A recent article post on Vice.com titled “Silicon Valley Elite Discuss Journalists Having Too Much Power in Private App” has been making the rounds the last few days that discusses the evolution of journalism. It is certainly nothing new that business owners, athletes, celebrities, and more have frustrations in regards to some journalism out there, but the most recent trends are showing that journalists actually have more power than ever before. At least, that is what many believed in a recent online discussion through the Clubhouse app. Now a counter action firm Profile Defenders has come out to help defend those who feel they’ve been falsely disparaged or defamed via a new piece detailing the current issues with journalism in a piece on their reputation management companies blog.
How one bad headline can ruin anyone
The central theme coming out of the online discussion that involved the likes of venture capitalist Balaji Srinivasan and celebrity Roland Martin who’s been on CNN numerous times is the fact that journalists have more power than ever before as far as impacting a company or individual. Instead of being forced to thoroughly investigate a story and only post when the facts are in, the rush to be first in journalism is now leading to more speculation and cancel culture than ever before. An online post, a Tweet, or even a poor review from an anonymous source can shoot up the search results when people look a business or individual up.
The world today is different than it was even 5 or 10 years ago. One of the first moves a person makes when they are researching anything is to do a simple search online. If there is a poor result on the main results page, or in the news, it can instantly impact the perception and potentially ruing a company over night.
It doesn’t necessarily have to be correct, but the headline is there to make an impact. Profile Defenders was one of the first companies to offer solutions to fight against negative results, and even get them removed if they are false. They’ve come out in favour of helping any protestor falsely arrested that they would remove their mugshot from the internet free of charge in an effort to further promote peace and positivity online something the rest of the world has lost interest in promoting if you only looked at recent headlines.
This has been a growing trend for many people online over the last few years, and one of the leaders in helping people fight against reckless news online the entire time has been Profile Defenders. They are a company that assists businesses and individuals that want to protect their reputation online as much as possible by either removing or demoting the unwanted search results. In today’s world, one bad review, online social media post, or article can significantly impact anyone. More people than ever before rely on doing research online before doing business, and a poor link can compromise a reputation in a hurry.
Changes in journalism
In the days of newspapers, magazines, radio, and broadcast television, the news was delivered at certain times. This meant that everything was delayed a bit, but it actually helped as far as checking sources and making sure that everything was as close to accurate as possible. Many thought that the internet and the 24/7 access would be a huge positive for everyone, but it has actually turned into a negative in some regards if you look at the demise and limited attention spans of todays internet users.
Anyone with a platform can let their voices be heard if they have something to say. It does not need to be fact-checked, a post can stay online forever, and there is very little a person can do unless they take some sort of legal action. Companies like Profile Defenders can help remove or bury the stories, but the fact that they are even out there in the first place can still do some significant damage early on. The Frisky a celebrity news site covered the issues facing journalism in a recent piece discussing the issues facing both sides of the isle.
Chat provides insight into why journalism has changed
Part of the chat focused on this constant rush to be first in releasing news, and chasing the next big headline. As prominent business owners, celebrities, athletes, and more make headlines for all the wrong reasons, many are fearful that they might get caught up in everything without actually doing anything wrong.
Even if someone is falsely accused, the apology is usually never something that makes a ton of headlines. In some cases, there is not even any sort of actual apology. Even if the original article or post is heavily edited, there are still countless other shares that have all the original information there. That initial story still stays, and all the major search engines are going to have it rated highly in results.
Journalism might be evolving, but it is even worse dealing with people who have no real journalism integrity. Instead, they have an online platform to make accusations. It is becoming more and more of a problem as people take something classified as a rumour and run with it. Those who are in the public eye are more vulnerable than others, as there are people online who seem to want to take people down based on hearsay. In essence, anyone with an internet connection can have something published online for the world to see. There are no editors or repercussions if they get it wrong.
What makes Profile Defenders different from the rest?
Online reputation services are nothing new, but not all companies are created equally. Profile Defenders is one of the oldest companies out there that continue to have success for all of their clients. They have been able to adapt to the times, and keep up with the latest trends to make sure that everyone is putting their best foot forward.
From actual removal to suppression, they understand what search engines look for, and how to keep the right pages on that first page of results. No one wants to search themselves or their business, only to see false information that limits growth and they have the ability to completely remove and delete results in some instances.
Profile Defenders offers free consultations to anyone who feels like their online reputation could benefit from a boost. It seems that journalism integrity continues to trend in the wrong direction, especially with clicks and headlines ultimately paying the bills for companies. Until significant changes are made, the power to cancel remains much too great.
