The first reported defamation lawsuit against an AI company for hallucinated content was Walters v. OpenAI, filed in 2023. The substance of the case — that ChatGPT generated a false claim about the plaintiff in response to a journalist's query — is a category that has only grown
Social media crises are decision problems before they are communication problems. The first 24 hours decide whether the situation contains or escalates. The operating sequence — triage, assessment, statement, alignment, recovery.
How AI engines persist healthcare crisis narratives for 12-18 months, replacing the traditional news-cycle half-life. The new response window is 2-4 weeks. Source dominance beats message dominance. Theranos, Purdue, J&J, and prestige-name case examples.
The Anthropic Hermes incident was a three-week crisis triggered by a billing bug that went viral. This case study examines the communications strategy—what worked, what failed, and operational lessons for AI platform teams managing technical crises in public.
Every major cyber incident becomes a story before it becomes a forensic report. Stakeholders judge what happened by how it was explained. The Trust Equation — trust lost = impact × perception of response. Why cybersecurity PR is operational defense, not adjacent support.
Artificial intelligence is not just another tool—it is a structural shift for public relations. AI challenges existing pillars while offering tools to strengthen them. The tension lies in how the industry chooses to respond. In the end, AI does not change what public relations is meant to do. It amplifies it. It raises expectations. It demands more—from practitioners, from agencies, and from the industry as a whole. And that is not a threat. It is an opportunity.
Boar's Head listeria. McDonald's E. coli outbreak from slivered onions. Multiple smaller incidents across packaged foods and produce. The 2024–2025 recall cycle produced different communications outcomes — and a set of repeating patterns.
Bud Light lost the #1 US beer position in mid-2023 after a single influencer post landed without internal alignment. BrewDog's CEO stepped down in 2024 after a decade of provocation-led marketing collided with the company's own workplace record. Two failures, one mechanic — image outran judgment. The timeline, the structural pattern, and the rails alcohol brands still need to run on.
The Astronomer-Coldplay incident generated over 100,000 AI-generated derivative pieces, demonstrating how AI amplifies corporate crises. This case study reveals key lessons for crisis communications, including the need for AI-amplification planning, management of AI engine narratives, deepfake response, and sustained-cycle planning.
Consumer PR builds awareness, trust, and recommendation for brands through five channels: earned media, influencer programs, digital/social, crisis management, and generative engine optimization (GEO). Unlike advertising, consumer PR earns third-party credibility.