When a platform like Rumour.app operates at the intersection of social media, providing “signals,” and potentially influencing financial decisions, media crises are no longer “possible” events — they must be prepared for in advance.
Quick Summary
Speed and transparency heavily influence how the community and partners respond when an incident occurs; prolonged silence often erodes trust.
For incidents involving personal data, many jurisdictions (e.g., EU/UK under GDPR) require notification to regulators within strict timeframes — this necessitates close coordination between legal and communications from the first minute.
A good playbook combines early detection → risk analysis → technical containment → internal communication → clear public messaging → remediation → transparent post-mortem — and must be practiced regularly.
Common Platform Crises (with short examples)
User data leak / breach (data breach) — personal data or transaction logs exposed.
Market-manipulating content — misinformation spreading rapidly causing price volatility, pump-and-dump schemes.
Technical failure / major outage — loss of realtime feed, websocket down, affecting users in active transactions.
Moderation / ethics issues — mistaken takedown, system bias, censorship accusations.
Breach of trust by partner/influencer — ad partner scandal cascading to platform reputation.
Each type requires a different prioritization (e.g., technical containment is key for outages; legal + regulator focus is priority for data breaches).
Response Principles (5-letter mnemonic: S.T.E.P.S)
S — Speed (fast but verified): act quickly to reduce speculation; avoid releasing unverified information. HBR and PR experts emphasize balancing speed and accuracy in initial communications.
T — Transparency (limited but clear): disclose what is known, what is under investigation, and when updates will be provided. Edelman notes transparency is critical to maintaining trust.
E — Empathy: acknowledge impact on affected users; offer sincere apology when the fault lies with the platform. PRSA recommends structured apologies that are direct and avoid evasion.
P — Protect evidence & users: preserve logs, snapshots, provenance evidence; implement containment to limit spread. NIST and incident response guides consider evidence preservation the first technical step.
S — Synchronize: coordinate comms, legal, ops, SRE, trust & safety to align messages and actions — avoid message dilution.
0–72 Hour Playbook (Concise Step-by-Step)
0–15 minutes — Detect & Acknowledge (internal response)
Automatic alert → Incident Commander (IC) assigned; open emergency channel (war room).
Pause deployments; enable read-only or circuit breaker if needed.
Internal short note:
“Issue acknowledged affecting [scope]. Investigation underway. IC: X. Next update in 15–30 minutes.”
15–60 minutes — Triage & Containment (technical + intelligence)
Determine scope: who, what, when, how many. Preserve logs/snapshots.
Apply containment: isolate services, block endpoints, rotate keys if secrets may be exposed.
Legal evaluates regulatory reporting obligations (e.g., GDPR/ICO 72-hour rule).
1–6 hours — Initial external communication (minimize panic)
Publish “We are aware / investigating” notice on status page + Twitter/comm channels. Short, factual, no speculation.
Include disclaimer: “We will not ask for passwords/keys; do not click links claiming to be from us.” — mitigates social engineering attacks.
6–24 hours — Root Cause & Remediation Plan
Update public with impact summary, immediate mitigation, next ETA. For suspected data breach, coordinate with legal for regulator / affected user notifications.
Begin log reconciliation, prepare user outreach lists, remediation play (force password reset, revoke tokens).
24–72 hours — Stabilize & Begin Recovery
Deploy fixes, restore services, verify integrity. Gradual traffic cutover, post-restore sanity checks.
Draft postmortem; publish timeline summary and actions taken; open appeals/queries channel for users.
Message Templates (ready-to-use — adjust context)
Internal (Slack/email, first minute)
Subject: [INCIDENT] Realtime Feed — Acknowledged
Content: We acknowledge an incident affecting the realtime feed starting ~09:12 UTC. Incident Commander: @Mai. Initial scope: partial user base in region X. Investigation underway; next update in 15 minutes.
Public — Initial (status page / tweet)
We are aware of an issue affecting some users accessing the realtime feed. Engineering is investigating. No action required from users at this time; update expected within 30–60 minutes.
Public — Follow-up (after >1 hour)
Update: Preliminary cause is [component/service] experiencing [root cause]. We have isolated the issue and are restoring service. If you encounter errors, please screenshot and submit a support request #123. We apologize for the inconvenience and will notify when service is fully restored.
Public — Apology & Remediation (upon conclusion)
We apologize for the incident on [date] causing [impact]. Root cause: [brief]. Actions taken: [1,2,3]. We have / are [compensating/crediting/resetting] affected users and will publish a postmortem within 72 hours.
(Research shows effective apologies are concise, acknowledge responsibility/remediation, and commit to improvement.)
Roles & RACI (Who’s Responsible)
Incident Commander (IC): decides severity, approves external messaging.
Comms Lead: drafts messages, manages status page, liaises with press.
Legal / Compliance: evaluates reporting obligations, regulatory notices.
SRE / Infra Lead: containment, restoration, forensic analysis.
Trust & Safety: moderation / content takedown if relevant.
CS/Support: template responses, ticket triage.
Each role should have contact list (on-call rotation) and clear decision authority.
Coordination with Legal & Regulators
For data breaches, prepare evidence pack: timeline, affected scope, containment steps, user notification text. Many laws require reporting within 72 hours of awareness (e.g., GDPR/ICO). Legal serves as regulator contact point and assesses cross-border obligations.
Press & Q&A Preparation
Draft Q&A for journalists: known/unknown facts, affected users, remediation steps, compensation policy, contact for follow-up.
Prepare press kit: executive statement, factsheet, timeline (summary), support link.
Limit spokespersons: only one official voice (CEO or designated); all other statements require clearance.
Exercises & Testing
Tabletop exercises: scenario drills 1–2 months for comms + legal + SRE.
Failover / DR drills: test regional cutover, status page, user notification flow.
Simulated media outreach: mock interviews to review Q&A.
KPIs to Measure Crisis Response Effectiveness
MTTD (Mean Time to Detect) and MTTR (Mean Time to Recover).
Time-to-first-public-statement (hours).
Accuracy rate: % of updates requiring no correction post-release.
Sentiment change (social media) within 24/72 hours.
% user complaints resolved within SLA.
Edelman and PR studies show consistent update cadence and transparent reporting help mitigate long-term trust loss.
One-Page Checklist — Ready for Rumour.app
Before Incident
[ ] Status page & incident templates ready.
[ ] On-call list: IC, Comms, Legal, SRE, T&S, CS.
During Incident
[ ] Acknowledge publicly within 60 minutes (initial).
[ ] Preserve logs & snapshots; revoke keys if needed.
After Incident
[ ] Publish postmortem + corrective actions.
[ ] Review lessons learned, update playbook & rehearse again.
Final Note — Avoid “Silence is Golden”
Extended silence or contradictory statements worsen the situation compared to initial bad news. For a platform processing market signals, consequences spread quickly; prioritize “quick acknowledgment + concrete update promise” over waiting for full resolution behind the scenes. Speed, transparency, and accountability are the three pillars to restore trust.