As countless talking heads drone on and on—my one and only pun, I swear—every night about the possible causes for these beams of light hovering overhead, the conspiracy theories are officially running rampant. I’m certain that by the time this op-ed prints, we’ll have greater clarity as to the rationale for these drones, but currently, government agencies are forgetting the most important rule of crisis communications: if you don’t control the narrative, someone else will.
As of today, guesses as to the provenance of the drones have ranged from Iran, to government searches for a lost nuclear device to “you’re not seeing drones,” all of which make it even more challenging for the truth to ever come out and be trusted. Alas, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security originally communicated that final point, but DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas later stated, “I want to assure the American public that we are on it,” a frustrating flip-flop that further sows doubt among the public. Simply put, it appears that government officials waited too long to find out what was happening and to communicate it. As a result, they’ve now lost the ability to assuage public concern.
In the early innings—even if you’re not sure that something is yet a crisis—it’s important to consider a few things: