Three rules for how to deal with misinformation: Don't click it. Don't share it. Don't comment on it.

Three rules for how to deal with lies: Don’t click it. Don’t share it. Don’t comment on it.

With any company experiencing growth, as our name and culture touches more lives, we will be met with the inevitable critics and naysayers. With the same ease that we share an article from IsagenixHealth.net with our closest friends or post a picture on social media with our newest product user, our critics make sweeping conclusions about health and wellness or the legacy we are building here at Isagenix. Negativity is troublesome and it is natural to want to strike back and tamper the inaccuracies and slanderous statements or immediately ask ‘is this true?’

Regardless of their intent, naivety to the facts or malice toward Isagenix, the spread of their statements and beliefs causes concern amongst our advocates.  When you see these misinformed posts it’s always worth reminding to proceed with caution.

Too often people fall into the trap of clicking on their links, sharing the information (despite whether or not they agree with it), and commenting on it. Unfortunately, this only leads to more traffic and further spread of misinformation across social media.

Here are three rules to follow when these kinds of situations come up to make sure you don’t “stoke the fire”:

  1. Don’t click on it.
  2. Don’t share it.
  3. Don’t comment on it.

At first, these rules may seem counterintuitive. It’s easy to feel compelled to point out misinformation and address the specific points of fiction or contention. However, the truth is that any of the above actions would only bring more attention to the post and amplify its noise. For example, a person commenting on a negative or false Facebook post will alert friends to their activity, get them to click and comment on it, and  and boosts the reach of the original post causing it to show up on more users’ Facebook news feeds. While the responders may mean well, they are contributing to the vicious spread of misinformation in the end.

Instead, take more appropriate steps for dealing with misinformation or attacks on the Internet including the following:

  1. If you know the individual who originally made the post, you might ask (such as via direct message on Facebook) that they remove it.
  2. Do not circulate the post or distribute it to Facebook groups or email lists. Even the best of intentions, reaching out to your contacts for confirmation of the inaccuracy of a statement will direct more eyes to the post and give weight to the claims.
  3. If a person has questions about one of these posts, it’s useful to take a screenshot or make a PDF of the website before circulating to others so as not to give additional clicks to the original website.
  4. If the misinformation directly targets Isagenix or its products, be aware that the company will address the issue head on with an appropriate response or through legal means. In addition, please be sure to escalate any examples you come across to: Compliance@IsagenixCorp.com.

Finally, the best way to drown out noise of these sites is by the sharing of solid, factual information that is accurate and responsible. These include articles that are well researched and scientifically referenced. For this reason, we have www.IsagenixHealth.net, a dedicated site to explaining the science behind our products. Always focus on the positive and continue to convey the benefits of Isagenix and how Isagenix affects your life.