Reputation Radar

PR, corporate and crisis communications, sourced weekly.

The New White House Press Secretary Was Asked Where She Passed the Bar. Her Answer Became the Story.

Associated Press / CNN / NPR · Oct. 13-15, 2026

Katie Zacharia’s first briefing as White House press secretary on Tuesday lasted under 15 minutes, with questions from three outlets: Breitbart, Fox and the Daily Mail. She has long called herself a lawyer, but the State Bar of California told the Associated Press it has “no record” of her being licensed there, and journalist Judd Legum reported the same for every state and Washington, D.C. When a reporter asked where she passed the bar, she answered, “When I moved to China.” She later told the New York Times she misheard the question over the noise of the president’s helicopter. CNN, citing a Wall Street Journal report, says she failed the California bar exam in 2011. The White House called her “uniquely qualified.” Vetting failures destroy spokesperson credibility instantly. A spokesperson’s primary currency is trust and authority. When a public-facing representative enters a role with unvetted or exaggerated background claims, the focus immediately shifts from the organization’s message to an integrity scandal.

A Brooklyn Shop Had a Celebrity Customer for Five Minutes. Her Posts Did the Rest.

ABC News / Fox News · Oct. 10-14, 2026

On Oct. 10, singer Kelly Clarkson posted on X that staff at Art of Play, a Brooklyn magic and games shop, looked at her “as if I couldn’t afford it” when she asked about a singing wooden bird. She compared the visit to a scene from Pretty Woman. The store said the bird, named Molly, is a one-of-a-kind piece attached to the wall and was never for sale, and that it offered her a similar bird for about $2,000. Clarkson disputed that and wrote, “So you’re not only rude, you’re also a liar.” Silent security video that surfaced this week shows her in the store for about five minutes, but not what anyone said. Co-owner Adam Rubin says the shop has been flooded with threatening messages and bad reviews, and that Clarkson’s posts have “put us in danger.” Neither side has backed down. A customer with a big audience can turn any visit into an ad for your business, good or bad. A rave from Clarkson would have been free advertising, so treat every interaction like one. Whatever happened in the store, the fallout landed on the people who work there, and a post can’t be pulled back once it spreads.

Sega Pulled Its Own Remaster Two Days After Launch and Brought Back the Original.

PC Gamer / Shacknews · Oct. 15, 2026

Sega and developer Creative Assembly removed Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition from Steam after a wave of negative reviews, and put the original game back on sale. Players were angry about bugs, about the original being replaced, and about claims, unconfirmed, that AI was used on the graphics. Sega posted that the new version “has fallen short of both your expectation and our own standards” and that “the current experience is not where it needs to be.” It said it is investigating and plans a new release at a later, unspecified date. Giving people back what they lost did more than the apology did. A fix beats a statement, and saying plainly where you fell short is a good start.

HubSpot’s Co-Founder Posted a Goodbye to Laid-Off Employees. Then He Apologized for It.

The Boston Globe / Boston.com · Oct. 13, 2026

HubSpot announced Oct. 6 that it was cutting nearly 660 jobs, about 7% of its workforce. Co-founder and chief technology officer Dharmesh Shah then posted on LinkedIn thanking departing employees and offering “best wishes with the next chapter.” Some commenters called it impersonal and out of touch. Shah added an update saying he was “sincerely sorry” the message was “curt and insensitive,” and wrote, “As a co-founder, I should have showed the people who helped build HubSpot more care and empathy.” CEO Yamini Rangan said the company is reorganizing around AI, but that AI-related efficiencies did not drive the layoffs. When people lose their jobs, say it hurts before you say thank you. A thank-you on its own sounds like you’ve already moved on, and Shah’s apology works because it names exactly what he left out.

Asos Customers Got a “Hacked” Alert From Asos’s Own App. Asos’s Apology Came Hours Later.

ITV News / Express & Star · Oct. 6, 2026

On the morning of Oct. 6, thousands of Asos app users got a push notification titled “Asos hacked” that linked to a Telegram account. The message claimed attackers had broken into the company’s data and threatened to leak it unless Asos made contact. Asos said the activity involved third-party platforms it uses to contact customers and that names and contact details “may have been accessed” for about 16.5 million customers. It said it did not believe payment card information or passwords were affected. That evening it emailed customers: “We’re sorry that you may have received an unauthorised push notification from us earlier today,” and told them to ignore it and not click the link. Asos shares fell more than 10% that day. When the bad news reaches customers before you do, you’re already playing catch-up. The email was clear and told people what to do, but it came after the damage was done.