Narrative Report: Wayfair
Detecting Viral Stories Before They Hurt Your Brand
On July 9, 2020 a post on Reddit fueled a narrative about online furniture store, Wayfair, trafficking children through listings of pillows and cabinets that were selling for thousands of dollars on the site. The narrative was started by QAnon conspiracy factions but driven by other right-leaning factions online. Though the story was false, the engagement was authentic in that it was mostly amplified by real accounts online.
What if the team had advance warning on the emerging narrative? Could they have saved money and other resources spent on expensive crisis response hours?