When Crisis Strikes

The best crisis response communications will have begun long before a crisis happens, from identifying likely scenarios to creating template materials and establishing a rapid response team.

But whether or not you’ve prepared in advance, here are some steps you can take to make your crisis response successful. 

• Develop a clear strategy. Gather all the facts. Make clear decisions informed by business, legal and reputational goals. Set the tone and call the play. Remain agile as circumstances change.

• Get the right people in the room. Convene a cross-functional crisis response team including management, legal, communications and any relevant business/functional leaders. Align on approach across internal stakeholder groups. Coordinate rollout and provide logistical support.

• Communicate with key stakeholders. Develop consistent and compelling messaging. Tailor communications to each key audience. Leverage established communications channels. Instruct external-facing employees how to manage inbounds. Prepare executives for tough conversations

• Monitor and respond in real time. Closely monitor traditional and social media. Identify new developments or information. Quickly correct factual inaccuracies. Engage influential voices driving the conversation. Activate supporters where possible.

With COP28 approaching in less than two months, a window is closing very soon for companies still deciding whether to take part in the largest global sustainability gathering.

The annual UN climate conference has evolved from a purely political meeting for negotiation to a forum for multi-stakeholder events where business has a legitimate seat at the table. This presents an imperative for corporates and sustainability leaders to join the conversation and drive solutions.

The COP28 program is rapidly taking shape for both the Blue and Green Zones and beyond. The COP Presidency has published a two-week schedule providing an overview on selected events for each thematic day.

While time is running short, there are live opportunities for organizations to get engaged. Here are some possible routes:

• Look beyond the Blue Zone. Obtaining Blue Zone access now will be difficult, but numerous events are taking place in the Green Zone and all over Dubai. Identify suitable speaking opportunities for your CEO and other senior executives there. Programming for the Green Zone will be available soon.
  

• Connect with clients in Dubai. Approach your most important clients and business partners to find out where you can meet and engage with them – in public or behind closed doors. Over 70,000 daily participants are expected at COP28.
  

• Collaborate with partners. Activate your network of associations, alliances and civil society partners to evaluate options for joint panels or new partnerships.
  

• Engage with policymakers. Connect with your political contacts in the lead-up to COP28, as officials on the ground will be very busy with the negotiations. Learn what leaders and staff have planned at COP28, inform them about your organization’s activities and invite them to relevant programs.
  

• Plan your media outreach. Prepare for opportunistic media outreach on the ground. Keep in mind that many opportunities will come up last-minute. Leverage key moments at COP28 and thematic days to secure smart media engagement.

Find more information about COP28 here.

​For years, Twitter has been the place to go to follow live developments in breaking news. But with Elon Musk’s takeover of the platform (now X), some changes are making it harder than ever to verify the information shared. 
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Researchers have warned fake posts linked to the war between Israel and Hamas are proliferating online and especially so on X.
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The platform has also been singled out for sunsetting a software tool designed to identify when different accounts shared the same or similar media, which formed an important part of identifying disinformation campaigns.
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Additionally, Elon Musk largely fired the department responsible for addressing disinformation over the last year.
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One researcher’s anecdote in WIRED notes credible regional news outlets have been “virtually impossible to find” on the platform compared to 2021, while “xenophobic goons” were being boosted by CEO Elon Musk.
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Elsewhere, outlets note the company’s new paid bluetick policy is giving preferential status to paying accounts, many of which are sharing old and doctored footage, such as video game clips being passed off as actual combat or football star Cristiano Ronaldo holding the Palestinian flag.