Could Conspiracy Theorists Hurt Your Business?
About a third of Americans believe elites in the federal government and their big business paymasters are involved in grand conspiracies, which range from alien collaborations and oil price fixing to the belief that the Bush Administration had something to do with 9/11. If you are a conspiracy theorist, the public is eating up your Princess Diana murder tomes and Da Vinci Code books, films and blogs.
I haven't found any study on whether conspiracy theories are hitting the bottom lines of America's largest companies. But presumably if a big business comes off as shady, money will inevitably have to be spent to assure the brand doesn't become a political punching bag.
Assuming your CEO can't morph into a reptile and teleport to a secret Swiss bunker for annual meetings with Henry Kissinger, what should your company do if it becomes the target of a bogus conspiracy theory?
Do absolutely nothing. Why give the conspiracy theorists any legitimacy by acknowledging their baseless claims? You won't find anything on Halliburton's website commenting on the American concentration camps they may or may not be building. Despite the public's appetite for conspiracy infotainment, most "mainstream media" outlets don't cover business conspiracies. Of course, since in the conspiracy theorists' minds, the media is dominated by New World Order-types, the lack of coverage won't stop their efforts. It is possible that false conspiracies will gain traction, in which case...
Do address these myths during your community outreach efforts. Even the US government has dedicated a blog to addressing conspiracy theories that are harming America's image abroad. But that blog is just one small part of a broader communication effort. If there is a need, have your corporate social responsibility department highlight the positive things your company does in areas where there are corporate transparency concerns.
Don't use front groups to push your message. If you hire an "objective scientist" to dispute global warming or "real people" to say how safe your product is, you will deservedly get burned. There are plenty of watchdogs like Sourcewatch examining your every move. Be honest that someone is on your payroll to communicate your point of view.
Don't sue conspiracy theorists. If some guy with a laptop is such a threat that a lawsuit is deemed necessary, expect the public to conclude the conspiracy theorist was on to something. Would we have ever heard of the site GoldmanSachs666 if the bank hadn't tried to shut it down?
Image by Flickr user "illuminating9_11," CC 2.0.