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We live in an age where visibility equals credibility. For many, stepping into the world of social media branding is no longer a choice but a necessity.
Entrepreneurs, coaches, and influencers build digital profiles to attract clients, command authority, and stand out in a crowded marketplace.
The promise is seductive: if you can tell your story, showcase your expertise, and package your image with precision, the world will listen.
What motivates individuals to choose to brand themselves on social media?
The motivations are layered. Some seek recognition; others want influence; many pursue financial independence.
The approach is straightforward: develop a polished profile, emphasize credentials, outline offerings, and present yourself as someone who “adds value.”
Then comes the pricing—a reflection not only of the service offered but of the status attached to the brand.
Look at Sadia Khan’s coaching programs. Her high prices are not due to her clinical accreditation but rather to her reputation as an exclusive and elite coach. In branding, perception creates price.
Maintaining that image requires constant effort. Influencers carefully curate content, manage collaborations, and monitor every post.
They outsource promotion, hire publicists, and surround themselves with allies who amplify their message. In short, they manufacture visibility—because in this new economy, exposure is the product.
Yet, the higher the climb, the steeper the fall.
The moment someone achieves online success, they also attract resentment. The reasons why individuals attempt to “take down” influencers are complex:
Jealousy: Envy over visibility, lifestyle, and perceived success.
Anger: Disagreement with values, methods, or controversial statements.
Hate: A deeper, often irrational hostility towards those who dare to stand in the spotlight.
Digital Vigilantism: Many see themselves as online “truth-tellers” or self-appointed judges. They believe it is their duty to expose hypocrisy, fraud, or private behaviour that contradicts a public image. While some may genuinely feel they are serving justice, most act without accountability, blurring the line between whistleblowing and public shaming. For them, every post or video “exposing” someone is both a moral crusade and a chance to gain followers in the attention economy.
For those driven by malice, exposing a contradiction in an influencer’s life is a form of victory.
In the intelligence world, this is no different from a counterintelligence operation: find the weak point, exploit it, and discredit the target (MICE methodology)
Once one sows doubt, the audience becomes the target.
Sadia Khan positioned herself as a relationship psychologist and high-value dating coach. Her polished videos, posh accent, and strong online presence attracted thousands.
She preached discipline, respect, and authenticity in relationships. But the recent scandal shattered that carefully crafted image.
Reports allege that she engaged in an affair with an engaged man—a direct contradiction of the very values she claimed to uphold.
Worse still, she was recorded, and the evidence surfaced publicly.
Here is the harsh reality: what appears on the internet never disappears.
Screenshots, recordings, and reposts spread rapidly, multiplying faster than any attempt to erase them.
In Sadia’s case, she now resembles a fireman running from blaze to blaze, trying to extinguish a million metaphorical fires online.
However, in the digital era, a single individual cannot extinguish all the flames of exposure once they ignite.
The result is the fragility of reputation in the digital age.
You can invest years in cultivating an image, but within minutes, a single inconsistency can disseminate across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and blogs, turning a brand into ruins.
Having survived war, worked in intelligence, and conducted high-level investigations, I understand that preparation, not denial, is the key to winning reputational battles.
Professionals cannot simply hope their brand will survive scrutiny. They must prepare for the inevitable.
Here is the day-to-day risk assessment framework I use when advising leaders, entrepreneurs, and organizations.
Being in public will expose you to criticism
Public opinion is relentless. Once you step into the spotlight, you are under permanent cross-examination. Make sure your background is verifiable and emphasize your strengths right away. If you mention a degree, please ensure the certificate is available. If you mention experience, please ensure it can be quantified. Avoid keeping secrets that could potentially lead to blackmail. Transparency is your best shield.
Engage Clients with Protection—Always Use NDAs
When dealing with clients, protect yourself and them with a non-disclosure agreement. This is not paranoia; it is professionalism. NDAs set boundaries, establish confidentiality, and reduce the risk of private conversations being recorded or shared without consent. In the case of Sadia Khan, if clear protocols had been in place, the damaging recording might not have surfaced.
Control Your Communications
Your digital footprint is your brand. It is advisable not to fully delegate it to third-party companies who might create, share, or even respond on your behalf. Authenticity is non-transferable. An intern or marketing agency replacing your voice puts you at risk of losing control. Worse, they might misrepresent you. Please ensure that every message, post, and response is verified.
Uphold ethics and values consistently
No brand survives without ethics. Develop a strong, organization-wide culture of integrity and values. Consistently deliver high-quality services that exceed expectations. Audiences forgive mistakes, but they do not forgive hypocrisy. Sadia Khan’s downfall illustrates the point perfectly: her ethics collapsed under the weight of contradiction.
When scandal strikes, many organizations find themselves unprepared. Many organizations tend to react haphazardly, which often leads to unfavourable outcomes. Professionals must approach reputational risk as seriously as financial risk.
Conduct regular audits. Use surveys, focus groups, and media scans to gauge how employees, customers, and stakeholders perceive you. Never underestimate the power of public opinion.
Values displayed on a wall hold minimal significance. Live them in your actions. If your private behavior contradicts your public preaching, it can lead to reputational collapse.
Assess vulnerabilities continuously. For each potential risk, assign a score—and prioritize your action plans accordingly.
As I explained in my article, “This Explains Why You Will Never Succeed in the Market,” professionals must plan like investigators.
A pre-mortem analysis asks: what could go wrong, and how do we prevent it?
A post-mortem analysis asks: if damage occurs, what lessons can we extract to ensure it never happens again? Applied to reputational risk, this approach forces organizations and individuals to see weaknesses before critics weaponize them.
Silence is dangerous. In the first 48 hours of exposure, the world is waiting for your response. Prepare statements in advance, designate spokespeople, and always lead with transparency.
Your reputation is only as strong as your weakest employee. Train everyone in ethics, communication, and brand responsibility. A single careless remark can go viral and damage the entire organization.
In today’s digital world, reputation is glass. It takes years to polish, seconds to shatter, and rarely can it be restored to its original shine.
Why do people brand themselves online? People brand themselves online for recognition, influence, and wealth. How do they build their profile? They achieve their goal through a combination of carefully curated offerings, high pricing, and relentless self-promotion. How do they maintain it?
They achieve such success through meticulous management of their image. But why do others attack them?
Others attack them out of jealousy, anger, and hate—seizing on any weakness to bring them down.
The case of Sadia Khan shows us the truth: when your private actions contradict your public preaching, the internet will never forget. You cannot delete exposure; you can only prepare for it.
Once your name is compromised, you will spend years like a fireman trying to extinguish countless fires online—a battle most cannot win.
The difference between collapse and survival is preparation. Crisis management, ethical consistency, and proactive risk assessments are not luxuries—they are lifelines.
This is where I step in. I am Mario Bekes. I have lived on the battlefield, where credibility meant survival. And I can tell you this: in the digital battlefield of reputation, the rules are the same.
Prepare, protect, and prevent—or risk destruction at the speed of a single viral post.
