What's the real cost of disinformation for corporations?
A 2020 Trustpilot study found that 89% of global e-commerce revenue is influenced by online reviews, with 49% of consumers ranking positive reviews among their top three buying factors. False ratings manipulate buying decisions across major marketplaces, travel booking sites and review platforms, with fake reviews estimated to cost businesses $152 billion globally. Photo by Alireza Hosseini Moghadam / Upsplash
World Economic Forum
Manipulating public perception for financial gain is nothing new. A striking example is the 1835 “Great Moon Hoax,” when The Sun, a New York newspaper, falsely claimed the discovery of lunar civilizations – boosting its sales and reputation before later admitting to the deception.
More recently, in 2013, The Associated Press Twitter account was hacked and falsely reported that two explosions had hit the White House, claiming Barack Obama was injured. Reuters said that within three minutes, the fake tweet briefly erased $136 billion of the S&P 500 index’s value.
Disinformation – especially when amplified on social media – can cause massive financial and reputational damage, leading to stock price crashes, revenue losses and consumer distrust.
Learn more about the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the New Economy and Society.
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