With the use of AI, at Fuzion we believe that only people with the relevant experience, knowledge and expertise should use these tools. You need to know that the data generated is correct – and often it isn’t!
As seen from a recent reputationally damaging situation for the former Irish boss of Mediahuis IRL (Irish Indo Group of Newspapers), Peter Valdermeersch, even the experts can get caught out.
My partner Greg Canty has written an insightful blog, inspired by this situation which really strengthened his own very definite views on AI – Read the article here, but in summary he is not a fan!!!
Rather than getting dragged into the merits and pitfalls of AI, as I spend a lot of time on Reputation Management and Crisis Comms for clients, I was looking at this from a crisis communications perspective.
I think Media Haus did a good reputation management job. In an article written by Adrian Weckler, the Indo’s Tech Editor, Peter put his hand up and said
“It’s particularly painful that I made precisely the mistake I have repeatedly warned colleagues about.”
He admitted using AI to give him quotes from prominent journalists, but these quotes were not correct. He trusted the AI tools and didn’t do a double check.
So when the issue came to light what did Mediahuis do?
They highlighted the issue, unpublished the articles and suspended Peter temporarily from his senior role within the organisation. They didn’t hide behind a small article, or wait for a competitor to tell the story. They got one of their best people on the story; their Tech Editor, who is a very respected journalist and would have a very strong digital following.
For me, Media Haus came out of it with their reputation intact and through highlighting the issue and Peter taking personal responsibility, it has become a very valuable lesson for all of us responsible for communications within our organisations.
If you have a potential issue that could hit the media here are some tips:
- Control the Messaging with a Prepared Holding Statement
- Include a message from CEO if appropriate
- Take Responsibility & Be Honest
- Show Empathy
- Have One Unified Voice
- Ensure Spokespeople are Media Trained
- Be ready to Inform your Internal Audiences & Key Stakeholders beforehand
- Take Positive Actions
- Communicate the Positive Actions
This list isn’t exhaustive. The best piece of advice I would give is to make sure you have professional and trusted communication experts to guide you through the crisis, as so many crises escalate through poor communications.
Deirdre
Deirdre Waldron is the Founding Partner of Fuzion and she heads up the Crisis Communications team.
