From False Facts to Real Losses: Quantifying the Business Toll of Misinformation

This is part one of a three-part VeroVeri Voice series titled The Business Toll of Misinformation, where we look at the risks & costs associated with misinformation.

Executive Takeaway

Every unverified claim - whether in an investor deck, on a landing page, or in a slide you show the entire workforce - acts like an unbooked liability. Inconsistent or unsupported claims can trigger:

• Reputational damage and stakeholder backlash

• Wasted ad spend (an estimated US $2.6 billion annually lands on misinformation sites)

• Decision risk when internal and external content diverge

These are information-integrity failures—the kind VeroVeri’s VALID™ audit is built to catch before they drain trust or capital.

1 Five costly failure points

Inconsistent KPIs and public-facing metrics: When investor presentations or all-hands meetings cite metrics that conflict with prior disclosures or lack sourcing, the fallout may not be a formal restatement, but it can still erode credibility. VeroVeri cross-checks public and internal claims against source material and flags mismatches before they reach key stakeholders.

Unsupported product or sustainability claims: Misstatements in marketing copy or ESG-related declarations, especially in highly regulated sectors, can prompt regulatory attention or competitor challenges. Our information audit service, based on the VALID™ Framework, ensures that all claims in a white paper, press release, or product page trace back to a verifiable source.

Ad strategy blind spots: Programmatic buying may place ads next to low-credibility content. VeroVeri helps clients verify media partner lists, exclusion settings, and campaign messaging to reduce inadvertent brand association with misinformation, without auditing every placement.

AI & analytics fed with unverified content: Training frontier models can cost tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars. Unverified or out-of-context inputs can poison outputs, creating reputational and compliance risk. VeroVeri audits your content before it enters training sets or business intelligence pipelines.

Cognitive traps in the C-suite: Dr. Noam Shpancer’s February 2025 article on the “stickiness” of misinformation reminds us that even known-falsehoods can bias judgment. VALID™ builds structural safeguards like challenge rounds and traceable data registries to help teams resist internal echo chambers.

2 Why investors, insurers, and boards reward verification

More firms are turning to third-party assurance, not just for ESG metrics, but for broader trust-building. For example:

• 70% of the S&P 500 now obtain third-party assurance over at least one set of non-financial disclosures (CAQ, 2024).

• 93% of executives say stakeholder trust improves financial performance (PwC Trust Survey, 2024).

• D&O underwriters increasingly assess disclosure quality as an emerging risk factor (AM Best, 2025).

While VeroVeri doesn’t conduct ESG audits or issue regulated assurance, it verifies that what firms publish aligns with those authoritative sources, ensuring consistency, traceability, accountability, and credibility across content.

3 Reframing risk into practical business terms

• Marketing & brand: Inaccurate or outdated content weakens trust and campaign ROI.

• Regulatory posture: Unsubstantiated public claims—especially in ESG or product marketing—raise exposure.

• Operational efficiency: Conflicting internal metrics slow decisions, force rework, and distract teams from execution.

Even modest reductions in these risks offset the cost of an information-integrity program several times over.

4 Where VeroVeri fits

• We verify claims, not accounting entries. VeroVeri does not perform financial audits or test compliance against GAAP or IFRS.

• We work across public and internal communications. An inaccurate metric in a sales kickoff can be just as damaging as one in a press release.

• We complement risk, compliance, and marketing teams. Using the VALID™ Framework provides an independent, structured, and documented process to verify outbound content and build stakeholder and customer confidence.

5 First steps for an executive team

1. List your high-impact claims: Campaign headlines, investor slides, product descriptions, etc.

2. Match each to a primary source: No link? Flag it.

3. Estimate exposure: Review how those claims connect to brand trust, investor credibility, or regulatory scrutiny.

4. Decide whether to build or buy a verification layer.

   
   

Need support? VeroVeri offers tailored reviews to baseline your exposure and help you close trust gaps, before they reach your audience.

What’s next...

Even when the evidence is clear, misinformation still shapes decisions—often without us realizing it. In our next post, we’ll explore the psychology of misinformation in executive settings and why even seasoned teams fall into repeatable traps without structural safeguards.

Part 2: Brains in a Noise Storm: Why Even Smart Teams Fall for Bad Information

Part 3: Proactive Trust Economics: How Continuous Verification Transforms Credibility into Competitive Capital