An inappropriate social media post from faculty member draws media coverage and global scrutiny
Situation:
Moments before Queen Elizabeth II died in England, a faculty member posted a highly inflammatory post that was subsequently reposted and criticized by Jeff Bezos and other prominent leaders. Government officials from across the world called and posted about the institution, demanding the faculty member be fired. BMCG, already the crisis communications firm of record for this AAU institution, immediately became engaged.
Actions / Recommendations:
Over the course of 24 hours, we:
Developed an initial social media response to the furor which bought the institution time and distanced leadership from this one faculty member, and provided real-time guidance and input to leadership who were considering multiple options
Continued to monitor and evaluate using our own social media tools the spread and influence of the post
Developed a “day two” communications strategy focused on providing more nuance and information about the institution’s commitment to academic freedom as well as expectations of faculty
We subsequently developed a medium-term roll-out plan for a much-anticipated report on a freedom of expression taskforce.
Results:
The media scrutiny was intense and global, with this incident becoming part of the global narrative around the subsequent death of the Queen. The prompt response prevented the defection of key supporters, donors, and partners and subsequent decisions and communications on the underlying issue–academic freedom–calmed down internal constituencies.
