The Enemy is Everywhere

The Legal PR Bulletin has posted an article by Richard S. Levick of Levick Strategic Communications on how companies can defend themselves against online critics, titled "A Virtual Omnipresent Enemy." Levick warns: "It is only a matter of time before blogs become commonplace weapons allowing well-organized adversaries to both disseminate and preserve shrewder anti-corporate messages. One recent blog, for example, attacks a plan by FedEx to build a hub at the Piedmont Triad Airport in Guilford County, North Carolina. Guilford County is a sprawling community that cannot easily convene town meetings to debate development projects. The blog is a natural substitute. ... The FedEx experience is illustrative for a larger reason as well. NGOs have often been marginalized as radicals. But because blogs are pure stealth warfare, people who might never choose to ally themselves with activists are more susceptible to their messages." And "NGOs are but one possible adversary. Labor unions and plaintiffs’ counsel are others. ... Tactically, blogs pose far greater threats than any other kind of online attack."