Duolingo, JK Rowling, and the sentence that sparked a storm: Why reputation risk is everyone’s business

There’s a sentence in a German lesson that’s caused a reputational headache for Duolingo. It reads: “Yes, I like Harry Potter but the author is mean.” Not exactly the stuff of international incident, you’d think. But, these days, we live in a tinder box of cultural tension, and this one line was enough to ignite a backlash, forcing the world’s most popular language app into a public apology.

Welcome to the new reality of reputation risk, where even your vocabulary exercises can become a battleground.

Here’s the context: Duolingo’s sentence was interpreted as a swipe at JK Rowling’s gender-critical views and, according to a freelance TV producer and writer who had been using the app for five months on the trot, Rowling was the “first and only real-life person” she had seen criticised. Cue outrage, social media fury, and a swift corporate climbdown.

The story is a perfect case study of how reputational risk now lurks in the unlikeliest corners. Not just in campaigns or CEO statements, but in user-experience (UX) copy, product features, and yes, even German homework.

At SEC Newgate UK, we’ve been tracking this shift. Our Responsible Business report found that the public increasingly expects companies to act responsibly, in how they operate, as well as in how they engage with culture and society: 75% of people believe big businesses should behave responsibly, and 72% think companies should act in the best interests of all stakeholders, not just shareholders. 

But here’s the rub: while people want brands to stand for something, they’re also quick to call out anything that feels off. The line between values-led and virtue signalling is razor thin. And the consequences of getting it wrong? Fast, public, and often brutal.

The Duolingo example shows how reputation risk is no longer the sole domain of the comms team. It’s a whole-business issue. From product design to customer service, every touchpoint is a potential flashpoint. That’s why crisis and reputation specialists can no longer be the people you call when things go wrong; we are the people who need to be in the room before the sentence gets written, before the campaign is launched.

The lesson we learn from the Duolingo-Rowling debacle is that all businesses now operate in a challenging reputational terrain, one where cultural debates are polarised, public expectations are high, and the margin for error is shrinking.

So, if you’re wondering whether your brand is ready for this perilous landscape, ask yourself this: who is looking out for your reputation? And are they close enough to the decisions that matter? Because in 2025, reputational risk is the lens through which every decision should be viewed.