By David Hickey, Executive Director APAC, Meltwater
When a viral Facebook post in March 2025 falsely warned residents of Northern NSW about an imminent cyclone – complete with an official-looking logo and a doctored Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) alert – it triggered panic, confusion, and mass shares within hours.
It wasn’t real. But it worked.
This is the new battleground for corporate communications: a landscape where misinformation travels faster than facts, fuelled by algorithms and synthetic content. Brands are no longer just challenged by what they say, but by what others say about them, instantly and everywhere. Reputational risk has become constant and immediate. So how do leaders take control when they’re no longer the first, loudest, or most trusted voice in the room?
A strategy reset is overdue.
The trust gap is widening – and brands must fill it
As social platforms retreat from content moderation and the influence of traditional media wanes, trust has splintered. Nearly three-quarters of Australians now say they struggle to distinguish real from fake online – a clear sign of rising public exposure to misinformation. In this climate, credibility is no longer a static asset. Brands must earn it again and again. That starts with building first-party trust: human, transparent communication delivered through reliable, owned channels that audiences can turn to when seeds of doubt take root. You can’t outpace every falsehood. But with consistency and clarity, you can build the kind of goodwill that endures beyond the next misinformation storm.
But trust alone isn’t enough – your message must be found.
Even the clearest message means little if no one sees it. Today, more than 60% of Google searches end in zero clicks, with users relying on AI-generated summaries built from third-party sources. If your message isn’t visible in the broader ecosystem – in trusted media, expert voices, or social conversations – it may not be seen at all.
Discovery today isn’t just about search. It’s playing out across podcast feeds, TikTok loops, Reddit threads, and influencer reels. Just look at the 2024 U.S. election. Donald Trump was late to a scheduled rally to record a three-hour podcast with Joe Rogan – a move widely credited with boosting his campaign. Australia’s Anthony Albanese took a similar approach, appearing on high-reach influencer podcasts like ‘It’s a Lot’ with Abbie Chatfield and ‘Happy Hour’ with Lucy Jackson and Nikki Westcott.
This evolution is also reflected in journalism itself. At this year’s Walkley Mid-Year Awards, ABC’s Lia Walsh won for her U.S. election coverage – not through traditional reporting, but short-form, social-first storytelling on TikTok and Instagram.
To build authority now, brands must show up in the conversations people are actually having, in the spaces where attention lives.
Comms leaders must take control across every channel
As the conversations that matter to organisations have scattered across channels, the role of the modern communicator has dramatically expanded. The days of ‘simply’ managing a press release, media interview, or press conference are long gone. Instead, today’s comms leaders are responsible for shaping narratives, managing risk, and responding in real time across news, search, social, and owned channels.
This demands more than just presence. It requires a clear, consistent voice that cuts through the noise to build what we call owned authority: a brand identity that is recognisable, reliable, and resilient in the face of rapid change. This owned authority also becomes an organisation’s most valuable asset when misinformation spreads fast.
With these expanded responsibilities, it’s little wonder that comms teams have embraced AI tools, using them to monitor sentiment, generate real-time briefings, and analyse media coverage. But the true opportunity isn’t just in working faster – it’s in working smarter.
AI now helps teams move from hindsight to foresight: predicting sentiment shifts, flagging reputational risks, and enabling preemptive action. When combined with human insight and emotional intelligence, this is what gives communicators the edge.
Comms take on a leadership role
As AI reshapes how stories are told and heard, it’s also redefining what leadership looks like in communications. The shift has elevated reputation from a “soft” concern to a commercial priority. When trust and visibility directly impact business performance, reputation becomes mission-critical.
Communications has become a strategic lever that is not just aligned with business goals, but helping to define and drive them. What was once a support role is now central to decision-making, brand resilience, and organisational agility.
Comms teams are now shaping not only what brands say, but how they operate and lead in a complex, high-stakes world. Because in this era of AI-driven narratives and fragmented attention, the strongest brands won’t be the loudest – they’ll be the ones led by communicators who act with foresight, clarity, and credibility across every channel.