flack
n.n. a person whose job is to protect a company or person's public image. They handle bad news and try to make the public feel good about their employer.
n. a public relations officer or media liaison responsible for managing the public image of an individual or organization. Often used in the context of crisis management or damage control.
The company hired a flack to handle the bad press.
After the scandal broke, the CEO's flack worked around the clock to manage the media's negative coverage.
In the digital age, the role of the flack has evolved from simply managing traditional media to navigating the immediate and often unfiltered scrutiny of social media platforms.
From Middle English flacken (“to palpitate, flutter”), from Old English flaccian, from Proto-West Germanic flakkōn, from Proto-Germanic flakkōną (“to beat”), from Proto-Indo-European pleḱ-, which could be related to Ancient Greek πλάζω (plázō, “to turn away from”). Akin to Middle Dutch vlacken (“to flicker, flash, sparkle”), Danish flakke (“to wander”), Swedish flacka (“to rove, rove about, ramble”), Icelandic flakka (“to move”). Compare also Icelandic flaka (“to flap, hang loose”), Swedish flaxa (“to flap, flutter”).
Most likely flak.
Variant of flak.