Recently the Washington Post printed a correction, roughly two months too late. The story goes, then President Trump made a phone call to the Georgia Secretary of State regarding the possibility of fraud in the November election. The Washington Post ran the story and lied about the facts. Two months later, after the election had taken place and after a Georgia Senate run-off race had taken place, the Washington Post printed a correction after the damage had been done.
Recently, Representative Maria Salazar posted on social media that the Biden administration had accepted a bipartisan bill she put forth to allow businesses to defer EIDL loan payments for an extra year. There was confusion, and many people thought she was taking credit for something she didn’t do. Media members instantly attacked her. Days later, those media members issued an apology after Representative Salazar’s comments were “fact-checked” to have been accurate.
The point is, the media is going to make mistakes. And, if your views are not in line with their views, as was the case for President Trump and Rep. Salazar, they are going to make more “mistakes” in reporting you than other candidates. If left unchecked, those mistakes or “mistakes” can be very damaging. We wish this weren’t the case, but this is the way it is in today’s polarized political climate. Professional misinformation and disinformation about candidates are very much a reality in today’s politics.
So, what can you do to try to prevent this, or if it does happen, combat it? First, you should have a digital marketing team already in place. A digital marketing team that has experience in crisis communications. One that makes sure your original message is not only truthful, but that it is also clear to your voters. Secondly, your messaging should be targeted to those who matter most, your constituents.
At Reach Voters, our in-house team has decades of experience in digital marketing and crisis communications. Because we are in-house, our team can craft a targeted video response and have it posted soon after you film it.
In politics, at some point, you will have a media crisis. Are you ready for it? Call Reach Voters today to schedule an interview to see if we can help.
