Crisis Communications 101: How To Handle Defamation on Social Media

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Sometime around October 2021, my former personal trainer was going through a crisis in his business.

A former client of his had begun to post defamatory allegations against him and his business (a gym) saying he mistreated his employees, cheated her out of her membership fees with bait & switch tactics, etc. Even went so far as to complain about his dog (yes really).

She claimed she had brought issues up about this in his gym’s FB Group and was removed by him, thus began her social media campaign to “expose” him.

It was pretty obvious she was lying as my client had screenshots of WhatsApp messages and emails to prove the opposite.

As a result of this, some of his clients cancelled their memberships.

Now in most crisis cases, such issues die down within 2 weeks, so as his PR coach, I set up a 3-step strategy as follows:

Step 1 – Do not respond to her directly on social media (she was tagging him in all his posts goading him to respond) but take screenshots of all her postings.

Step 2 - Send out an email to all existing members explaining the situation, without naming the party involved as housekeeping. Saying we have the proof of her lies and they are welcome to view them in person should they want to when they come to the gym.

Step 3 – If defamation continues beyond the first 2 weeks, we take legal action (may be costly but you can do this for free with the right strategy).

My client crafted the email and I proofread and edited it before it was sent out. Then we waited for it to die down.

But she stepped up her attacks by setting up an Instagram account and an FB page for a focussed attack on his reputation.

So we moved to Step 3 of our plan, legal action. Most people would be hesitant to go that route because it can be very costly but I advised my client that he can claim legal costs from the defamer.

So I connected him to a lawyer experienced in defamation and we requested the demand to be as follows:

1. She ceases from posting lies or talking about my client and/or his gym on social media.

2. Pays for my client’s legal fees.

3. Publishes an apology on her social media.

My client was advised by the lawyer to also make a police report as a matter of record. The police then reached out to her for her response, we know they did this as she suddenly deleted her defamatory posts, Instagram account and FB Page.

Unfortunately for her, Step 1 of our strategy ensured we had screenshots of everything. ??

The lawyer had also sent a letter demanding cessation and compensation for her defamation, failing which, she will be taken to court.

She responded by hiring a lawyer of her own where she initially offered to pay a small amount of money and a private apology (not to be made public). Funny how for someone who claimed she was posting the "truth", she wanted to give a private apology. ??

I advised my client to continue to push for full compensation and a public apology as we knew she was in the wrong, otherwise she would have challenged us legally.

So there was a bit of back and forth between the lawyers but in the end, she offered full legal fee compensation and a public apology that my client can publish on his social media channels and email to his membership.

She however, stopped short of posting it on her own platforms, but my client accepted the offer in the end as it was already May 2022 and the issue had gone on too long. I told him that was his choice, we all have to respect it and he had pretty much won.

He received positive support after publishing her apology from his members and whilst she continues to play the victim, she hasn’t posted anything defamatory since.

As to why she did what she did? Based on her actions, lying to prop herself up as a victim screams of a Borderline Personality Disorder, but I’m no expert, so don't take my word for it.

Suffice to say all’s well that ends well. My client's business continues to thrive and am proud that he fought back and trusted in his PR Coach’s strategy and advise.

So remember, when in crisis, always set out the strategy first, a simple, straightforward one is best. Even better if you have proof as then legal action can be taken.

What do you think? Do you have any questions? Have you experienced any issues like this before? Do you need any help? Chime-in in the comments or share this with someone who should read this.

Do subscribe to my newsletter as I will be posting regularly about PR & Marketing strategies, insights and case studies so that you can do this for yourself, otherwise, just hire me ??

Till the next newsletter, don’t misbehave on social media ok?

Biresh