Before you purchase a product or talk with someone, one of the first things you do is research them. That’s one way of how you screen them and distinguish them from other brands or people. The results of your little search can also act as your deciding factor. So, it’s only reasonable that you consider other people to do this to you or your business. 



Of course, not everything you find about you online is excellent. You might encounter some comments that make you feel uncomfortable without knowing it is already a form of defamation. 



Online defamation comes in different ways. Here are some of its sources:

 

• Blackmailers
• Impersonators
• Tabloids
• Dissatisfied Employees 
• Malicious competitors
• Ignored complainants or customers

 



When Is the Right Time to Sue?



While you can sue anyone committing online defamation against you, it would always be wise to choose your battle. For example, one false review about your product or service won’t affect your reputation and revenue as much as a concentrated effort of spreading fake news about your brand. 



Ways to Handle Online Defamation



Whether you want to sue others or don’t like what they have done against you, it is still best to act on any form of defamation you encounter. In case you don’t like the idea of filing a lawsuit, here are several alternatives to manage such incidents:



Fix by direct contact 



When someone submits a false review about you or your business, you can directly contact the website where they published the information. Most review sites have policies that will allow mediation or removal of any malicious reviews. Use this to your advantage and seek their help.



You can also contact the source of the review. Whether it’s an individual or a publication, you have the right to ask them to take down their post. When requesting a favour, always be polite instead of aggressive and accusatory, and never resort to threatening them with legal action because it will worsen the situation. The result of this will depend on the size of your issue, but some would consider retracting their online opinions after you calmly explain your case. 

Focus on overthrowing that negativity



If your kind words did not work, and you still don’t want to file a lawsuit, you have one more alternative. Instead of focusing on that one negative comment, you can build up on your positive reputation by asking more people to leave positive feedback on your page. You should also stay more active online, engage more with people, and create positive impressions on users. No business is perfect, so people would expect you to have imperfect reviews. Nevertheless, they would always appreciate the good points better, especially when you have more positive feedback than negative comments. 



Respond to it



If you have good counterarguments to the false accusation against you, you can always respond to it on the same platform they posted their comment. Directly responding is one good strategy if your reputation is at stake because staying silent would make you look worse. 



For example, someone accused you of criminality. In this situation, it is better to respond not to look guilty. However, you should keep in mind that your response should still be delivered politely and quickly, disregarding all the emotions you are feeling at the moment. Showing that you’re professional in handling such situations leaves a good impression. Responding to the message nicely and smartly would also make you the believable party in the eyes of the readers.



Have it deleted



If all other steps have filed, you can always ask professionals to delete the content for you. This step will involve asking everyone: from the site owner, webmaster, and anyone else who has access to the site you’re targeting. This could be your last resort in case you decided to file a lawsuit and failed to win. 



If you experienced reputational damage because of someone’s words or lost a job because of it, you can always remove its traces on the Internet through a content remover. As long as your act of removal does not go against the terms and conditions of the platform, then you’ll be alright. For example, Facebook will automatically remove any posts that cause harm to someone else. 



Conclusion



Whether or not you agree, keep in mind that your reputation determines your social standing. If you have a bad reputation, especially for your business, it can affect your sales and customers. Because of this, you should find ways on how to keep your name in a good light. 



If you need content removal from Google or want to erase your Internet presence, we can help. We offer various services to help you manage and protect your online reputation. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help!