A false rumor has begun circulating online that Six Apart plans to sell one of its product lines to a competitor and lay off most of the employees who currently work on those products. Alden asks your advice in handling the situation. Which of the following would you recommend?
a. Try to plant a counter-rumor on the online grapevine so that the employees who are worried about their jobs will get the right message the same way they got the wrong one.
b. Immediately schedule a companywide, in-person meeting to set the record straight, emphasizing to everyone in the firm that Six Apart has no plans to shed that product line.
c. Post a message on an internal blog, setting the record straight and assuring the workforce that all jobs are safe; employees and customers alike are accustomed to getting information from this blog, so it's the right way to communicate this message.
d. Ignore the rumor. Like all other false rumors, it will eventually die out.