Published in Modern Restaurant Management
This dynamic played out recently for Cracker Barrel in “logo-gate.” According to a Cyabra report, fake social media accounts helped fuel a wave of online backlash over the brand’s updated logo with real-world consequences…To explore what brands can learn from this experience and best practices for responding when fake outrage turns into a real reputational risk, Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine spoke with Ioana Good, founder of Promova, a public relations and branding agency, Adrien Maines, a Promova partner and Creative Director, and Craig Miller, expert legacy business strategist and former Sonic Drive-In CIO, about strategies for restaurant brands to mitigate misinformation and protect guest trust.
How can operators leverage brand loyalists to counteract fake outrage?
AM: Utilizing your loyal audience to tell your story is a great way to defuse the fake outrage noise. You can do this by directly asking your lists for feedback through surveys, ensuring that the responses come from genuine customers with real experiences.
Platforms like SurveyMonkey can help gather direct feedback from customers, which in turn can be compared to what’s being posted online. Then share this feedback on your social platforms.
How much of a concern should fake outrage be for brands?
IG: Fake outrages are a major concern for brands, given that recent data shows that nearly 30 percent of online reviews are fake. AI-powered bot networks can now manufacture brand backlash, and the disturbing trend is that this is increasing.
This artificial amplification can lead brands to make costly strategic decisions based on false signals, as we saw with Cracker Barrel’s logo reversal after bot-driven backlash. The key is implementing advanced detection tools and baseline sentiment tracking to distinguish authentic criticism, which requires a response, from coordinated attacks that often warrant non-engagement.
To read the interview in full, click here.