Online reputation management creates opportunities for deceit

The Internet has brought increased connectivity through photos, blogs, and social media. But it has also made it more difficult to maintain a spotless reputation.

A new profession has emerged to help people keep a clean online profile: online reputation management. Online reputation management firms help individuals and companies create compelling online identities by reducing the prominence of negative material that appears in search engines. By highlighting the good and hiding the bad, reputation managers help their clients make-over their online personas. These services have been used by celebrities and corporations for years, but they have recently found more clients among everyday people hoping to preserve their online images.

Although online reputation management certainly sparks some ethical issues, it is not difficult to understand why it is growing as an industry. The Internet has become an important part of our lives, causing us to put more of ourselves in the public eye. The public can now look at someone’s Twitter posts, Facebook status updates, and tagged photos to assess his or her character even before any interaction takes place in person. The permanence of the Internet has made it hard to forget anything, and can make it difficult for people to move on from past mistakes.

Reputation management can be especially helpful to those who have received negative attention in the national media. Last week, The Chronicle reported that Dr. Anil Potti—the Duke cancer researcher who resigned this year when allegations of faulty research caused three clinical trials to be canceled and several of his papers to be retracted—had hired the firm Online Reputation Manager to perform damage control on his public image. Since taking Potti on as a client, the firm has created a Facebook page, Twitter account, and at least five websites dedicated to enhancing Potti’s online reputation. There is no mention of Potti’s retracted papers or of his canceled clinical trials. Despite the attempts of the company to push down the prominence of negative media coverage in search results, articles detailing Potti’s missteps still appear, allowing people to read all available information and form their own opinions on the issue.

Online Reputation Manager generally works with clients who are not trying to hide criminal activity. Potti is no criminal, but his attempts to paper over his past—while they are not and should not be illegal—are misleading and unethical. His attempt to hide information may be counterproductive; they only highlight his dishonesty. But worse, Potti’s is a medical doctor and should not be attempting to deceive potential employers and patients. Choices about medical care count among the most important decisions in a person’s life, and ought to made with full information and proper reflection. Potti’s efforts to hide all the facts undermine patients and employers’ ability to make fully informed choices.

When users manipulate the Internet to their advantage, consumers of online information should take what they find with a grain of salt, and exercise even more caution when uploading personal information.

Online reputation managers allow people to move on from past mistakes. But they should not be used to mislead the public when important decisions are at stake.