We’ve recently seen a growing number of prominent citizens arrested in human trafficking-related sting operations, resulting in dozens or hundreds of news articles. That follows the rising number of #MeToo-related sexual harassment reports in the news. Once such arrests and accusations are made, they dominate search results.
From a reputation management standpoint, two facts stand out. The first is that when news occurs, it instantly appears online. Also, anyone can say anything about anyone on the Internet, with few repercussions. There is no “Right to be Forgotten” law here as there is in Europe and Argentina —so such claims, whether credible, false or subjective, can usually not be removed from the Internet on legal grounds.
The second is that, despite the claims of many online reputation agencies, it is extremely difficult for such information to be “buried” online (as in, displaced so it does not appear on the first or second page of Google). The truth is that there is no magic wand that can quickly cover up unwanted results. Promises and guarantees of this nature are simply false.
In our Reputation Reboot column, we address the reasons why changing search engine results is difficult, and offer suggestions for alternative ways to approach and respond to such claims made about you online.