Why Reputation Risks Rise in the Age of Creators
For decades, corporate and government communications relied on a stable, if sometimes adversarial, relationship with established media. Reputation management strategies, crisis playbooks, and legal protections were designed for this world, a world with editorial gatekeepers, predictable news cycles, and a shared, if often contested, understanding of journalistic standards.
That world is rapidly receding. In fact, it has been changing for the last 10-15 years. A new report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, 'Mapping News Creators and Influencers in Social and Video Networks,' provides the data to confirm what many of us in advisory and reputation management have observed: the landscape of public information has fundamentally changed, with many organisations not having adapted their public and private communications processes to manage better how they are perceived.
The report, which analyses data from 24 countries, reveals that news creators and influencers operating in social and video networks have become a ‘significant source of news in recent years,’ often eclipsing traditional news brands in terms of attention. This shift presents a profound challenge to the traditional reputational guardrails of governments and companies. The old playbooks that boards, C-suites, Chiefs of Staff or Political Advisors know are no longer sufficient.
The New Influential: How Creators Reshape Public Debate
The Reuters Institute report is not merely about celebrities posting lifestyle content. It identifies a diverse and robust ecosystem of individuals who command massive audiences and directly influence public opinion on politics, current affairs, and civic issues.
The report defines ‘news creators’ as ‘individuals (or sometimes small groups of individuals) who create and distribute content primarily through social and video networks and have some impact on public debates around news and current affairs,’ noting they are ‘independent from wider news institutions for at least some of their news output.'
Their influence is not a niche phenomenon. The report finds that across a set of markets, including Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and the United States (as well as Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa), news creators are having a very significant impact. In most of these markets, people say they pay more attention to creators and influencers than to mainstream news brands on social media.
The report helps us understand the different kinds of challenges and opportunities these creators represent:
Commentary: This is the most frequently mentioned category, dominated by often partisan, mostly male online political talk show hosts like Tucker Carlson (USA) and Joe Rogan (USA). The report notes this commentary is ‘unconstrained by regulation or norms around impartiality that may exist for television and radio.'And the issue is that, while they are based in the USA, their views and opinions reach international markets, many of which use English as a core language. In effect, they reach and influence without any control, regardless of their views being verifiable.
Explanation: Creators like France’s HugoDécrypte (Hugo Travers) have millions of followers by explaining complex news topics in simple, accessible ways for younger consumers. The report states that ‘this category of creators is taking attention away from traditional media, which often struggle to connect with younger audiences.'
Specialism: Individuals like football transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano or former journalist Taylor Lorenz build powerful niche communities, often going deeper on a subject than traditional media can.
News & Investigation: While less common due to resource constraints, some creators and citizen journalists break news or conduct investigations on matters of public interest, such as Palestinians reporting from Gaza or citizen journalists in Kenya documenting police brutality.
Perhaps most critically for reputation managers, the report also details a vast 'news-adjacent' sphere of satirists, infotainment podcasters, gamers, and lifestyle influencers who, due to their massive audiences and built-up trust, can be drawn into political and cultural debates with significant impact.
The Core Challenge for Reputation Management
Traditional communications systems are built for accuracy and accountability, while social platforms reward speed and emotional engagement. As the Reuters Institute notes, creators ‘have been more adept than media companies in moulding their storytelling and tone to the requirements of social platforms,’ particularly among Gen Z and millennial audiences.
The implications are strategic. Younger audiences no longer go directly to official sources; they are influenced by intermediaries who reframe and reinterpret information through personal narratives. As algorithms amplify sensational content, reputational risk multiplies: a single influencer clip can drive a global perception shift overnight. This new dynamic demands that both governments and corporate leaders rethink how they build, protect, and sustain public trust.
The fact is that the rise of the creator economy that we’ve been living through for a good number of years has created three fundamental problems for communications and those working and advising in reputation management.
The Velocity of Reputational
The report highlights that creators are ‘extremely responsive to ever-shifting audience preferences and behaviours.’ Their content is optimised for speed and engagement, not for fact-checking or legal review. A claim made by a prominent creator can achieve viral scale in hours, sometimes minutes, far outpacing the internal response mechanisms of most large organisations. While a company might prepare a statement over several hours, the narrative is already set and cemented in the minds of millions.
The Erosion of Guardrails
Our established systems are built for a different media environment. Issuing a press release, requesting a correction from a news outlet, or leveraging legal frameworks for defamation are processes designed for entities that have structures, assets, and a recognised set of rules.
As the report makes clear, many top creators are independent operators. They are ‘independent from wider news institutions’, meaning they lack the traditional editorial oversight and legal cover that act as a buffer and a point of contact for corporations and governments.
The report notes that ‘many of the biggest names in political commentary... used to work as journalists but are now highly critical of the mainstream media. They relish the freedom to express their true opinions.’ This freedom often comes without the traditional journalistic guardrails, making them potent and unpredictable actors.
The Algorithmic Amplification of Sensationalism
The platforms where these creators thrive are designed to maximise engagement. The Reuters Institute report explicitly states that 'algorithmically driven platforms are pushing both creators and audiences towards more sensational and partisan approaches.’
Content that is emotionally charged, polarising, or controversial travels further and faster than nuanced, balanced reporting. This creates an inherent incentive structure that can reward the rapid dissemination of mis- and disinformation, which poses a direct threat to corporate and governmental reputations.
The report finds that 'online influencers may be attracting more attention but at least some of their content is considered unreliable by audiences..., with well-documented cases of false or misleading information around subjects such as politics, health, and climate change raising important questions about what this might mean for our democracies.’
The Demographic Shift: Reaching the Audience of Tomorrow
The challenge is compounded by a stark generational divide. The audiences for these creators are disproportionately young, representing the future consumers, voters, and stakeholders for every organisation.
The data is clear: 'Under-35s who use social media are more likely to consume news from creators (48%) than from mainstream media (41%). Those 35 and over pay more attention to mainstream media (44%) than creators (35%).’
If your reputation management strategy doesn’t engage the platforms and personalities shaping this generation’s worldview, you’re not just fighting today’s fire, you’re forfeiting tomorrow’s trust. And this is a difficult position to be in, because managing reputations through media engagement and management is, generally, an exercise that, aside from the cost of PR and communications professionals and that of communications agencies, carries no direct cost. Yet influencers, and access to them, well, require a pay-to-play engagement and communications model.
A Strategic Roadmap for Businesses And Governments
Acknowledging this new reality is the first step. The next is to adapt. Here is a strategic framework for leaders and Chief Communications Officers to better protect and build their reputations in the age of news creators.
Move from Monitoring to Mapping and Engagement
Simply monitoring for brand mentions is no longer enough. Organisations must actively map their influence ecosystem.
Governments need to recognise that the content and opinions which reach and influence audiences form part of the wider information ecosystem, and are therefore an element of their geopolitical terrain. As a result, Governments should map not only their domestic media landscape but also transnational influence flows. After all, as the report shows, political ideas and influencers cross borders, especially from the U.S. into other English-speaking countries.
Identify Key Voices: Beyond traditional journalists, identify the commentators, explainers, specialists, and even news-adjacent influencers in your sector. The most advanced organisations are creating ‘network maps’ of who influences perception in their industry, including critics, advocates, and neutral observers.
Understand Motivations: Analyse what drives these creators. Are they motivated by building a community, promoting a specific ideology, or simply a commercial opportunity? This understanding is crucial for strategic or tactical management, not just of your reputation but also of building trust.
Build Authentic Relationships: Proactively and authentically engage with credible creators. Offer them access to subject matter experts, provide early briefings on complex initiatives, or invite them to participate in roundtables. The goal is to become a trusted resource, not just a source for press releases.
Develop a 'Crisis Speed' Response Capability
You need to understand that the 24-hour news cycle has been replaced by the 60-minute viral cycle. This is the world that governments and companies need to acknowledge and rebuild themselves for. Your response protocols must keep pace, and to do this, you need to:
Build trust ecosystems, not message hierarchies: Develop and pre-approve key messaging frameworks for potential crises that can be adapted and deployed within minutes and/or hours, not days. Companies can build relationships with explanatory creators, subject-matter experts, and credible commentators, not just media outlets.
Empower Digital-First Teams: Ensure your social media and digital communications teams have the authority to respond quickly in a crisis, using authentic, platform-native language (short-form video on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram). And remember that whatever you share needs to be designed using language that engages your current stakeholders as well as audiences of influencers that are part of your own ecosystem.
Embrace transparency as a defensive asset: In a world where ’many creators are turning themselves into mini-businesses and brands,’ audiences expect similar authenticity from companies, which is why there is a growing need to embrace and openly acknowledge uncertainty, explaining decisions, and engaging directly with sceptics can mitigate polarisation and rebuild credibility.
Practice for a Creator-Led Crisis: Include scenarios in your crisis simulations where the trigger is a viral video from an influencer, not a newspaper investigation.
Invest in Explanatory and 'Prebuttal' Content
If explanation is a key creator strength, it should become a core competency of your communications team.
Become Your Own Explainer: Use your owned channels to produce clear, engaging, and visual content that explains complex policies, products, or issues. Adopt the storytelling techniques that make creators successful. The report notes that media companies have the opportunity to 'copy creator storytelling techniques to make content more accessible.’
Practice 'Prebuttal': Anticipate misinformation and proactively create content that addresses potential criticisms or false narratives before they gain traction. Feed this content to both trusted creators and your own audiences.
Rethink Legal and Regulatory Strategies
While legal action remains a tool, it is often blunt and can be ineffective against a decentralised network of creators. Instead, focus on platform partnerships and proactive transparency.
Weigh the Streisand Effect: Legal threats can often amplify the original content, a phenomenon known as the Streisand Effect. Consider this carefully before acting.
Focus on Platforms: Invest in building relationships with platform trust and safety teams to understand their policies and reporting mechanisms for harmful misinformation.
Promote Media Literacy: Consider supporting or partnering with organisations that promote digital and media literacy, helping the public better identify unreliable information.
Collaborate with Caution and Clear Purpose
Some news organisations are now looking to 'collaborate with creators by bringing content (labelled) into their platform.’ This is a potential model for corporations and governments, but it must be handled with care.
Define the Terms of Engagement: Any collaboration must be transparent. Audiences should know the nature of the relationship.
Respect Creator Authenticity: Micromanaging a creator's content can seriously backfire. The value is in their authentic voice and how they are perceived by their own community. Provide them with information and context, not a script.
Focus on Value Exchange: Successful collaborations are based on mutual benefit. What unique access or insight can you provide that adds reputation or even indirect financial value to the creator's audience?
Reputation in the Age of the Algorithm
The Reuters Institute report highlights that 'the professional and creator worlds are converging.’ This is not a temporary trend but a permanent structural shift in the wider landscape of how people consume media and content. The 'unruly information space' is the new normal.
For leaders and Chief Communications Officers, the new environment that they must recognise is one where they can no longer rely solely on reputation management processes designed for a media environment from the 20th century. The speed, scale, and nature of the threat and opportunity presented by news creators demand a new agile playbook where companies and governments better understand their direct and indirect audiences.
This demands a shift from reactive defence to proactive engagement. It means listening to new voices, speaking on new platforms, and telling your story in ways that resonate.
By understanding the creator ecosystem and adapting with speed and intelligence, governments and companies can protect reputation and build the trust that defines their future. By understanding the creator ecosystem mapped in this report, and by adapting your strategies with speed and intelligence, you can not only protect your reputation but also build deeper, more authentic connections with the audiences that will define your future.
Reputation has never moved faster. If you’d like to discuss how to protect and grow yours, let’s talk.
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