Online Reputation Emergency: The First 48 Hours Checklist

Something just went live — a false article, a leaked document, a brigaded review attack. The first two days determine whether this is a bad week or a bad year. Stop scrolling and start this list.

Hour zero: preserve, don't react

Screenshot everything with timestamps. Archive URLs via archive services and local PDF saves. Don't post angry responses, don't threaten posters publicly, don't email the journalist without counsel if legal exposure exists.

Identify every URL: original source, social shares, search cache, mirror copies. Spreadsheet them. Crises escape control when teams chase one link and miss six.

Hours 1–24: classify and report

Tag each URL by removal pathway — platform policy, copyright, privacy, defamation. File platform reports on the clearest violations first. Parallel: brief counsel if criminal allegations, regulatory claims, or executive targeting is involved.

If it's a review attack, resist the urge to respond to each review before filing disputes. Public engagement can complicate later removal.

Hours 24–48: escalate and communicate

Escalate denied reports with new evidence framing. Submit Google cache removal requests for content already down at source. Internal stakeholders get one factual status update — not speculation.

Erasiq runs emergency intakes with same-day classification. If you're in the first 48 hours of an negative content removal services crisis, skip the contact form and call — speed matters more than polish right now.

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