Tag Archives: Interfor Academy

Social Media, , , , , , ,
Blake Lively smear campaign

I’m proud to have been featured as an expert in Interfor International’s recent blog post on social media risk management. In today’s digital landscape, the intersection of online behavior and reputation has never been more critical.

The Hidden Dangers of Social Media

As I shared with Interfor International, the risks associated with social media are far more serious than most people realize. What might seem like a harmless post in a moment of frustration can have devastating consequences for your career, reputation, and future opportunities.

The article highlights a sobering reality: we scroll through Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms without the same wariness we’d have walking down a dark alley at night. Yet the dangers can be just as real, and the fallout can be swift and devastating.

The Real Cost of Impulsive Posts

In my work as CEO of Reputation Communications, I’ve seen countless examples of how a single intemperate social media post can destroy careers and reputations. The current era of ideological divisiveness has created an environment where people get cancelled every day, jobs are lost, and reputations are shattered.

What’s particularly concerning is that many of these consequences happen behind the scenes. As I noted in the article, there are countless examples of people simply not getting hired, not being accepted to schools, or being excluded from opportunities because organizations are becoming increasingly sophisticated in evaluating social media histories. You might never know that your past posts cost you a major job or an important opportunity.

The Defamation Factor

As an expert witness in defamation cases, I’ve seen firsthand how social media can function as what the article aptly calls “defamation factories.” People often have no grasp of the legal and reputational risks they’re taking when posting harsh attacks online. With the proliferation of AI and deepfakes, these challenges are only becoming more complex and dangerous.

My Advice: Pause Before You Post

The guidance I shared with Interfor International is simple but crucial: “People post too quickly, and they let emotion drive them. It would be helpful if people ask themselves if posting something harsh is the most effective way to use your political capital.”

When emotions run high, time is your friend. Before posting anything controversial or harsh, take a break, take some deep breaths, and ask yourself:

Will this post serve me well in the long run?
Could this come back to haunt me?
Is this really the most effective way to make my point?

Sometimes the best way to protect yourself on social media is to simply do nothing. The same is true with sending heat-of-the-moment texts and emails.

Prevention Is Better Than Repair

While I’m here to help clients repair damaged reputations and rebuild their professional standing, my greatest hope is that people won’t need my services in the first place. The work I do helping people dig out of reputation crises is essential, but it’s far better to avoid creating the crisis altogether.

For more information about reputation management and protecting your digital footprint, visit Reputation Communications. If security and reputational threat monitoring concerns are uppermost in your mind, check out Interfor Academy, which provides elite speakers and one-of-a-kind training programs in those areas for businesses and organizations worldwide.

 
 
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P.R. in the Digital Age

Recently Don Aviv, President of Interfor International and a Reputation Communications Advisory Board member, and Shannon Wilkinson, our founder and CEO, were interviewed on the topic of reputation management for an Interfor Academy webinar. Their moderator was Jeremy Hurewitz, Head of Interfor Academy.

Don Aviv, President, Interfor International

Interfor Academy is a speaker’s bureau that enables organizations to book elite presenters for conferences, corporate off-sites, or risk trainings & tabletop sessions.

Don and Shannon come from two different sides of reputation management. He is on the investigative, data research, analytics, and monitoring side, helping organizations listen to conversations about them online and red flagging any that have reputational, privacy, or security risk aspects. (We interviewed him on the topic of due diligence in 2018; and more recently published his article, Scrubbing Your Personal Info from the Internet.)  Reputation Communications, manages, amplifies and repairs reputations.

We are interviewing him about due diligence investigations, self-checks (or reverse due diligence), and how the deep dark web plays a role in threatening reputations.

How common is it now for deep dives to be done before important hires and partnerships are made?

It is increasingly common. That’s the good news for those of us who campaign constantly for companies to pay attention to reputational and security risk. The difference is in the level of diligence done and making a smart decision about that and what role the individual will play in any sort of company or partnership that is being established.

There is a fast-growing array of technological tools that can help employers get comfortable with low to mid-level hires. That sort of background check is cheap and somewhat effective. These are commoditized services that can give an employer a little reassurance that their prospective employee doesn’t have a criminal record, hasn’t declared bankruptcy, and did indeed graduate from the educational institution they are claiming on their resume.

But when it comes to more senior hires, or major investments being made and partnerships established, it is critical to go much deeper and try to understand the individual’s background and character at a more granular level, and drill down on any red flags to weigh those against whatever that person might contribute to what you’re building. So, in these cases, the more commoditized checks are insufficient.

Those who retain Interfor do so because our analysts have extensive experience in locating and evaluating deep dive public records and providing insight into what they find. True expertise comes into play when it comes to the very human side of collecting qualitative intelligence on a subject.

You used the term reputational “self-checks” during the webinar. What do you mean by that?

We are frequently hired by clients who want to know what their reputational assessment looks like and what might be used against them by someone looking to do them harm – physically or reputationally.

Your firm conducts social media threat monitoring for major corporations as well as for high-net-worth clients. How does that work, and what are they looking for?

While we certainly support HNW clients and celebrities around the world, we also support a large group of executives, nonprofits, foundations and start-ups.  That client base includes any entity or individual that receives negative or unwanted attention through social media, chatgroups, blogs, and other online chatter. We have a global team of highly trained analysts who monitor threats 24/7 for a variety of companies and individuals across all common languages. They are deeply knowledgeable in assessing when someone might turn from an online troll to a true threat. They help identify new threat trends and help clients be proactive in preparing for any incipient risk.

How is AI going to impact what information appears on the internet about people and organizations?

AI will certainly be a force of change. We have seen a remarkable uptick in fraudulent activity ranging from Deepfakes and impersonations, all the way to confidence scams and straight-up harassment and trolling driven purely through AI systems.

For example, one of our clients, a well-known radio personality, has been inundated with thousands of fake product endorsements and ads geared at defrauding his listener base around the world.  Our Social Media Threat Monitoring Team identifies and works to knock down approximately 50 fake ads and websites a week, yet this is likely a drop in the bucket.

Ultimately, without strong regulations, AI systems may add considerable fuel to the “fake news” ecosystem, and your average internet user will have even more trouble discerning fact from fiction.

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As President of Interfor International, Don Aviv directly supports Chief Security Officers and General Counsel of some of the leading corporations, financial institutions and family offices around the world.

An author on physical security, threat mitigation and corporate security matters, he serves as an expert witness on security-related legal matters. His credentials include Board Certified Protection Professional (CPP); Board Certified Physical Security Professional (PSP); Professional Certified Investigator (PCI) and licensed New York State Investigator. He is an executive board member of Strength-to-Strength, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting victims of terrorism. Mr. Aviv is also a board member of The Community Security Service, a non-profit organization dedicated to training and protecting local communities.

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This article is part of our continuing Interview with an Expert series.

 
 
Online reputation management, , , ,
The Essentials: Online Reputation Management FAQ
On May 21, 2024, Reputation Communications Advisory Board member Don Aviv, President of Interfor International, and I discussed a variety of ways to manage your reputation, assess the reputation of those you might do business with, and some common mistakes we encounter in these areas.
This was part of a continuing series of webinars presented by Interfor Academy, a new speaker’s bureau that enables organizations to book elite presenters for conferences, corporate off-sites, or risk trainings & tabletop sessions. The conversation will be moderated by head of Interfor Academy, Jeremy Hurewitz, and should be a compelling look at this vital and constantly evolving subject.

You can view the webinar here.

 
Shannon Wilkinson, Interfor Academy
 
 
General, , , , , ,
You Online

Interfor Academy is a new speaker’s bureau that enables organizations to book elite presenters for conferences, corporate off-sites, or risk trainings & tabletop sessions.

These experts include a former head of the CIA’s CounterTerrorism Center; a former Chief Hostage Negotiator at the FBI, and a former Head of the US Secret Service, among others. As a leader in reputation management, I am a speaker providing must-know facts and strategies about that always-in-demand topic.

Every Interfor Academy expert is a compelling and deeply experienced public speaker ready to take the stage or speak to your team on their own. Interfor Academy can combine these experts to create one-of-a-kind panels, fireside chats, and team interviews curated to address issues specific to your needs.

With close to 50 years of service to its clients, Interfor, a global investigative and security consulting firm led by our Advisory Board member Don Aviv, has developed unique knowledge and skills that its clients depend on. Now with the launch of Interfor Academy, Interfor is able to directly share some of those skills in a different way with its clients to expand their communication skills, provide essential education tools, and entertain while informing at corporate retreats, conferences, or other functions.

Whether you’re a conference organizer looking for that compelling speaker to keep your audience on the edge of their seats, a top executive looking to add a memorable guest to bring an unforgettable experience to your corporate retreat, or a human resources officer focused on training your team against security risks, Interfor Academy will create a unique and customized experience for you.