Although online defamation is more common than ever, its impact on business performance can be tracked, measured and quantified. Today, disgruntled customers and business rivals have unprecedented reach when delivering caustic comments about a business on public review sites, leaving disparaging remarks on blogs, or releasing controversial op-eds that can go viral when picked up by a wider news network and distributed for all to see. However, businesses have access to a suite of tools to monitor and manage defamation as it happens and accurately calculate the harm when online defamation warrants litigation.

In the current atmosphere where consumers are primed to “cancel” a business or celebrity that is perceived as going against their values, spurious and inflammatory statements made online can lead to a serious and lasting impact on a brand’s bottom line. Yet, at the same time, internet tools are becoming more sophisticated in measuring the impact of these disparaging and defamatory statements, paving the way for affected brands, business owners and celebrities to fight back against the assault on their reputation and brand value.