Just as a popular restaurant group reopened its doors following both the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and local social unrest in response to the killing of George Floyd, a disgruntled former employee took to social media on numerous platforms to falsely allege unfair treatment of workers, violations of COVID-19 health protocols, and insufficient owner support of Black Lives Matter. The defamatory accusations quickly went viral and were further amplified by organized activists who advocated for a customer boycott, with the goal of “shutting down” the restaurant. Using various strategic tactics, Rotenberg Associates quickly contained the social media campaign, communicated truthful information to stakeholders, succeeded in having most of the defamatory posts removed or blocked, and kept the false accusations out of the mainstream print and broadcast media. Despite this harrowing experience, the restaurant group was able to continue its operations with no regulatory or legal impact and virtually no ongoing reputational harm.
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