Preventing Folklore, Rumors (or Rumours) and Urban Myths From Interfering with Development and Aid/Relief Efforts

Updated November 9, 2012

Preventing Folklore, Rumors (or Rumours) & Urban Myths
From Interfering with Development & Aid/Relief Efforts & Government Initiatives

On another page, I list situations where rumors and myth-spreading has interfered with development, aid or relief efforts, and government initiatives.

In my experience, rumors can come from

misinterpretations of what a community is seeing, hearing or experiencing,
from previous community experiences or their cultural beliefs,
willful misrepresentation by people who, for whatever reason, want to derail a development or relief activity, or
unintentional but inappropriate or hard-to-understand words or actions by a communicator

Anyone working in development or relief efforts, or working in government organizations, needs to be aware of the power of rumor, and prepared to counter such, whatever the source.

A good place to start is with the acknowledgement that interpersonal sources of information play a HUGE role in communications delivery all over the world, whether in a low-literacy village in a developing country or a large urban area in an emerging economy. Interpersonal communications can both promote AND counter rumors and myth and, therefore, must be kept in mind when launching any communications strategy -- or counter strategy -- regarding a development or aid activity.

Also, a conclusion that can be reached in looking at the various ways myth and misinformation has interfered with development efforts is that the more a development activity is seen as outsiders-coming-in, the more likely it can be derailed by rumors. By contrast, the more development activities or government initiatives are perceived as owned by the people to be served, the more rumor-proof such activities will be. If messages come from those a community trusts, and via the ways a community communicates naturally, the messages are more likely to be embraced.

The importance of social mobilization as a part of development activities is tremendous in preventing or countering myth as an obstacle to development:

Social Mobilization, as defined by UNICEF, is a broad scale movement to engage people's participation in achieving a specific development goal through self-reliant efforts. It involves all relevant segments of society: decision and policy makers, opinion leaders, bureaucrats and technocrats, professional groups, religious associations, commerce and industry, communities and individuals. It is a planned decentralized process that seeks to facilitate change for development through a range of players engaged in interrelated and complementary efforts. It takes into account the felt needs of the people, embraces the critical principle of community involvement, and seeks to empower individuals and groups for action... Mobilizing the necessary resources, disseminating information tailored to targeted audiences, generating intersectoral support and fostering cross-professional alliances are also part of the process. Social mobilization in total aims at a continuum of activities in a broad strategic framework. The process encompasses dialogue and partnership with a wide spectrum of societal elements.
The ICEC and Global Social Mobilization, October 2000
The International Communication Enhancement Center
Tulane University

Another point to keep in mind is the idea of "motivated reasoning." As described by sociologist Andrew Perrin of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in an article by LiveScience.com's Jeanna Bryner, "Motivated reasoning is essentially starting with a conclusion you hope to reach and then selectively evaluating evidence in order to reach that conclusion." It means working backward from a firmly-held belief to find supporting facts, rather than letting evidence inform one's views. The key to overcoming this is to know what that belief is at the onset.

With those thoughts in mind, below is a list of activities I've seen reported as being effective in preventing and countering rumors and myth from interfering with development or relief activities, or government initiatives, as well as activities I've undertaken myself. However, please note that this is not a comprehensive list, nor are all of these communications activities appropriate for every development or aid effort:

Acknowledge that everyone is a potential messenger - every staff member, every client, every person who observes a development action. Remember this as you design any development activity, campaign or response.
Never assume that people with senior management titles, nor local people, automatically understand how to communicate effectively, nor that they are ready to communicate regarding a particular development activity. They need to be trained, just like everyone else, regarding message delivery and fundamental facts. During the early days of the H1N1 virus scares in the USA, even Vice-President Biden of the USA misspoke about prevention methods in an interview with the press, causing widespread confusion.
Don't prepare a plan only on facts and statistics, because people don't reason with pure facts and logic alone. Think about how people -- both messengers and community members -- already feel about the issues at hand and the symbolism they might be seeing in events and responses.
Provide ongoing training to all those who will take part in delivering the message (international staff, national staff, partners, volunteers, clients, etc.), and ongoing opportunities for two-way discussion with these messengers. The goal is to ensure that:
- the core messages are fully understood by everyone delivering such,
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) can be all answered in a unified way,
- messengers feel confident and remain fact-based in all communications, etc.
- messengers know how to identify and address hostility/fear,
- messengers know how to identify possible sources of misinformation,
- messengers know when to not confront,
- everyone is committed to continual internal communications regarding their work and what they are hearing in the field.
Map and utilize formal and informal, official and unofficial, social networks (sports events, river clothes-washing point, religious-based gatherings, ceremonies, online communities associated with sports or politics or even religion, etc.). These will be used to deliver the message (whether you plan for such or not). They can also be used to listen to how the message is being received.
Develop a plan of action with local representatives on how to provide immediate information as quickly and widely as possible in the case of possible panic (as panic can lead to rioting, looting and fear-driven crime). Such a plan should incorporate radio, TV, community meetings, phone text messaging (not just Twitter, as not everyone interacts with Twitter via cell phone text messages) and various online avenues on the Internet (online discussion groups, Facebook or whatever the most popular social media platforms are in the country, etc.). Even in an area with low Internet access, people have family and friends in areas that DO have Internet or cell phone access, and they can communicate what they read or hear via phone, text message and/or the Internet.
Monitor and supervise, formally and informally, on an ongoing basis, communications activities. All partners and messengers, formal and informal, should feel empowered to be monitors, to gather and report on feedback. They should understand that community conversations happen formally and informally: on talk radio, at religious-based gatherings, around dinner tables, etc.
Cultivate strong political commitment that is exhibited and constantly reinforced at the local, regional and national level, among various government offices (not just one). Encourage and support the coordination of communications efforts among different government offices. Observe message delivery by government officials to ensure deliverers are remaining fact-based.
Organize ongoing consultations with religious leaders, to garner their ongoing public involvement/endorsement, both on how to deliver the message and advising on how to counter hostilities/fears. One meeting will NOT fully educate this (or any) group on how to communicate effectively.
Involve/consult with both traditional/officially-recognized community leaders and those who are unofficial (key women members of the community, for instance), both on how to deliver the message and advising on how to counter hostilities/fears. Efforts must be ongoing.
Collaborate with and invite the participation of NGOs in message delivery and informal monitoring of how messages are being received. Coordinate efforts with their own.
Identify those who might be possible sources of misinformation, intentionally or unintentionally, before undertaking any field-based activity.
Allow those who are opposed to an activity, or who might be, to voice concerns, both publicly and privately. Remember that one meeting may not be enough for fears to be aired, and feedback may come through unofficial channels. People tend to have hostilities reduced when they believe their concerns are being heard and addressed.
Get different influential people onboard who represent different factions. If there is conflict between different factions -- different religious groups, different tribes, different alliances, etc. -- do your best not to look like you are favoring one side over another. Be as inclusive and neutral as possible. Stress again and again that your goal is related specifically to a development activity, not to anything political.
Consult intensively with radio and TV for message delivery through public service announcements, dramas, news delivery, talk shows, etc. Never assume that a reporter understands the facts regarding an activity you are undertaking without someone from your initiative actually briefing that reporter. Also, ask reporters/show hosts what they are hearing from their audiences.
Cultivate newspaper articles and design and place newspaper ads (if population is literate). Collaborate with grade school and secondary teachers/instructors to reinforce message and provide feedback on community reactions.
Look for ways for the private sector and trade unions to be involved in delivering or reinforcing messages, particularly if there is any chance such could be a source of misinformation.
Ensure that those who will be involved in a field activity or will provide any communications about such do not act in a way that is counter to what is being promoted (those who are going to promote polio vaccinations for children, for instance, should have their own children vaccinated; those talking about AIDS-prevention should know that taking a shower after sex doesn't prevent HIV/AIDS; etc.).
Ensure information on the key organizer's web site, as well as online information by partner organizations, is accurate.
Use the Facebook status updates, Twitter feeds and other online social media platforms of all participating organizations to deliver messages and counter misinformation.
Seek out misinformation online and be ready to counter it with your own Internet activities, via web sites, online discussion groups/bulletin boards, and email. A good example of this is FEMA's Hurricane Sandy Rumor Control web site in 2012.
Create billboards and posters that reinforce messages (culturally-appropriate, preferably designed by community members) and place these where people, including specific parts of a community (young men, mothers, elderly women, children, etc.) gather.
Garner public endorsements by famous entertainment or sports figures (for instance, in Liberia in 2008, a pop star created a pop song to allay fears regarding the upcoming census). Remember that "famous" is relative: someone well-known among adults may not be well-known among teenagers, and vice versa, or someone famous in rural areas may be unknown in cities, and vice-versa.
Organize high-profile events focused on message delivery (formal campaign launches/press events, theater/live performance, rickshaw parade, etc.).
Provide opportunities for the public to see the activity, either firsthand or on TV, in a way that allows them to see and understand whatever process or activity is being undertaken.
Be ready to be flexible and to adjust your strategies and activities suddenly.
Have a plan for crisis communications always ready! These steps should be taken before any crisis takes place:
- Design a crisis communications tree, where anyone who is a part of the message delivery, including partners, can report communications problems/concerns to a focal point, who then ensures the problem/concern is communicated across the core communications team and appropriate action can be taken immediately.
- Develop a written protocol on what to do if there is a need for rapid deployment of information and spokespeople, and make sure it has been communicated to all appropriate staff and that they each understand their role. Regularly revisit this plan with staff (no one will learn a protocol through just one presentation of such).
- Compile a list of reporters, radio talk show hosts, radio DJs, TV personalities, bloggers, Tweeters and leaders of communities of faith (churches, mosques, temples, etc.) who you will contact if you need to respond to rumors immediately (you should already have an established relationship with these folks!).
- Compile a list of people at your organization and partner organizations (including government officials) who can be rapidly mobilized, briefed and made available to talk to the press.
- Remember that everyone is a potential messenger; all staff should be briefed about an emerging communications crisis and know what to say and how to respond in the course of their work, no matter what that work is.
- Remember that your goal is message saturation; you want the targeted population to hear your message more than once, and from more than one source.

Also see: How to Handle Online Criticism. How a nonprofit or government organization handles online criticism is going to speak volumes about that organization, for weeks, months, and maybe even years to come. There's no way to avoid criticism, but there are ways to address criticism that can actually help an organization to be perceived as even more trustworthy and worth supporting -- and the Internet can help.

In my opinion, the three lessons that all the aforementioned activities reinforce altogether is:

the vital importance of being in-tune with local people,
that those behind a development or aid effort must work to be perceived as coming from a place of honesty, sincerity and respect for local people, and
that the message must be owned and delivered primarily by local people themselves.

Also, the above suggestions are no substitution for reading in-depth about rumor and myth interfering with development efforts. Recommendations for further reading will be provided as I find such!

Sources:
(if a URL no longer works, try searching for the title on Google, or look at the source code for this page and cut and paste the desired URL into Archive.org)

Presentations at the Technical Advisory Group meeting on Communication for Polio Eradication in Nigeria, Niger and Congo, by UNICEF and ministries of health for different countries, Harare, November 2006
Presentations at the UNICEF Afghanistan polio communication review meeting in Kabul, September 25 - 27, 2007
Radio Australia interview with Kym Smithies of the UNDP mission in East Timor
Essays by Etherton, M. , Ganguly, S. (2004) and Marlin-Curiel, S. in Theatre and Empowerment: Community Drama on the World Stage, Boon, R. and Plastow, J. (eds.), University of Leeds.
"Health Care Debate Based on Total Lack of Logic", by Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience.com
"U.S. Team in Baghdad Fights a Persistent Enemy: Rumors" by Thom Shanker, March 23, 2004, The New York Times
CNN story, Liberia tries pop song, billboards to calm census fears, from March 20, 2008.
Facilitators to aid anti-polio campaign in Tribal Areas (in Afghanistan), from the Daily Times, January 16, 2009
Informal interviews by the author with various aid workers
First-hand experience by the author, Jayne Cravens

(if a URL no longer works, try searching for the title on Google, or look at the source code for this page and cut and paste the desired URL into Archive.org)

Also see Towards Polio Communication Indicators: A Discussion Document, February 2008 from The Communication Initiative (scroll down the page to download the document; the summary doesn't really capture the important points of this document, IMO).

The Debunking Handbook, a guide to debunking myths, by John Cook and Stephan Lewandowsky. This is a summary of various research literature, offering practical guidelines on the most effective ways of reducing the influence of misinformation. The Handbook will be available as a free, downloadable PDF at the end of its 6-part blog series (which is still underway as of November 2011).

What I'm also wondering: are their any efforts in developing and transitional countries similar to the myth-busting Straight Dope column by Cecil Adams in the USA? Or truthorfiction.com? Or hoax-slayer.com? Or MythBusters? If you know of such, please contact me.

I'm not interested in just urban legends but, specifically misinformation that interferes with relief or development efforts, or government initiatives. And most especially, I'm interested in ways that such misinformation has been countered successfully. If you have related information or examples, please contact me.

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