Knowledge roundups are created in response to questions raised by members of the Global Grassroots Support Network (GGSN). The GGSN is an initiative building upon the Blueprints for Change* project. The GGSN is a security-conscious community of practice that aims to improve support for grassroots movements around the world, without a top-heavy structure.
Our network works with grassroots groups, and the groups that support them, that are advancing climate justice, racial and economic justice, gender / sexual and reproductive rights, and political freedoms and civil rights. We share knowledge around common challenges that these groups face, and how each project has solved for them. Questions are raised to other GGSN members to compile the knowledge and resources we have to respond.
In this roundup, we responded to the question: Ideas for countering disinformation, particularly in communities/regions where corporate interests (e.g. oil & gas) are pushing disinformation constantly/pervasively?
**See the following document for the GGSN definition of “grassroots.”
GGSN anonymized community answers
Avoid fighting disinformation with more information
Within our organizing work, we always caution folks against fighting disinformation with more information. We see it mostly just reinforces beliefs and makes folks double down on their current position (i.e. reject the disinformation or eat it up) and ultimately is an exercise in “they said vs they said”. We often say if we spend our time fighting disinformation, we’re playing on the field of the powers-that-be when we should be pursuing pathways to change centred in our own campaign goals and high moral ground.We teach people to reframe their issue surrounding the moral high ground of their issue or campaign. We have people assess what their “high moral ground” is in relation to their campaign goals, then use that high moral ground to frame the campaign activities. Here’s a helpful excerpt from one of our training docs to help explore what your high moral grounds is and how you might use it in your campaigning…“Campaigns are on the high moral ground when the cause is just and actions are principled. Here are a few questions for exploring this within your issue:
- Do we believe in the justice of our cause?
- Are we effectively communicating that our cause is just?
- How can we get to the high moral ground from where we are now?
- What will it take to stay there?
- What mistakes might we, or others, make that could remove us from the high moral ground?
- What is our opponent’s claim to the high moral ground?
- How can we expose our opponent’s claim as false?”
We also use disinformation from our opponent as a success indicator! If the opponent is feeling so threatened by your organizing that they feel they have to put out disinformation, that is a WIN! You can use the WIN to inspire more people to the cause, celebrate your progress, name aloud that your opponent is feeling threatened by you because you’re on the road to winning, and ultimately press for further change through your high moral ground and campaign goals.
Use a framework to assess and respond
The Purpose team has been “developing tools to connect research with action within the everyday work of campaigners, advocates, researchers, policymakers, and others who face these challenges.” In other words, it’s been a big focus for their organization. The article linked prior describes who we’re worried about, how they’re spreading disinformation and a need to bridge the gap between research and action. One of the main results of this gap, according to Purpose, is that “many organizations use the common method of debunking/fact-checking or jumping into battle in the comments section. These responses only have merit in specific circumstances and frequently fail to engage audiences that matter because they don’t trust the fact-checkers.”
Here is their article describing their framework for assessing and responding to mis/disinformation. It describes a process for assessing and responding. All of their suggestions and application of the framework to the response model can be found in this guide which is free to download.
Lean on humor
Juice Media in Australia, where extractivism rules politics, uses satire to counter this.
Use deep canvassing
Neighbours United in so-called Canada helps folks learn how to use one-on-one convos to counter this.
Skill up online
We developed a course on misinformation. In this course, activists learn “to understand the mechanics of disinformation, and take fast and effective action to challenge disinformation and maybe even prevent it.” You can enrol and take the course online for free.
Check out democratic resources
Western States Center has some resources, such as one on confronting white nationalism in libraries.
Try out narrative work
A lot of the groups and organizations we work with use narrative work (Public Narrative) to surface personal stories, and intentionally create a collective narrative that counteracts disinformation or harmful narratives that are out there.
Attribution
Input and resources for this guide were provided by:
Individual contributors to the knowledge roundup have been anonymized.
This knowledge roundup was prepared by:
