<div id="readability-page-1"> <time datetime="2025-08-15T14:37:32+01:00"> Friday 15 August 2025 2:37 pm </time> <figure> <div> </div> <img width="742" height="495" src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.cityam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/001-LONDON-HAWK-ADJ.jpg/query-dz03NDI?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.cityam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/001-LONDON-HAWK-ADJ.jpg/query-dz03NDI"/> <figcaption>A range of groups, such as disgruntled former employees, competitors, and activists often instigates smear campaigns against a business.</figcaption> </figure> Businesses are facing an uptick in smear campaigns as AI is making it quicker, easier, and cheaper to spread misinformation, with a law firm warning that campaigns will increase further.According to data from Schillings, a multidisciplinary reputation and privacy consultancy, shared with City AM, there has been a 150 per cent increase in smear campaigns targeting successful businesses and individuals over the past three years.Juliet Young, partner at Schillings, explained: “Today, the tactics and tools required to run a smear campaign are accessible to a very broad range of people all over the world and with varying financial resources.”“We’ve seen how they can be started with as little as £50, an internet connection, a bit of technical expertise, and a motive. Despite the low cost and relative ease of instigation, they can significantly and quickly impact a business’s reputation, operations, and finances,” she added.A range of groups, such as disgruntled former employees, competitors, and activists often instigates smear campaigns against a business.The firm has also found smear campaigns being used to encourage parties to settle during legal proceedings in exchange for facing the prospect of sustained reputational damage.Schillings explained that smear campaigns are sophisticated multi-channel affairs, utilising pay-to-play ‘junk news’ sites, bot accounts on social media, and even AI-generated deepfakes.A campaign can quickly influence Google results, which, left untouched, can lead to loss of business, a drop in share price, or a compliance risk in a deal.<h2 id="h-ai-increased-sophistication">AI increased sophistication </h2>Young highlighted that many of the campaigns the firm is dealing with on behalf of clients now involve disinformation generated by AI models.“At one level, this includes deepfaked images of false newspaper headlines to gather grassroots attention. At a more sophisticated level, the content includes ‘red flag’ terms designed to be picked up by banks and compliance databases,” she explained.With the wave of AI making it easier and cheaper for people to smear a business, responding is now neither easy nor cheap for the business. Young stated: “The ability to seed these campaigns anonymously, combined with the scale of some of these campaigns, means addressing them is complex.”Due to the significant impact smears can have on businesses, Young advised that an efficient response involves using investigators, lawyers, and communications professionals who work in sync to deconstruct and evidence the campaign, remove and challenge disinformation using legal tools, and correct the narrative.She added that “using a combination of investigative and legal tools, it is possible in some cases to identify digital fingerprints and take action to address them”. </div>

企業越來越多地面臨由人工智能推動的抹黑活動，這使得傳播虛假信息變得更加容易和便宜。Schillings 的一份報告顯示，在過去三年中，此類活動增加了 150%，通常是由不滿的員工、競爭對手或活動人士發起的。這些活動可能會嚴重損害企業的聲譽和財務，採用深度偽造和社交媒體機器人等戰術。有效應對需要調查人員、律師和傳播專業人士的協調努力，以反制虛假信息並保護企業形象

Businesses face wave of AI smear campaigns

- 企業面臨抹黑活動增加，AI 使其傳播更快更便宜。  
- 數據顯示，過去三年抹黑活動增加了 150%。  
- 專家建議企業應聯合調查、法律和傳播專業人士應對。

企業正面臨一波人工智能抹黑活動的衝擊