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Misinformation Risk Index: Brands
How exposed are the world's leading brands to misinformation? Using Pulsar's Visibility scores and NewsGuard's Reliability Ratings, this index tracks the frequency and reach of mentions of the world's 25 most valuable brands on unreliable news and information sites, indicating which brands are at risk of misinformation exposure.
Rank
Brand
Misinfo Risk Scores
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Breakout
1
Tesla logo
Tesla
Misinfo Risk Scores
10.00
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
Breakout
47.5%
2
Disney logo
Disney
Misinfo Risk Scores
6.94
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
Breakout
181.5%
3
Amazon logo
Amazon
Misinfo Risk Scores
3.71
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
Breakout
444.7%
4
Coca-Cola logo
Coca-Cola
Misinfo Risk Scores
3.49
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
Breakout
199.9%
5
Microsoft logo
Microsoft
Misinfo Risk Scores
3.38
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
Breakout
76.5%
6
Nike logo
Nike
Misinfo Risk Scores
3.11
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
Breakout
28.4%
7
Apple logo
Apple
Misinfo Risk Scores
2.58
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
Breakout
12.3%
8
Google logo
Google
Misinfo Risk Scores
2.54
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
Breakout
62.8%
9
Facebook logo
Facebook
Misinfo Risk Scores
2.53
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
Breakout
130.4%
10
BMW logo
BMW
Misinfo Risk Scores
2.31
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
Breakout
145.4%
11
Toyota logo
Toyota
Misinfo Risk Scores
2.21
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
Breakout
39.6%
12
Youtube logo
Youtube
Misinfo Risk Scores
2.06
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
Breakout
213.8%
13
Ikea logo
Ikea
Misinfo Risk Scores
1.98
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
14
American Express logo
American Express
Misinfo Risk Scores
1.28
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
Breakout
56.7%
15
Hermès logo
Hermès
Misinfo Risk Scores
1.23
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
Breakout
396.6%
16
J.P. Morgan logo
J.P. Morgan
Misinfo Risk Scores
1.13
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
17
Instagram logo
Instagram
Misinfo Risk Scores
0.93
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
Breakout
53.1%
18
Honda logo
Honda
Misinfo Risk Scores
0.87
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
Breakout
8.9%
19
IBM logo
IBM
Misinfo Risk Scores
0.75
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
20
Pepsi logo
Pepsi
Misinfo Risk Scores
0.58
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
21
Chanel logo
Chanel
Misinfo Risk Scores
0.50
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
Breakout
406.9%
22
Samsung logo
Samsung
Misinfo Risk Scores
0.46
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
23
Mercedes-Benz logo
Mercedes-Benz
Misinfo Risk Scores
0.00
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
24
McDonald's logo
McDonald's
Misinfo Risk Scores
0.00
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
25
Louis Vuitton logo
Louis Vuitton
Misinfo Risk Scores
0.00
Weekly Trend (last 12 weeks)
Last 8 weeks
Last 4 weeks
Source: Pulsar TRAC/NewsGuard
Learn More
Blog post cover
Introducing NewsGuard on Pulsar: a new way to understand misinformation
Combining journalistic insight with Pulsar’s AI analysis to safeguard brand reputation.
Blog post cover
Introducing the Misinformation Risk Index for Brands
Pulsar & NewsGuard track how the world’s most valuable brands might be exposed to misinformation - and how you can ensure the safety of your own
Blog post cover
Pulsar and NewsGuard to help PR and Marketing professionals detect misinformation before it spreads
Audience intelligence platform Pulsar and NewsGuard, which rates the trustworthiness of news sources, are launching an integration to detect early signals of misinformation, measure the impact of those...
Methodology & FAQ
  • What is the Misinformation Risk Index?

    The Misinformation Risk Index (MRI) uses Pulsar's Visibility data and NewsGuard's Reliability Ratings data to evaluate brands' exposure to misinformation by quantifying each brand’s misinformation risk level on a weekly basis. It also visualizes how this risk has changed over the prior 12 weeks.

  • How is the Misinformation Risk Score measured?

    The Misinformation Risk Score is measured on a relative scale of 0-10.

    This is calculated on a weekly basis, in which the number of times a brand is mentioned across sites rated unreliable by NewsGuard is multiplied by the Visibility of the post or article in question. The brand with the highest exposure to misinformation is given a maximum score of 10, against which all other scores are normalized. The final Misinformation Risk Score is the average of the score over the last four weeks. A score of 0 equates to the lowest risk of brand exposure to misinformation amongst comparable brands, while a score of 10 indicates that the brand is most at risk of such exposure.

    The score integrates NewsGuard's Reliability Rating of a given website (which includes 9 standards of credibility and transparency, such as whether a publisher frequently publishes false content, discloses its ownership, and corrects any errors) and Pulsar's Visibility Score for a given piece of content (which accounts for audience size, engagement, and estimated reach) to determine each brand's risk of exposure to misinformation. The risk score does not claim that misinformation about the specific brand has necessarily been published, but instead evaluates the risk of a brand being associated with or appearing adjacent to misinformation content online.

  • How are the brands selected?

    The selection of 25 brands is based on Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2021. Several brands within the Interbrand list (Cisco, Intel, SAP, UPS and Adobe) are excluded due to zero brand mentions taking place across NewsGuard Rated Red Sites.

Get in touch
Want to understand the context for your brand’s
Misinformation Risk Score? Get in touch.
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