Philippe Borremans

Author of Wag The Dog, focused on Crisis, Risk & Emergency Communication worldwide.

The September reset every crisis team skips.

Sep 9, 2026

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5 min read

The September reset every crisis team skips.

A readiness checklist for the six weeks between summer and Q4 risk season.

41 minutes: why an alert system is not an early-warning system.

Sep 2, 2026

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5 min read

41 minutes: why an alert system is not an early-warning system.

A Reuters investigation into the Nepal-Tibet flood shows why faster messaging can't fix a broken information supply chain.

Aug 26, 2026

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6 min read

86% see the risk. 14% train for it.

Deloitte's new Corporate Affairs report ranks crisis and geopolitical training dead last on the 2026 investment list — while calling geopolitics a 'standing condition.'

AI's Explanation Problem: Why 833 Opposition Groups Matter

Aug 19, 2026

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9 min read

AI's Explanation Problem: Why 833 Opposition Groups Matter

833 opposition groups is not a messaging failure. It is what happens when an industry cannot explain itself and will not own the consequences.

Anticipator, enabler, or observer: which one is your crisis team, really?

Aug 12, 2026

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8 min read

Anticipator, enabler, or observer: which one is your crisis team, really?

A five-role maturity model, built for investors and innovators, doubles as an uncomfortably accurate test of crisis readiness.

AI didn't invent a new crisis. It just broke the clock.

Aug 5, 2026

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6 min read

AI didn't invent a new crisis. It just broke the clock.

ICM tracked a record year of US crisis coverage. International SOS surveyed 250 risk leaders across 53 countries. They're describing the same problem.

Gray zone attacks: the crisis your comms plan was never built for.

Jul 29, 2026

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7 min read

Gray zone attacks: the crisis your comms plan was never built for.

A guide to the ambiguous, deniable attacks now hitting critical infrastructure, contractors and private citizens worldwide — and what that means for your comms plan.

When AI hacks AI: inside the disclosure that turned a breach into a safety story

Jul 23, 2026

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9 min read

When AI hacks AI: inside the disclosure that turned a breach into a safety story

A case study in attribution timing, third-party validation, and the vocabulary gap crisis teams don't have yet for agentic AI incidents.

The best crisis guidance in existence can't actually certify you.

Jul 15, 2026

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7 min read

The best crisis guidance in existence can't actually certify you.

A clause-by-clause reading of ISO 22361, 22301 and 31000 finds the standard with the deepest crisis communication guidance is also the one nobody can be audited against — and none of the three has a plan for infodemics or AI.

Overturn This: what FIFA's Balogun mess teaches communicators.

Jul 8, 2026

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8 min read

Overturn This: what FIFA's Balogun mess teaches communicators.

A reversed red card, a presidential phone call, and Iran's viral Lego propaganda are all running the same geopolitical script—and every one of them is a lesson for anyone managing a technical or disciplinary process.

Three ways AI starts a crisis — and only one of them involves AI failing

Jul 1, 2026

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7 min read

Three ways AI starts a crisis — and only one of them involves AI failing

IBM's Calculus of AI Sovereignty study puts numbers on a crisis type your response plans probably don't cover.

Polycrisis – You can't stop the shock. You can stop the spread.

Jun 24, 2026

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9 min read

Polycrisis – You can't stop the shock. You can stop the spread.

What power-grid engineers know about containing a crisis before it spreads.

22 crisis case studies, three frameworks, one wiki

Jun 18, 2026

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5 min read

22 crisis case studies, three frameworks, one wiki

I built a public wiki for crisis communication. Here's why, and how you can add to it.

The wall that runs your crisis response when no one else can.

Jun 11, 2026

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9 min read

The wall that runs your crisis response when no one else can.

How a Japanese city replaced a 100-page manual with 27 cards — and what I built next.

Jun 3, 2026

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9 min read

The SAFE AI framework

Your AI system fails tomorrow. What do you say? The humanitarian sector just published the governance framework the private sector should have built first.

The risks hurting organisations most aren't on their risk registers.

May 27, 2026

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8 min read

The risks hurting organisations most aren't on their risk registers.

What 12 global risk reports actually found and what it means for crisis communicators.

EU compliance is now inside your crisis plan. Here's where.

May 13, 2026

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8 min read

EU compliance is now inside your crisis plan. Here's where.

AI labelling obligations, 24-hour incident windows, four-hour notifications – and the one exemption most practitioners miss.

The drone communication plan you don't have.

May 6, 2026

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6 min read

The drone communication plan you don't have.

The first-hour problem no drone incident plan prepares you for.

"The Dude Abides": What crisis communication can learn from a man in a bathrobe

Apr 29, 2026

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4 min read

"The Dude Abides": What crisis communication can learn from a man in a bathrobe

Why the best crisis response often looks like doing less, but better

Humour, Lego, and "AI Slop": What Wartime Memes Mean for Crisis and Risk Communicators

Apr 22, 2026

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9 min read

Humour, Lego, and "AI Slop": What Wartime Memes Mean for Crisis and Risk Communicators

Wartime memes — from Iranian Lego propaganda videos to Israeli TikTok satire — are reshaping how the public understands conflict in 2025 and 2026. This article explains what crisis, risk, and emergency communication professionals need to know about humour as a strategic communication tool and how to respond when your message competes with a joke.

Your CEO Has a Crisis Plan. That's the Problem.

Apr 15, 2026

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12 min read

Your CEO Has a Crisis Plan. That's the Problem.

Most C-suite executives believe preparedness is a document. Research says it's a capability. There is a significant difference – and a measurable cost.

The Stargate Polycrisis: What the Iran Threat to OpenAI's Abu Dhabi Data Centre Reveals About Crisis Communication in 2026

Apr 13, 2026

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13 min read

The Stargate Polycrisis: What the Iran Threat to OpenAI's Abu Dhabi Data Centre Reveals About Crisis Communication in 2026

When Iran threatened OpenAI's $30 billion Stargate data centre in Abu Dhabi in April 2026, it didn't trigger one crisis — it triggered five, running simultaneously, with no single organisation positioned to manage all of them. Crisis communication specialist Philippe Borremans analyses what the Stargate polycrisis reveals about the gaps most organisations haven't closed yet.

A free tool (skill) and why I'm giving it away

Apr 3, 2026

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4 min read

A free tool (skill) and why I'm giving it away

Download the press release writer skill for Claude

Is Your Crisis Plan Built for a World That No Longer Exists?

Apr 3, 2026

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11 min read

Is Your Crisis Plan Built for a World That No Longer Exists?

Three major 2026 risk assessments — from Control Risks, the Global Challenges Foundation, and the US Intelligence Community — converge on a single warning for crisis communicators: the conditions for simultaneous, cascading crises are now structurally in place. Most crisis plans are not.

Is Your Organisation Actually Ready for a Polycrisis? A New Assessment Tool for Communication Leaders

Mar 30, 2026

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10 min read

Is Your Organisation Actually Ready for a Polycrisis? A New Assessment Tool for Communication Leaders

The Polycrisis Communication Readiness Assessment is a structured self-evaluation tool for senior communication leaders, measuring capability across five strategic dimensions — from crisis governance to board-level influence — to identify genuine gaps before a polycrisis arrives.