Articles / Blogs
Resources
Glossary
CheatSheet: Online Reputation Glossary
AI Update
These are the terms that shape how people and organizations appear online today, from search rankings and social media to the AI platforms that now answer the question “Who is this person?”
AI Hallucination. When an AI platform presents false or invented information as fact, such as a fabricated quote, lawsuit, or job title attributed to a real person.
AI Overviews. AI-generated summaries that Google displays above traditional search results, drawn from several websites at once. What they say about a person or company may be the first, and only, thing a searcher reads.
Algorithm. The set of rules a platform uses to decide what to show and in what order. Search engines use algorithms to rank results, social media platforms use them to curate feeds, and AI platforms use them to choose which sources to draw on.
Answer Engine. An AI tool, such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini or Copilot, that responds to questions with a written answer rather than a list of links.
Astroturfing. Creating the false impression of grassroots support or opposition through fake reviews, comments, posts or accounts. It is increasingly done at scale with AI-generated content. In the U.S., an FTC rule finalized in 2024 bans buying or selling fake reviews.
Authenticity. The quality of being genuine. Audiences, journalists and online communities value content that is consistent, verifiable and clearly attributable to its real author.
Black Hat SEO. Manipulative tactics that violate search engines’ guidelines in order to boost rankings. Examples include link farms (networks of sites created only to link to one another), keyword stuffing, hidden text and paid link schemes. Search engines penalize sites caught using them, often by demoting or removing them from results.
Brand SERP. The search engine results page that appears when someone searches your name or your organization’s name. It is often your first impression, which is why online reputation management focuses on what appears on page one.
Branded Content. Content that promotes and cultivates a rapport between a targeted audience and a brand’s products and/or services.
Cheapfake. Manipulated media made with simple editing rather than AI, such as slowing down a video, cropping a photo, or splicing audio out of context.
For more in-depth information, read The Essentials: Online Reputation Management FAQ.
Articles
The Essentials: Online Reputation Management FAQs
Online reputation management (ORM) makes you look your best online. It creates a “digital firewall” to protect your reputation from harmful attacks or misinformation; ensures your public image is accurate, up-to-date and authentic, and is…Read more
AI Doesn't Know You. That's the Problem
Someone Is Telling Your Story Online. It Might Be AI—and It Might Be Wrong. Our Q & A Tells You What to Know. Content Strategy in the AI Era Threats and Protections Practical Action…Read more
Scrubbing Your Personal Info from the Internet, by Don Aviv
Don Aviv, CPP, PSP, PCI is President of Interfor International, a corporate intelligence agency. He is also a Reputation Communications Advisory Board member. This article is republished from his original LinkedIn version. Today, nearly everything is…Read more
Attorneys, AI, and Reputation Risk
Attorneys are adopting artificial intelligence faster than they are establishing the guardrails to use it safely. Jennifer L. Ellis, an attorney and consultant who advises lawyers, law firms, and legal organizations on ethics, technology, and…Read more
An Attorney’s Advice for Removing Negative, Defamatory and Infringing Material from the Internet, by Christine Rafin, Esq.
Christine Rafin, Esq. serves as General Counsel – MediaCo LLC and is a former partner in the New York City law firm of Kent, Beatty & Gordon, LLP, specializing in technology-related legal issues. As an attorney specializing…Read moreCheatSheet: Online Reputation Glossary
CheatSheet: Online Reputation Glossary AI Update These are the terms that shape how people and organizations appear online today, from search rankings and social media to the AI platforms that now answer the question “Who…Read moreBlog
My Path to Becoming an Expert Defamation Witness
I never set out to become an expert witness. In 2019, ten years after founding Reputation Communications, I got an email out of the blue from an attorney looking for someone to evaluate a defamation…Read more
How to Own Your Identity in the Age of AI
RSL Human Consent Standard, a free public registry, launches this month. It allows anyone to protect their name, image, voice, or creative work from being used by AI. RSL Media is the nonprofit behind this…Read more
Lessons About Digital Discretion from Jeffrey Epstein's Emails
Much of the coverage of the Jeffrey Epstein files has focused on who knew what, and when. But buried inside thousands of pages of correspondence is a quieter lesson — one that applies not just…Read more
What Jeffrey Epstein's Online Reputation Campaign Reveals About the Dark Side of ORM
The newly released Justice Department files on Jeffrey Epstein contain something that should concern every executive, communications professional, and anyone who relies on their established name to do business: a detailed, years-long record of a…Read more
Why I Wrote "Reputation Reboot" for the AI Era
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…Read more
Expert Defamation Witness Shannon Wilkinson on Social Media Risk
I’m proud to have been featured as an expert in Interfor International’s recent blog post on social media risk management. In today’s digital landscape, the intersection of online behavior and reputation has never been more…Read moreAdvice
Reputation Reboot addresses real-life online reputation management (ORM) challenges faced by CEOs, executives, VIPs and their organizations. Unless they are public figures, their names and related descriptions of all individuals and companies discussed are changed to protect their privacy. For a quick look at the types of situations facing many professionals, scroll down and check out the headlines.
Did You Know?
Online reputation management enables you to take more ownership over what appears about you on the Internet.
Without it, the world controls how you look online.
Here are ten examples of the ways online reputation management is used by individuals, companies and organizations.
To ensure up-to-date and accurate information dominates search results for an organization or individual’s name.
To ensure that factual, credible reference material is readily available online.
That reduces the chance that fraudulent information will impact a brand.
To remove unwanted or inappropriate information, photographs or other content from the first few pages of Google search results.
To monitor social media and online forums for red flags signaling potential on- and offline threats against high-profile individuals and their organizations.
To create a strong online presence about a topic.
That presence acts as a barrier against potential distortions from third-party content, including anonymous and defamatory material. Without it, such items can go straight to the top of searches – and stay.
To ensure that your story is told by you and not by former partners or other potentially biased parties.
To establish a reputation within your area of expertise on multiple online platforms.
To create an online legacy for a VIP who is preparing for retirement or to exit an organization.