Following the G20 protests, the death of Ian Tomlinson and two police officers being caught making controversial comments on Facebook, the Metropolitan Police has been battling a storm of negative publicity. This has been driven and perpetuated in the traditional media by ever more revelations emerging through YouTube and other social media platforms.

The challenge faced by the Met shows that no organisation, whether in the corporate, consumer or public sector is immune from the threats and opportunities posed by social media. When an organisation’s reputation is at risk, not monitoring for threats online – at the very least – will in end up costing more in the long run, with greater investment required to regain lost trust.

You can read my advice on how the Met should combat the recent negative press in this week’s PR Week.