Protecting Against Today’s Rampant Mis/Disinformation

Phony doctors, lawyers, politicians, and industry leaders walk among us. Stories such as recently expelled Long Island Congressman George Santos, who lied about nearly everything, and convicted business owner Elizabeth Holmes, who made false claims about her company Theranos’ blood-testing product, could have been avoided if anyone had bothered to make even a minimal effort to vet their claims.

In this world of fake-it-till-you-make-it founders, win-at-all-costs politicians, and just plain old-fashioned hucksters, it’s more important than ever to protect yourself from being led down a road of disinformation, misinformation, or patent lies. It requires you to have a degree of knowledge in conducting due diligence investigations. While due diligence is a specialized legal, accounting, and auditing term, when applied to intelligence purposes it involves thorough research of a topic utilizing accessible tools and resources.

Due diligence research utilizes open-source databases, websites, and social media platforms to understand people’s professional and educational history, professional and social networks, and even spending habits. From the seasoned OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence) due diligence professional to rank amateurs, everybody in today’s world must have an access point for utilizing online data so that they can make smart decisions.

Due diligence protects ordinary citizens, investors, and maybe even innocent children from harm. Whether hiring a nanny or considering taking a new job, it’s important to protect yourself, your family, and even the world at large from potential harm with an in-depth investigation.

For example, I was recently interested in hiring a contractor to update my home deck. I found and advertisement for Dudley Doodud of DeckDud ABC, Inc. (not the real name) in a local paper. The ad looked professional and invited potential customers to view his work on a website. The work matched my expectations in terms of quality craftsmanship. The website also identified him as a registered and licensed contractor, which requires him to carry certain insurances.

For all intents and purposes, he appeared to be a suitable contractor for my deck project. As a due diligence investigator, however, I decided to dig a bit deeper into his cyber footprint. I visited his personal Facebook account and read several racist rants he posted, which struck me as callous and unprofessional. The man is entitled to his own opinion, but my meager due diligence on him changed my opinion of his suitability to be my contractor.

Performing effective due diligence investigations requires the following: 

1. Determination – Determination, closely related to insatiable curiosity, is where we all start. Over time, the investigator will move from pure determination to critical thinking—replacing some of the heavy lifting with the strategy that comes from experience. But determination never completely goes away.  An investigator’s dogged determination serves as a catalyst to persist in uncovering crucial data. Tracking lead after lead can be mentally exhausting, especially when cases drag from days to weeks to months and beyond. When a fact makes itself apparent, however, and you realize that your marathon research led to that key piece of intelligence, it is as if you won the lottery.

   The right tools - When conducting due diligence, one’s results are highly dependent upon the choice of tools and resources. Investigators often need extensive access to public records, business reports, and other pertinent information. In some matters, the service may be free, such as accessing LinkedIn to view an online resumé. Public records aggregators, such as CLEAR by Thomson Reuters (clear.thomsonreuters.com) or IRBsearch (irbsearch.com/searches.html), can help verify employment details. A fee-based service such as LexisNexis’s Accurint — a database of aggregated public records — also can confirm information posted on your subject’s LinkedIn profile.

2. Computer proficiency - Think about it: Most of today’s crimes involve a computer in some way. Your work will greatly benefit from having a deep understanding of how the web works, how email is transmitted, and how information is stored. The internet provides myriad opportunities to help you learn, grow, and develop your computer skills. Also, as computers continue to advance, you need to not just keep up but to consider what’s next. The next generation of due diligence investigations will concern the metaverse and immersive information experiences.

   Understanding the business and legal worlds – A solid understanding of the business community and industries involved will give you a firm knowledge base from which to perform solid due diligence investigations. It can be challenging to understand a specific industry. For example, if investigating a clothing manufacturer with locations in China, Mexico, and California, you will need to learn about and become familiar with the clothing industry, the players, and the language of retail and manufacturing for those countries. The legal issues and implications of having businesses located in these foreign countries may also come into play. Also needed is learning the language of courts and other government bodies that warehouse public records, such as understanding the difference between a docket and a disposition.

3. Critical and analytical thinking - With experience, you will be able to approach your investigations with planning, strategy, and refined skills — in other words, with critical thinking. Such critical and analytical thinking gives you the ability to use strategy and imagination to strip down and plan an approach before you even open your browser window and start to work.

In today’s world of rampant disinformation, you can’t afford to succumb to shortcuts and easy answers. Due diligence investigations are a way to protect yourself, your client, and even your community from fraudulent actors.

Written by Cynthia Hetherington.

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