Angry online comments about you? Don't ignore them.

It's no secret that social media and online comment sections reveal lots of anger and misinformation.

Pass them off as water under the bridge at your peril.

Academic research by Bokyung Kim at the University of Missouri finds that "angry user-generated comments," especially by perceived victims of a crisis or corporate problem can have a big effect on others' perceptions.

Kim's findings indicate that organizations should respond, not ignore, the negative postings.

Unfortunately, "the public relies on unsubstantiated web-based information," her research found.

Suggested responses to counter that:

* Contact the negative poster directly.

* Post a response to reach the same audience.

* Remove the comments from the site (if they're in a venue you control.