MISINFORMATION and disinformation have real-world consequences. While this is not new to markets, advances in technology and access to Web-based information have heightened the threats of toxic online narratives. Without proper management, what starts as niche online chatter can easily escalate into a major crisis – and not just for brands, but for the general public, too.

Wayfair knows this all too well. In 2020, the US-based furniture retailer found itself at the centre of a bizarre conspiracy theory after an anonymous user posted in an Internet chatroom: “What if retail giant Wayfair is using pricey storage cabinets to traffic children?” This spread like wildfire from one social media platform to another. Ultimately, the hashtags #Wayfairconspiracy and #WayfairGate amassed nearly 4.5 million views on TikTok alone, and one national human trafficking hotline saw a surge in calls, straining its resources.

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