Corporate fake news impacts: A reference model

The proliferation of fake news in digital ecosystems poses a growing threat to politics, society, and corporations, yet its multidimensional impact on organisations remains underexplored. Modelling tools such as ArchiMate are widely used to represent enterprise architectures, but the specific phenomenon of corporate fake news lacks a structured reference model. To address this gap, we developed an ArchiMate-based corporate fake news reference model using a Design Science Research approach informed by a systematic literature review. The model captures six corporate fake news impact domains: public perception, customer trust, governance level, organisational resilience, equity, and stock prices.

We validated the model through an in-depth case study of false claims alleging that McDonald's products contained human meat—a widely circulated hoax spread via social media, which triggered significant reputational risk and public concern. This case demonstrated the model's ability to capture the cascading effects of reputational damage, including potential operational and financial impacts. Each impact domain is linked to relevant drivers, threatened goals, and assessment mechanisms, illustrating both its descriptive capacity to characterise corporate fake news effects and its prescriptive utility in structuring coordinated organisational responses.

While the current model effectively structures retrospective understanding of corporate fake news impacts, its scope remains limited in proactive detection and real-time use. Future research will focus on integrating early detection tools, dynamic escalation indicators, and interdisciplinary insights from cybersecurity and communications. The study provides both a conceptual foundation and a practical decision-support tool to inform risk-aware organisational strategies against corporate fake news.