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The Leading in a Crisis PodcastAuthor: Tom
Interviews, stories and lessons learned from experienced crisis leaders. Email the show at Tom@leadinginacrisis.com. Being an effective leader in a corporate or public crisis situation requires knowledge, tenacity, and influencing skills. Unfortunately, most of us don't get much training or real experience dealing with crisis situations. On this podcast, we will talk with people who have lived through major crisis events and we will tap their experience and stories from the front lines of crisis management. Your host, Tom Mueller, is a veteran crisis manager and trainer with more than 30 years in the corporate communications and crisis fields. Tom currently works as an executive coach and crisis trainer with WPNT Communications, and as a contract public information officer and trainer through his personal company, Tom Mueller Communications LLC. Your co-host, Marc Mullen, has over 20 years of experience as a communication strategist. He provides subject matter expertise in a number of communication specializations, including crisis communication plan development, response and recovery communications, emergency notifications and communications, organizational reviews, and after-action reports. He blogs at Blog Marc Mullen Our goal is to help you grow your knowledge and awareness so you can be better prepared to lead should a major crisis threaten your organization.Music credit: Special thanks to Nick Longoria from Austin, Texas for creating the theme music for the podcast. Language: en-us Genres: Business, Education, How To, Management Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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EP69 Dealing with rage farming and manufactured outrage, with Phil Borremans
Episode 69
Wednesday, 21 January, 2026
Send us a textOutrage online isn’t always organic—and when it’s engineered, it can hit hard. We sit down with crisis and risk consultant Phil Borremans to expose the mechanics of rage farming: coordinated attacks that use psychology, algorithms, and incentives to inflame audiences, distort brand updates, and turn a minor moment into a market-moving storm. From bots and fake accounts to “coordinated amplification,” Phil maps how bad actors build momentum, trigger engagement spikes, and push fringe narratives into mainstream feeds.We reference high-profile cases like Bud Light and Cracker Barrel to illustrate how synthetic engagement can drive real reputational and financial fallout.Most importantly, we outline a practical defense. Phil details how to retool monitoring from brand mentions to topic-centric early warning, detect anomalies and narrative evolution, and leverage predictive analytics and OSINT to identify viral liftoff before it peaks. We explain why engaging attackers usually backfires and how to focus instead on direct communication with stakeholders who matter—employees, customers, partners, and regulators. Reach Phil and his excellent newsletter, Wag the Dog, at wagthedog.io.If this was useful, follow the show, share it with a colleague in comms or risk, and leave a quick review telling us what you want to hear next.We'd love to hear from you. Email the show at Tom@leadinginacrisis.com.
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