Fake News and Reputation: disinformation is not a technical problem

In a saturated and increasingly automated information ecosystem, distinguishing the true from the plausible has become the central challenge of contemporary communication.

The paradox of abundant information

We live in an era where knowledge is just a click away: any news story, study, or opinion is available within seconds, on any device. And yet trust in information has never been so fragile.

Part of the problem lies in the quality of the filter we use to select information: we increasingly tend to delegate to intermediaries, algorithms, chatbots, aggregators, that operate according to logics that don’t always align with our own. Whoever controls the intermediary controls the context in which information takes shape, as Raffaele Gaito explains on his blog.

Fake News is never 100% fake

A common conceptual mistake is assuming that fake news is entirely false. That is rarely the case. Disinformation works through the cracks: it takes a verifiable fact, strips it of context, and amplifies it through emotional dynamics and cognitive biases.

Roughly two-thirds of people would make mistakes when evaluating false news, even while believing themselves capable of detecting it. And with the spread of AI-generated content, distinguishing an authentic photo from an artificially produced one is now possible for just over half of the population.

AI, publishing, and the collapse of the click-based model

For over twenty years, online journalism built its model on a simple principle: more clicks, more advertising revenue. The result was an editorial architecture optimized for engagement, which made information structurally dependent on major platforms and progressively weaker in terms of quality.

Today that model is crumbling. According to analysis by NewzDash, Google Search’s share of traffic to editorial websites fell to 27% in 2025. AI-powered search engines deliver key information directly, reducing the incentive to open the original article. In Italy, daily newspaper sales reached approximately 1.4 million copies per day in 2025, a drop of nearly 30% compared to 2021.

The pressure falls on newsrooms. In 2025, more than half of journalists worldwide were regularly using tools like ChatGPT, yet over half were not re-reading texts before publication. Disinformation, therefore, grows not only as the intentional production of false content, but also as a side effect of an ecosystem that has sacrificed verification in favor of speed.

Reputation is built before the crisis

• Il lavoro vero si fa prima: costruire credibilità, coltivare relazioni con gli stakeholder, consolidare una rete di interlocutori pronti ad amplificare la versione corretta dei fatti quando serve.
• Monitoraggio della risonanza sociale. Capire chi influenza il dibattito su un determinato tema è lavoro preventivo, non emergenziale.
• Costruire reti di amplificazione credibile è parte integrante del PR contemporaneo.

Concretamente, la gestione della reputazione inizia molto prima che una crisi si manifesti. Le fondamenta si posano nel lavoro ordinario e quotidiano: relazioni solide, coerenza di messaggio, stakeholder che sanno già da che parte stare.

Truth alone is not enough. Even when people know a piece of news is false, it can continue to shape their perceptions. In a context where, as demonstrated by the Harvard Business Review, around 70% of people tend to distrust information coming from groups perceived as “others,” factual accuracy alone does not restore trust.

An effective communication strategy is built on three levels.

• The real work happens beforehand: building credibility, nurturing relationships with stakeholders, and consolidating a network of contacts ready to amplify the correct version of events when needed.
• Monitoring social resonance. Understanding who influences the debate on a given topic is preventive work, not crisis management.
• Building networks of credible amplification is an integral part of contemporary PR.

In practice, reputation management begins long before a crisis emerges. The foundations are laid through ordinary, day-to-day work: solid relationships, consistency of message, and stakeholders who already know which side they stand on.