How To Defend Your Business From An Online Mob

Apologizing Is Not Always The Best Answer To Quell Controversy

American Eagle’s ad campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney caused a mainstream media frenzy this summer, as detractors felt the messaging had unacceptable racial undertones. Other critics felt American Eagle turned their backs on their commitment to “Body Positivity” by focusing on Sweeney’s traditional sex appeal.

Social media can lead lucrative business — or online fury — straight to your digital storefront. How you respond can make the difference between maintaining your reputation, sanity, and income stream vs. losing everything in a nervous PR blunder!

In the age of social media, the online mob can turn on a brand faster than you can say "cancel culture." When the digital pitchforks come out, businesses often face a critical decision: to grovel for forgiveness or to adopt a more assertive strategy.

Here’s why ignoring, doubling down, or offering a brief apology is far more effective than throwing yourself at the mercy of an online mob, giving an overwrought “mea culpa”, or begging for appeasement like a sucker.

What Happens In An Online Mob Attack?

If you are unfortunate to have a post or video go viral for something perceived as offensive in the social media realm, it often feels like everyone — and their mother —has decided to simultaneously dump on you and your business with insults, accusations, and personal attacks.

Some online wackos turn digital harassment into a perverse art form — with tactics like doxing (publicizing your family’s address and phone numbers online) to allow haters to troll you in real life. The online mob won’t hesitate to even call your employer to get you fired for your “offending” viewpoint.

Others decide to destroy your business with a deluge of malicious and untrue reviews to scare away your future customers. Your spouse and kids are not off the table either. They can receive death threats from anonymous lunatics with too much time on their hands and who haven’t received enough hugs from their mothers! Even your children’s schools may not be off limits!!

Queen Janin’s Story While an online mob frenzy is frightening, one dedicated enemy can wreck your business too. You could even attract a real-life stalker!

Janin became so paranoid, she suspected being followed and harassed in her real life by her cyber-stalker. A once vibrant, confident woman became a frazzled recluse who feared a boogie man around every corner due to constant harassment.

A former radio show colleague from my 1st radio show Devils Advocate Primetime, Queen Janin, galvanized a stalker likely due to her controversial political opinions and her unique sex appeal. Sadly, Bougie claimed her stalker cyber-harassed her for YEARS!

How to Survive an Online Mob: 4 Reality Checks for Businesses to Fend Off Detractors!

You will need to be counterintuitive in your reactions to successfully fend off an online mob attack.

So, your business just became the internet's latest punching bag? Sucks to be you. But don't curl up in a ball just yet. Here's 4 strategies to fight back when the digital hordes come for your brand, served with a side of tough love!

1. Ignoring: The Power Of Silence

When the mob is howling, sometimes the best response is no response at all. Ignoring the noise can prevent the situation from escalating further. By not engaging, you deny the mob the satisfaction of seeing you squirm.

It’s like feeding a troll—ignore it, and it might just go back to its dark corner of the internet. Plus, silence can convey confidence; it says you’re not rattled by the chaos.

Go outside to the real world. Touch grass. Realize that 99% of these digital demons have little impact on your private life or business outside of a few nasty comments as anonymous avatars living in their daddy’s renovated man cave.

The mob often loses interest when a target doesn’t engage with their cyber threats, taunts, or aggression. It’s no fun to go after an unresponsive target that doesn’t fight back.

2. Doubling Down: Standing Your Ground

If your brand has a stance, stick to it. When you firmly believe in your mission and values, defending them shows strength. This doesn’t mean being obstinate; it’s about being confident and transparent. Customers appreciate authenticity. 

Not everybody is going to resonate with your business model, or its values. Still, your true customers will appreciate your authenticity.

When you stand your ground, you not only foster loyalty among your existing supporters but you can also attract new customers who resonate with your unwavering commitment to your cause. It’s a brave move, but in business, fortune favors the bold.

If you won’t stand up for the values of your business to critics or mobs, your audience will lose respect for not defending them, as they are supporting your business - and YOUR values by proxy.

You may choose to fend off the assault with a cheeky or defiant official retort to let the haters know you won’t be intimidated. However, don’t get caught up with a protracted back-and-forth of bashing and insult trading that lures you into endless mudslinging with annoying trolls.

3. Never Grovel: Appease Not Your Attackers

If you determine the mob consists of non-followers, non-fans, or non-subscribers — who are merely jumping on the latest, trendy, morally superior bandwagon to roast you for the rewards of online virtue signaling — feel free to sack up and troll them back if you fancy! If you apologize to this group of bad faith trolls who are likely using a controversial wedge issue to shame you into compliance according to their values, they will sense blood in the water, and go after you mercilessly.

Soon, your apology is dissected and deemed insufficient. No amount of groveling will satisfy their bloodlust. Worse, you may lose your real followers, fans, or subscribers for being weak and kowtowing to a disingenuous online mob.

Similarly, any unfounded attacks on your business can bleed over to your customers being shamed for patronizing your business as well. Nobody wants to follow any influencer or brand who is a punk! Point blank.

American Eagle is getting PAID off the controversial Sydney Sweeney blue jeans campaign.

CASE STUDY: American Eagle vs. An Online Mob

American Eagle released a summer ad campaign with the sex siren of the moment, actress Sydney Sweeney, that erupted into a culture war controversy. In the video below, Sweeney cheekily used a play on words referencing how "genes are passed down" before saying, "My jeans are blue." Closing out the commercial was a voiceover that exclaimed, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans”. However, some progressives claimed the American Eagle advertisement was a covert nod to Eugenics and was a coded message to promote white supremacy and selective breeding — while abandoning body positivity for overt sexuality. Not only did American Eagle NOT apologize, they reveled that their campaign blew up pop culture! Conservatives came to American Eagle’s defense by calling the ad “clever marketing” and lambasted detractors as “woke” and humorless.

What Was The Financial Bottom Line? American Eagle experienced a surge of Instagram followers of 142,000 in the first 30 days of the ad’s release. The New York Times reported a short-term stock surge of 23 percent. Per Yahoo Finance, American Eagle reports the ad drew 40 billion marketing impressions; expanded their customer base by 700,000; and claimed Sweeney’s signature jeans sold out within a week. That said, American Eagle’s foot traffic declined 8.96% percent from year-over-year and a lot of registered Democrats consider the brand “persona non grata”, so the long-term outlook is not settled science as of yet.

Key Takeaway: Realize you can’t please everyone, but you must please your audience. They keep the lights on. You can’t be all things to all people all of the time!

The infamous original ad campaign that put American Eagle in the middle of a scorching culture war debate in the summer of 2025.

4. A Brief Apology: The Art of Genuine Acknowledgment

Acknowledge the situation, but don't admit guilt unless you're actually guilty. Then, assess: Is this a legitimate issue or a coordinated rage-fest? Now, if the criticism is warranted, a brief and sincere apology can go a long way. But here’s the kicker: keep it short and to the point. Acknowledge the issue without over-explaining, lest it comes off as more of a justification than an apology.

This demonstrates humility and accountability without giving the mob the upper hand. Remember, you’re not begging for forgiveness; you’re simply showing that you care enough to recognize when you made an honest mistake.

A well-timed apology can diffuse tension and pivot the conversation back to a more constructive territory and the lessons learned from said mistake.

CONCLUSION - You Can’t Please Everyone, So Stand By Your Values

Apologizing to simply appease the mob can counterintuitively invite more harassment, as now they realize their bullying is rattling you. They get off on making you bow to their worldview. Their fake outrage is a powerful cudgel against cowards and chronically amorphous people-pleasers! Often, the online mob are not truly offended fans. These are keyboard warriors who are more interested in appearing morally superior by calling out their perception of “bad actors”, all from the comfort of their own home.

Predictably, many of these haters aren’t even from the actual victim groups they champion. Instead, online mobs feel they can bully, harass, and claim moral superiority with social justice warrior cosplaying — to virtue signal their “trendy in-group values” to their onlooking friends — simply to raise their status. These are mere narcissists with savior complexes that feel their preferred “just” social cause gives them carte blanche to be abusive. 

If it's a genuine mistake where you misspoke or accidentally insulted your audience with something truly insensitive, own it, apologize sincerely, briefly, and outline concrete steps to fix it or to ensure it never happens again.

Haters may still hate, but…

Your real fans and customers will likely forgive an occasional lapse in judgment. 

Don't waste your tears on online phantoms that haunt you in a bad viral moment. Going offline for a few days will send those demons looking for a new target!