Disinformation is the Enemy of Crisis Communications

Within the span of a single news cycle this week, a simple image demonstrated one of the most dangerous threats facing crisis management today: disinformation deployed deliberately, at speed, and from an official source.

The Trump administration on Thursday misrepresented the arrest of Civil Rights Attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong in Minnesota.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted a photo of the arrest of Levy Armstrong looking strong and stoic.

A few minutes later, the official White House X page posted an image of her sobbing.  

Independent journalists and digital forensics experts quickly confirmed what the public already suspected: the White House’s image had been digitally altered.

The scary part is, representatives from the White House acknowledged the image had been modified and dismissed concerns by calling it a “meme.”

For resilience professionals, this is not a partisan conversation. It is a case study in how trust collapses.

Disinformation Changes the Nature of Crisis

In traditional crisis communications, we work hard to communicate accurately. We live with the shared assumption that official sources attempt to describe reality as it existed.

Disinformation breaks that assumption.

When altered media is released by an authoritative source, it introduces the deliberate manipulation of public understanding into your communications strategy.

A Lesson in How to Respond

In my opinion, Levy Armstrong’s attorney, Jordan Kushner handled it correctly. He told the media that he was present at his client’s arrest and confirmed that she was calm and determined during the process. He went on to say, “It is just so outrageous that the White House would make up stories about someone to try and discredit them. She was completely calm and composed and rational. There was no one crying. So, this is just outrageous defamation.”

When there are lies or inaccurate information out there, you do what Kushner did. Set the record straight. But you might need to brace yourself for what comes next.

In response to Kushner’s comments, White House Deputy Communications Director Kaelan Dorr posted on X, “YET AGAIN to the people who feel the need to reflexively defend perpetrators of heinous crimes in our country I share with you this message: Enforcement of the law will continue. The memes will continue.”

What she did was hardly heinous. But it’s a good reminder that the voices that yell the loudest have the weakest grasp on the truth. But they can influence your communications strategy.

As we continue to evolve in the new reality, it’s important to remember that resilience is not just about controlling the narrative.

It is about protecting the signal when everything else is noise.