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One observation from running an intel shop is a lot of assumptions & projection will be applied to your products.
One of the most common you see all the time is the assumption that you should only be talking about one threat at a time.
One of the most common you see all the time is the assumption that you should only be talking about one threat at a time.
In 2016-2017 if we put out a product on #ISIS we'd get flak for not talking about #whitesupremacists. If we put out one on white supremacists, we'd get asked why we were ignoring ISIS.
While you may be aware of the totality of your production, your audience isn't.
While you may be aware of the totality of your production, your audience isn't.
In 2017 we had published a piece about anarchist extremism (part of a regular product line reviewing all the extremist movements in our portfolios). We got a lot of "What about nazis?" comments from new readers.
Of course, we had a bunch of products on exactly that topic.
Of course, we had a bunch of products on exactly that topic.
It's not reasonable to expect a reader to review & evaluate the entire scope of production of an organization. Our regular customers had a good sense of who we were & (I hope) established trust.
But we had new customers who didn't have that history with us. What to do?
But we had new customers who didn't have that history with us. What to do?
And, unfortunately, those new customers are likely to come to you after a traumatic incident like an attack. Usually that's the worst time to try to explain definitions, methodology, etc. because folks are raw and/or freaking out.
I've seen other shops just lock down access after getting questions/criticism but I think that's a bad approach.
Ultimately I think it's just the cost of trying to have the widest dissemination possible. But if you do, make sure your leadership is prepared to get push back.
Ultimately I think it's just the cost of trying to have the widest dissemination possible. But if you do, make sure your leadership is prepared to get push back.
