Tag Archives: reputation repair

AI, , , , , , , , , ,

Today, when someone wants to know who you are, they may not Google you at all. They may ask ChatGPT. Or Perplexity. Or Microsoft Copilot. And whatever those AI platforms surface about you—accurate or not—becomes their first and sometimes only impression of you.

That is why I have spent the past months substantially rewriting and expanding Reputation Reboot: What Every Business Leader, Rising Star & VIP Needs to Know. I first published this free eBook in 2019. The 2026 AI Edition is not a light refresh. It is a reckoning with how profoundly the search and information landscape has shifted—and what you need to know about it.  As the founder of Reputation Communications—and an expert defamation witness in litigation—I have been working in online reputation management since the industry began.

A Crisis Waiting to Happen

The AI Incident Database had logged over 3,000 incidents of AI mischaracterization of real individuals at the time I wrote this—and that number keeps climbing. The New York Times has called AI-generated composites that sometimes appear with wrong information “Frankenpeople.” I call them a crisis waiting to happen.

What creates this vulnerability? A vacuum. When there is little authoritative information about you published online—information you have created and control—AI systems fill that gap with whatever they can find. Old court filings. Forum posts. Scraped data from sources you never consented to. The less you have published about yourself, the more that gap will be filled by material you would never choose.

What AI Has Done to Search—and Why It Matters to Your Reputation

For decades, online reputation management meant optimizing your presence for Google. We helped clients build high-quality content, earn inbound links from authoritative sources, and push problematic results down the search rankings. Those strategies still matter. But they are no longer sufficient on their own.

AI overviews now appear at the top of nearly half of all Google search results, often summarizing information before the reader ever clicks a single link. Meanwhile, millions of people bypass Google entirely and go straight to AI platforms for answers. This is not a trend. It is a structural shift.

The Stakes Have Never Been Higher

In my work over the past several years, I have consulted on a broad range of reputation crises detailed in Reputation Reboot. Now, the reputation risk landscape includes AI-generated deepfake videos, doxxing campaigns and far more examples that our laws have not caught up to. The Blake Lively lawsuit in late 2024—in which a PR consultant boasted in text messages that “we can bury anyone”—is only the most public example of tactics that are far more common than most people realize.

Boards of directors now rank reputational risk as their largest nonfinancial concern, surpassing cybersecurity and regulatory exposure. And yet most executives still have not taken the most basic proactive steps to protect themselves online.

The single biggest mistake I see is what I have long called “benign neglect.” The work of repairing the damage takes far longer and costs far more than proactive management would have.

What the 2026 Edition Will Give You

This guide is a “what to know” resource more than a step-by-step how-to. My goal is to give you the mental model and the strategic vocabulary to understand what is actually happening with your online reputation—and to help you make informed decisions about how to respond.

Inside the 2026 AI Edition, you will find:

•  A plain-language explanation of how AI platforms learn and where their data about you comes from

•  The legal landscape around online defamation, Section 230, and what “Twibel” means for you

•  Practical tools for protecting your privacy and removing personal data from broker databases

•  A realistic assessment of how long reputation repair takes—and why

•  Crisis management frameworks built for the speed of social media and AI amplification

•  Guidance on building the kind of digital presence that acts as your first line of defense

•  Updated recommendations on platforms, tools, and services—including what I have seen work for real clients

I have been doing this work since 2008, and I have never seen the stakes feel more immediate—or the tools for managing them feel more within reach. AI is not just a threat to your reputation. Understood correctly, it is also an opportunity to ensure that what the world finds when it looks for you is accurate, current, and genuinely representative of who you are.

I hope this guide helps you get there.

 
 
Online reputation management, , , , , ,
Reputation Communications: Online Reputation Management

The joys of summer vacation season have come to a close — beach days, family cookouts, and long, sun-filled days are making way for cooler weather, changing leaves, and a return to productivity.

For us, September is the New Season, a time during which we refocus. There are more inquiries, new engagements, faster execution of strategic plans, and a lot more content creation. We didn’t stop working in the summer, but we stepped back from ENews, taking time to pause, refresh, and recharge.

As we dive headfirst into this new season, I wanted to share with you what we’ve been working on.

It all goes back to these central tenants of our business — content creation and social media management, which are valued by Google. These have become our most sought-after services. We create social media content for our clients with tens of thousands of LinkedIn followers — some have scaled to those heights since they started working with us.

We craft Facebook and Instagram posts, and tweets — yes, tweets are still a thing even in the era of “X.” We’ve also set up client accounts on Threads. For much of this work, we harness modern AI technology, but we curate everything to guarantee accuracy and, most importantly, maintain the voice of our clients’ brands. Their reputation counts on this.

Articles, Blogs & Transitions

Our team of skilled writers — this includes everyone from professional freelance journalists for CBS and The Wall Street Journal to Hollywood screenwriters — create streams of blog posts and articles that are published on a variety of platforms, including leading industry periodicals.

At Reputation Communications, we continue to design and publish clients’ websites, molding them to be industry-specific so that they catch the eyes (and search engine hits) of those seeking their brands.

Throughout this time, there have been transitions. We’ve grappled with how to manage the limitations of X that Elon Musk placed on it, as the former microblogging site Twitter evolves into something new. We also have been staying up-to-date on the changes to Google and other search engines, now that AI has changed how algorithms feature your work and has impacted the way the world sees and discovers you.

In the past, we were engaged solely to repair reputations online. Now, more than half of our clients use us to amplify their reputations. We are the engine that powers increased visibility around our clients’ industry achievements and personal endeavors. This is because it is in many ways a new season for our clients as well.

Welcome to the New Season.

 
 
Online reputation management, , , , , , ,

Many people seeking online reputation repair hope for an instant, fast tool. For all the bells and whistles that can be promoted in this industry, here is what you need to know.

Content is the most important tool in online reputation management (ORM). It has remained so during all of Google’s many algorithm changes. The quality of material placed online, whether it is text, video or anything else, affects how Google evaluates its importance, credibility and relevancy.

Google is constantly refining and updating its algorithm, the system it uses to establish the credibility and value of a site over others. One reason is because so many efforts are continually made to game the system: to trick Google and other search engines into erroneously believing that fake content, fake websites and meaningless links (a search engine optimization, or SEO, tool) are credible and thus worth a high ranking.  A high ranking means a site is given more precedence over others. Many factors factor into it – some of which Google identifies and more it doesn’t.

Proactive Content, Strategically Placed, is a Key Strategy

Many damaged reputations result from not having erected a wall of proactive content that serves as a buffer to offset consumer-generated media (CGM). CGM includes the anonymous blog and forum comments that often form the most damaging threat to reputations. Proactive content counterbalance such sentiment, as well as negative online information that may be factual and from respected sources. When there is little content about an individual or organization online, on appropriate platforms and with the SEO that enriches it, anything that anyone posts online about that topic goes straight to the top of the list of results in a Google search—and can stay there.

Strategy Determines Best Type of Image for You or Your Organization

Effective content is information-rich text as well as videos, photographs, podcasts and any other form of information that can be placed online. Ineffective content has a junky or low-quality aspect. When you see meaningless text about an individual or organization plastered on numerous generic websites that lack a clear organizational unity or credible hosting site, you are seeing a generic ORM campaign that is mass-produced for hundreds or thousands of people and organizations. If you care about your or your organization’s image, it might not be an appropriate approach for you. What is important is intelligent, well-crafted text and other material that aptly reflects and adds value to your brand. 

To learn more, read: The Essentials: Online Reputation Management FAQs.

 
 
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Internet Freedom

Like so many other women I applauded when the #MeToo movement began. It offered long-awaited support for women whose career opportunities have been diminished as a result of sexual harassment and discrimination. The seriousness and volume of related headlines that continue to pour out worldwide have brought centuries of oppression and abuse to light. Organizations like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and RAINN are helping to turn this new awareness into serious change.

A lack of clear boundaries can cut both ways

The fact that these inequities are not always addressed by our legal system or workplace customs is part of the reason the #MeToo movement was so necessary. But that lack of clear boundaries can cut both ways. We are seeing too many men lose their jobs and reputations for situations that don’t rise to the level of sexual or other types of harassment. These situations can spring from accusations that a man engaged in borderline behaviors that deserve attention but not social condemnation. These men are being tried in the court of public opinion, often as the subject of anonymous blogs, articles and petitions. The products of this chaotic system will endure online as virtual convictions regardless of the how the situations were resolved.

I’ve spoken with several men who have faced such situations. I’ve also discussed this with female friends who have relevant experiences and expertise. Some of the latter include lawyers who specialize in employment and Internet law, and have led prosecutions into sexual crimes and trafficking. They agree that men are facing very uncertain territory, one that can also be unfair. Politics and social outrage have stepped in to fill a gap in our legal system. As a result, even a simple misunderstanding can have grave professional and reputational consequences.

Recognize This New Era…and Adapt

The next step forward will require a serious conversation about the spectrum of interactions that are not addressed under the law but that are considered improper under what are can only be seen as rapidly changing standards.

As long as these standards remain uncodified it leaves them open to be misused. If you are a male with power over others, you are in a position where you could abuse your authority. But you are also vulnerable. If a colleague reports an action of yours that offends anyone or raises any type of red flag, however nebulous, it may lead to more than just a (now virtual) conversation in HR. You may become a cost-cutting opportunity for your organization—or a headline in industry publications that you will never recover from.

The lesson here is well stated in a rule expressed to me by an employment attorney: If anything about your comportment does not appropriately represent the brand of your employer, you are making yourself vulnerable for dismissal. In your personal life, it is equally important to adhere to your ethics, or to reboot them. By protecting yourself you are protecting everyone.

We are in a new era and culture, and while it might be time to reconsider some of the changes, most are here to stay. All of us must adjust to that reality.

Shannon Wilkinson is the founder and CEO of Reputation Communications. 

 
 
Branding, , , , , ,

Personal branding is an integral aspect of online reputation management. A powerful personal brand leads to an indelible presence online. That often includes a website and other “digital assets” like a blog, thought-leadership articles and other informative material that appropriately reflects your expertise, point of view and stature.

Many damaged reputations occur when people, businesses and organizations don’t manage the information available about them and haven’t put any general information about themselves online.  When such resources aren’t established, material from public records, old articles, Facebook sites and a myriad of other sources can easily rise to the top of search engine results…and stay there. That is why personal branding is so important.

We tapped into the expertise of Sylvia de Martino, Creative & Account Director/NYC at CC:S  (pictured at right), to illuminate the personal branding process used in this work. She sat down with our founder and CEO Shannon Wilkinson to share insights about the transformative effect personal branding can have on your business and online reputation.

Shannon Wilkinson: During the course of our work, some clients seek personal branding when they don’t have any reputation issues. They just recognize the need to differentiate themselves within their industry or to reinforce their credibility. What are common issues you face from the design point-of-view?

Sylvia de Martino: Creating a personal brand has a lot of moving parts, but the most important focus is to communicate integrity and credibility. A personal website, for example, is not an opportunity to boast, but to inform with humility and create trust. So, we must carefully choose typography, color and imagery to communicate a certain spirit and style—whether bold, edgy, classic, or otherwise—while making sure the design remains understated and doesn’t undermine the content. 

SW: As reputation manager, our role is to create optimized, SEO-rich content that will result in a high ranking on search engines. But another of our roles is to deliver the type of image our clients seek. What is important to help you as designers fulfill a client’s goal in terms of image?

SDM: We start with discovery questions like:

Who is your audience?

How do you see yourself as viewed in your industry—and are there perceptions you wish to change? Or, if you are not yet known as a thought leader, how do you wish to be viewed?

What do you want your personal branding site to achieve?

What is the “story,” or, rather, YOUR story that you want the site to tell, in terms of a viewer’s overall net takeaway?

How do you describe your style, and are there examples of brands you admire?

Who are your competitors, and how are they branding themselves?

Are there any new audiences you wish to reach?

SW: The first step in our process is to write or expand a client’s biography so it  provides an in-depth narrative of their expertise. What are the steps in the design process?

SDM: Once we identify what our clients wish to communicate, and to whom, we can design their  logo—usually something very understated—and then their personal website.

Some of the elements of a website might include:

●        A home page that features a biography, or content speaking to issues

●        Bio page if that’s not already on the home page

●        Public Speaking section

●        Consulting section

●        Book section

●        Fundraising Org section or link

●        Contact information

Supporting elements can include:

●        Infographics that illustrate methodology

●        Video of important speaking engagements

●        Blog page

From there, the client reviews and approves our design. Once the website is live, we ensure all of their branding materials — blog and social media banners and potentially other communications materials — are consistent. We then update and refine as needed.

Pictured above: Sylvia de Martino