Defamation & Reputational Harm
Our team provides expert analysis and testimony in cases involving allegations of defamation and reputational harm. Our consultants and experts employ sound methodology to evaluate questions of liability and damages, providing insight into whether the allegedly false or malicious information harmed the individual or brand as well as assessing the degree of harm or financial loss caused by the release of damaging information.
To determine whether the allegedly defamatory statements impacted reputational variables such as consumer brand perceptions, product reviews, or sales, our experts evaluate changes in such variables across the relevant time period while also considering the possible impact of exogenous factors. Our methods include consumer surveys, analysis of existing reputational data, and sentiment and thematic analysis of user-generated content such as product reviews and social media posts, using both manual coding methods and proprietary large language models (LLMs).
If causation is established, our damages experts quantify the degree to which the defamatory information harmed the individual or brand. The quantification of harm may involve assessing the value of future sales, income, or employment opportunities that would have existed in a “but for” world without the alleged defamation.
Our Methods
Our methods include:
- Archival and social media analysis – We analyze historical data from periods prior to and following the release of the at-issue statements to evaluate changes to consumer brand perceptions over time. Using human coders and natural language processing, we measure the volume, sentiment, and themes of news posts and online conversations sourced from social media platforms, blogs, and forum discussions.
- Consumer surveys – We have used traditional question-and-answer surveys to measure aided and unaided consumer awareness of the alleged defamation and to assess consumer perceptions of individuals, brands, and products.
- Sentiment and thematic analysis – We utilize manual coding methods and AI tools such as our proprietary LLMs to analyze the sentiment (positive, negative, neutral, mixed) and thematic content of user-generated online content (e.g., social media posts and product reviews). We also evaluate whether changes in sentiment or theme are associated with financial outcomes (e.g., a change in sales revenue or employment opportunities).
- Third-party surveys – We frequently help our clients assess the validity and reliability of internal market research, including existing brand perception surveys, to determine their suitability for use in litigation.
- Marketplace analysis – Analysis of brand financial metrics, including sales data and share price data, in the context of comparable brands can help our consultants quantify damages from reputational harm.
- Natural experiments – Utilizing techniques often applied in event studies, we conduct empirical evaluations of the market impact of new information – such as the release of negative or malicious information about a person, company, product, or brand – to inform theories of liability and damages.
