expect more information.
Silence is not neutral. If you do not explain what is happening, others will explain it for you.
Avoid speculation, blame and defensive language. Do not say anything you may later have to retract.
Hour 3–8: Prioritise your stakeholders
The public is rarely the only audience. Employees, customers, regulators, board members and partners often need to hear from you directly — ideally before they read about it elsewhere. Employees in particular are both an audience and a channel: what they say to friends and on social media will shape perceptions.
Map each stakeholder group, decide who will contact them and how, and keep the core message consistent across every conversation.
Hour 8–16: Manage the media and social channels
Designate a single trained spokesperson and route all media enquiries through the communications team. Keep a log of every journalist who calls, what they asked and what they were told.
On social media, monitor the conversation closely, respond to factual errors calmly and point people to your official updates. Pause any scheduled promotional content — nothing damages credibility faster than a cheerful marketing post in the middle of a crisis.
Hour 16–24: Update, review and plan ahead
Issue an update when you have one, even if it is to confirm that work is ongoing. Then step back with the crisis team to review what has happened so far, what is likely to happen next, and what decisions are coming. A crisis rarely ends in a day; the goal is to move from reaction to a managed plan.
The real work happens before the crisis
The single most effective thing any organisation can do is prepare. A crisis communication plan, pre-approved holding statement templates, a trained spokesperson and a tested contact list turn panic into process. If your organisation does not yet have these, now — while things are calm — is the time to put them in place.