Adverse media screening
to restrict reputation risk
cFIRST’s tailored, affordable, and global negative news searches scour the media sources to
highlight adverse candidate references that could compromise your company’s public standing.
highlight adverse candidate references that could compromise your company’s public standing.
Why Conduct Adverse Media Screening?
Your candidate’s media presence can offer critical business intelligence. Adverse media checks or negative news screening looks for any unfavourable candidate mentions across media outlets like newspapers and television alongside ever-growing social media posts, blogs, and public records. Regulations like Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) make these checks mandatory in many cases, but their value extends far beyond compliance.
Negative media screening is a must for high-profile roles that carry substantial responsibilities and high visibility and sometimes serve as the face of an organisation. Prompt detection of news linking your employees to unethical activities like corruption or organised crime can make all the difference in protecting your brand values and reputation.
Common Challenges in Negative Media Screening
One key hurdle lies in the sheer volume of information. The ever-expanding universe of social media posts, blogs, and online forums joins traditional media outlets. Sifting through this vast amount of data to pinpoint relevant details requires sophisticated search techniques and ongoing monitoring. Furthermore, adverse media’s meaning can be subjective.
News articles might not always explicitly state wrongdoing, and social media posts can be open to interpretation. Definitions of “Politically Exposed Persons” (PEPs) and “close associates” can vary by jurisdiction, creating uncertainty for risk assessment teams. cFIRST’s intelligent search technology overcomes these challenges by recommending the most relevant and verified sources with customisable search strings specific to your industry.
Adverse Media Sources
Depending on the industry context, we scan for adverse media related to arms trafficking, bribery, cybercrime, money laundering, tax evasion, political exposure, sanctions violations, high-risk geolocations, etc. cFIRST allows you to find exactly what you’re looking for by letting you choose which media topics, locations, or publications to include or exclude. While you can customise negative news search results to attain peak relevance and precision, a comprehensive screening program should explore them all.
Key sources at a glance:
- Online, print, and televised news outlets across the globe
- Watchlists, crime lists, and Politically Exposed Person (PEP) lists
- Public records maintaining reports on fraud allegations and criminal activities
- Online behaviour and public posts on social media platforms
- Government sources that flag risky entities for reasons like tax woes or court proceedings
- Business and individual blogs and online forums
Why Choose cFIRST for Adverse Media Screening?
- Instantly access data sources for a complete audit trail
- Identify high-risk candidates with our AI-powered article categorisation
- Intuitive portals to save you training time and resources
- Minimise false negatives and false positives with intelligent filters and advanced algorithm
- Global coverage and real-time bulk screening with near-immediate results
- Seamless API integrations for a single view of risks and quick resolution
- Affordable on-demand screening with 24/7 support
Regulatory Compliances
A missed red flag during a negative news screening can expose your organisation to a financial and reputational nightmare. Sizeable penalties, public criticism, and even
legal charges are all possible sanctions for inadequate background checks. cFIRST is your expert counsellor, providing excellent advice and tools to ensure effortless global compliance.
legal charges are all possible sanctions for inadequate background checks. cFIRST is your expert counsellor, providing excellent advice and tools to ensure effortless global compliance.
Anti-Money Laundering (AML)
Criminals are always looking for ways to conceal their dishonest earnings. The Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws are designed to stop them from using lawful businesses to launder dirty money. cFIRST guides you in detecting possible money launderers by disclosing negative media related to financial crime, fraud, and other suspicious activities.
Countering Financing of Terrorism (CFT)
CFT rules are meant to stop terrorist organisations from getting the money they need. The screening process of cFIRST filters out the people or companies connected to terrorism or terrorist financing activities, thus making sure that the CFT requirements are followed.
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
The FCPA prohibits U.S. companies from bribing foreign officials to win business. cFIRST detects possible FCPA violations by finding adverse media related to bribery and corruption involving foreign entities.
