Hearts & Minds: Disregard. Decline. Deny. The lifecycle of a fabricated story

A journalist calls with a story regarding your company. Your initial response is to ignore it. The claim is so ludicrous that you assume it will go away. It doesn’t. The following day you say, ‘no comment’. Still, the story persists. Finally, the day after that, you issue a denial.

That, in essence, is what occurred with a major corporate and one of its famous brands last week.

The trouble with this approach is that a story that was untrue was allowed to gain traction, to be repeated, via other media, social media and word of mouth, before it was dismissed. Stakeholders, rivals, the industry – many of them would not have seen the denial and continued to believe the story was true for a while longer. The uncertainty and unsettling could have been avoided if they’d denied the story in the first place.

On the comms side, there is often the belief that a denial doesn’t work, that it won’t be believed, that it will legitimise the report. It’s not the case on the journalist’s side. Journalists do not want to receive a denial. It’s the last thing they desire. They think they’ve got a good story, they’re bouncing, keen to land a tale that will get their name in light, receive countless views and hits and please their editor.

That’s how it works in the newsroom. They may well have gone some distance, ‘selling’ it up the editorial line, even writing it. There’s a space earmarked for it at the top of the bulletin; the headline may also have been written. All that is required is some sort of confirmation from the company and bingo, they’ve got a great result. Then, it’s denied. There’s no way of getting round that, no possibility of dodging or doubting. The reporter may have what they consider to be an excellent source, but their article has no credibility. No editor, no in-house lawyer, will let it through.  

Disregarding by the company is not smart. It enables the journalist to say the company refused to comment. That sounds as if the story is true. By saying nothing, you’ve only gone and validated it. Likewise, ‘no comment’. Journalists dream of receiving a confirmation. In its absence, a ‘no comment’ is next best, it’s nearly as good as saying the story is true. What’s the lesson? Establish the facts; if it’s rubbish, then immediately say so. Deny it and kill it.

Chris Blackhurst is one of the UK’s foremost business journalists. He was previously Editor of The Independent and City Editor of the Evening Standard.