You’re in the news.
But you are not happy with how the story is being reported. In fact, you believe it is inaccurate.
It’s not a fun situation. It could be hugely damaging. It could cause a crisis media management incident.
How do you best respond at a time when minds are not easily changed?
Well, one organisation decided a TikTok video was the best way to rain check inaccurate reporting.
The Met Office took to the social media channel to criticise how The Mirror had covered a weather warning about thunderstorms over the weekend and turned it into something apocalyptic.
The publication ran an online story under the headline ‘Met Office warns everyone in Britain to shut their curtains at 4.30pm’.
And videos on its social media channels ran a similar story titled ‘Exact date UK will get pummelled by rain as met warns Brits to shut their curtains’.
The Met Office was not impressed.
🚨 NEW: The Met Office has attacked Reach publication The Daily Mirror, saying “please don’t believe them” over their ‘utter rubbish’ misleading weather news pic.twitter.com/I9TXJvM1my
— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) September 19, 2024
In its TikTok video, it called the stories “clickbait journalism” and said it was an example of “using weather to get cheap clicks”.
The presenter said: “There is so much wrong with this video, it is hard to believe it is 44 seconds long.
“Unfortunately, this nonsense has been seen by over three million people and counting.”
What exactly does the Met Office believe is wrong with it?
“Firstly, there isn’t even any exact date mentioned in the video,” the presenter said. “So, FYI, the south will see some large thunderstorms on Friday and this weekend.
“Secondly, it’s not a heatwave we’re experiencing right now. It’s just a spell of fine, warm, dry weather that should be enjoyed if you like sunshine.
“As for the curtains thing – wow.”
He said there had not been any mention of curtains in its press release, forecast, social media posts or ‘deep dive’ video.
The presenter added: “Now, on our website, there is a section about staying warm during cold weather in winter. And it does suggest closing your curtains at dusk because it helps to keep your house warm.
“But we’re not forecasting any cold weather. And it is not dusk at 4.30pm next month.”
Ouch. That is some factcheck - and I love it.
Clearly, the Met Office has had enough of misleading, exaggerated and scaremongering weather stories. And who can blame them? I think it is right to call it out.
But would this bold approach work for other organisations? And how should you best respond when the media gets it wrong?
Here are some tips from our media training and crisis communication courses:
Ignore it
Interesting point to begin with, right?
No one likes to see their story has been misrepresented.
But sometimes the best approach is to do nothing.
You need to consider how serious the error is and whether responding will do any good. Is it factual or you just don’t like the way something has been reported?
If it is something relatively minor that is likely to be quickly forgotten, is it worth giving it more oxygen with a denial or a rebuttal?
Or is it something that could spiral and potentially cause a crisis media management incident?
Impartial
When you work hard on gaining coverage for a story, you are close to it.
And that may mean you are not the best judge of whether reports are flawed and need addressing.
Ask someone further removed from it for their thoughts. Do they share your concerns?
Or does your message still come through without distraction?
Use your channels
Your channels can be a great way of addressing misinformation.
Even through the Mirror has a much larger reach on TikTok, the Met Office’s response is being shared and picked up.
And it has complete control of what is being said.
I think it works for the Met Office in its video because it has made the Mirror’s reporting look pretty silly. But typically, you need to tread carefully repeating the inaccurate details. It can reinforce the errors in the audience’s mind.
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Their channels
There are also many ways you can try to correct inaccurate information on the channels run by the publication.
Letters to the editor, op-eds and website comment sections are all worth considering.
Again, don’t fall into the trap of repeating the original error in your response. This happens a lot and just gives the mistake more attention.
The other consideration before taking any of these approaches is whether you are allowing an unhelpful story to continue to run.
Corrections
You can also request a correction.
Media outlets only need to do this if it is a factual error.
So, you will need evidence that proves it is wrong.
Online stories can normally be amended quickly.
But print and broadcast corrections are always smaller than the original story and they may not happen immediately. Do you want to bring it back up when interest may have moved on?
Other approaches could work better.
Keep it friendly
Journalists are human. Mistakes happen.
So, stay calm and try to find some common ground and a way to improve the situation that benefits everyone.
For example, you may be able to offer an exclusive interview with one of your experts that generates positive coverage for you and more subtly corrects the mistake.
It will be interesting to see if the Met Office takes a similar approach with other weather stories it feels are inaccurate. Or whether this is more of a passing storm.
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