A resource by Jayne Cravens
  via coyotecommunications.com & coyoteboard.com (same web site)

two
        primitive figures seeming to argue over what they are reading on
        smartphones

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

Updated with new info on April 22, 2023

Well before the COVID-19 global pandemic, long before Russian misinformation efforts, long before Donald Trump, anyone working in development or relief efforts, or working in government organizations, needed to be acutely aware of the power of rumor and myth-sharing, and to be prepared to prevent and to counter such. Unfortunately, too many programs ignored this as a priority over the years, or if they acknowledged there was a problem, thought a simple, quick approach and lots of facts would counter the problem.

These web pages are an 11-part guide on preventing folklore, rumors (or rumours), urban myths and organized misinformation campaigns from interfering with development & aid/relief efforts, and government initiatives regarding public health, the environment, etc. It offers no simple solutions. And it's a constant work in progress. I have no funding to maintain this guide; it's something I do on my own time, when I have time. It's a subject I've studied on my own since the 1990s, when I saw how well anti-reprodutive-rights campaigns used church groups to spread medical disinformation.

This guide is an effort to help those aid, development and government workers:

This guide features methods 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 of every strategy (I'm sure there are more out there), nor are all of these communications activities appropriate for every development/aid or government effort in any part of the world. Also, many of these activities should happen simultaneously and continuously.

I have broken up each section into its own page to make it more accessible for all readers. Also, on another page, I list situations where rumors, myth-spreading and misinformation campaigns have interfered with development, aid or relief efforts, including post disaster situations, and government initiatives - including elections. The consequences of such have sometimes been dire - and have included people being murdered.


The heart of the matter

Based on my experience as a researcher and practitioner, and everything I've read (and I read a LOT on this subject), rumors and misinformation that interfere with development and aid/relief efforts and government initiatives get their fuel from:

It is that last reason, the desire of an individual or community to believe an alternative narrative, a desire that is stronger than the facts, that is the hardest to overcome, and the one that organized misinformation campaigns exploit the most - and that's why I have highlighted it in this guide. Some research has shown that conspiracy theories, rumors and alternative media sources are shared much, much more often on Facebook than mainstream news sources, and it's fueled by this strong desire by many to believe in an alternative narrative despite facts. And when a person feels part of a community or a movement that is "standing up" to authority, an opinion or position can feel brave.
 
 

Make sure your program's communications materials are accurate & up-to-date

Part of establishing credibility before misinformation breaks out is ensure information on your program's web site and other online information are accurate and up-to-date. This should be true of the web sites of partner programs as well. Your social media accounts should be active as well - if you haven't posted in a year, and then suddenly start posting in order to try to counter misinformation, it can actually fuel more rumors and myths. Misinformation, lack of information and lack of activity on your web site and social media accounts can fuel the spread of misinformation. And during a public health crisis, that may mean updating your online communications, including your web site, every day, maybe even every hour.  
 

Be open about your strategies

If your program is actively working to counter misinformation, say so, openly, publicly, and say how you are doing it. 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. Talk openly and repeatedly about you are trying to do, via media interviews or your own video on YouTube.

Partner with researchers and media outlets to detail and publish information about deliberate attempts to promote misinformation and sow discord. For instance, this commentator specializes in secession movements within the U.S. that, sometimes unknowingly, are supported by foreign players. Local newspapers and radio outlets, as well as major regional and national media, may be happy to do a story specifically about misinformation efforts in a particular region, provided you can give them all of the information they need to verify that such is happening.
 

Preventative measures - building trust, establishing credibility, promoting critical thinking

Nothing recommended in any section of this guide will work in addressing rumors, myths, misinformation, fake news, etc., unless your initiative has built trust and credibility with other organizations, the press and the general public. If those audiences don't trust the staff at your initiative already and don't see your staff as a credible sources of information, all of your outreach efforts to try to counter misinformation are going to fail. This section of the guide is at the heard of this entire guide. In addition, teaching critical thinking in schools and to adult groups in formal learning environments is a proven inoculation against conspiracy theories. 

Understanding Psychology

People often make the choice of what to believe based on what their gut tells them, what their emotion tells them, rather than facts, because emotions are so powerful and so real. In addition, humans have natural tendency to resist correction - no one likes to find out that they are wrong, especially about something to which they have had a strong emotional reaction. Simply countering disinformation with credible, truthful information, however diligently, often isn't enough. Understanding the psychology of misinformation is essential in creating strategies to counter it.
 

Train and support

Informal 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 or a "fully developed" Western-style democracy. 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. Therefore, ALL staff must be trained and supported as a part of communications about your initiative, particularly in addressing misinformation.
 

Messaging

Communications plans based solely on facts and statistics fail in countering misinformation, because people don't reason with and respond to pure facts and logic alone. Appealing to people's emotions can be an effective way to counter misinformation. If you appeal to someone in a way that will reinforce what they identify as - a religious person, a mother, the head of the household, a farmer, a person that values practical experience over formal training, an environmentalist, a conservative, a patriot, a member of a particular tribe, etc. - you have a better chance of engaging them successfully with your messaging. This section of the guide talks about how to craft fact-based messages that appeal to emotions.
 

Formal communications avenues

Other sections of this guide talked a lot about informal communications methods. But it's also important to create and use traditional, strategic campaigns and communications tools, including radio public service announcements, billboards, official social media messages, displays at sporting events and more.
 

Continuous message monitoring

There are numerous ways to monitor media so you know when videos, text messages, social media messages, memes or offline conversations are spreading misinformation. This section talks about how to do that diligently and ethically.
 

What do these recommendations look like in practice?

The previous sections provide a great deal of information about how to prevent and address misinformation from interfering with aid, relief and development efforts, including public health initiatives. This section of the guide provides examples of what applying these suggestions really looks like on-the-ground.
 

Crisis Communications

What if you need to respond within hours of misinformation breaking out, in order to prevent panic that can lead to rioting, looting and fear-driven crime? Don't wait for this to happen and then try to establish good relationships with local officials, the press, formal and informal leaders, etc. - by then, it's too late.
 

Media literacy campaigns

A way to help immunize a community against misinformation and "fake news" is to engage in formal media literacy campaigns. Such campaigns can help people know how to tell if something they read online is true or not, and how to teach others to do this as well. Media literacy campaigns take a lot of time to design, deliver and maintain, but the investment can quickly prevent misinformation from spreading, as community members become more savvy about evaluating sources of information and become trained to check the credibility of a message that has given them a strong emotional reaction before they share that message with others. This section of the guide offers links to various resources to help you build media literacy in a particular community - even just among your own employees and volunteers.
 

More Resources

There are a lot more resources beside the guide you are reading now to help address misinformation.
 

Final thoughts

In my opinion, the four lessons that all of the activities in this guide reinforce altogether is:

  1. the vital importance of being in-tune with local people and how they feel, knowing exactly what their emotions are around an issue, even if you don't agree with their feelings,
  2. the vital importance of exploring why people WANT to believe a narrative that is counter to the facts and being sensitive to that desire,
  3. 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
  4. that the message you want a community or region to embrace must be owned and delivered primarily by local people themselves.

Also, please note that the suggestions in this guide are no substitution for reading in-depth about rumor and myth interfering with development efforts, and reading studies and reports about the psychology around public health campaigns and the like. Reading this guide won't make you an expert. But the reality is that communications specialists in humanitarian activities, international development, post-disaster response, public health and government affairs MUST become experts in addressing and preventing myths, rumors, misinformation and "fake news" from derailing their efforts.
 

Submit your examples to me

I'm not interested in just urban legends but, specifically misinformation that interferes with relief or development efforts, or government initiatives, including after disasters or conflict. Stories about misinformation regarding public health issues are also welcomed (please make sure I don't already talk about what you are sharing on my pages). And most especially, I'm interested in ways that such misinformation has been countered successfully - I would like to greatly expand the section of my guide on what these suggestions look like in practice. If you have related information or examples, please contact me.


Back to my development resources main page


  Quick Links 

 my web site home page
 
 my consulting services  &  my workshops & presentations
 
 my credentials & expertise
 
 my research projects
 
 my book: The Last Virtual Volunteering Guidebook
 
 How to Support This Web Site & My Work (or to say thank you for such)

 contact me   or   see my schedule
 
 My Resources for Community Outreach, With & Without Tech

 My Resources for  Nonprofit, NGO & other mission-based management

 My Technology Tips for Non-Techies

 My Advice for Web Development, Maintenance, Marketing for non-Web designers

 My Resources For people & groups that want to volunteer
 
 linking to or from my web site
& view this web site's privacy policy.
 
 Coyote Helps Foundation

support my
              work how to support my work & this web site

Follow me on social media:

like me on
                  Facebook      follow me on
                  Twitter     Mastodon logo     follow me on Reddit     follow me on
                  LinkedIn      view my YouTube
                    videos


Disclaimer: No guarantee of accuracy or suitability is made by the poster/distributor. This material is provided as is, with no expressed or implied warranty.

Permission is granted to copy, present and/or distribute a limited amount of material from my web site without charge if the information is kept intact and without alteration, and is credited to:

Jayne
                  Cravens & Coyote Communications,
                  www.coyotecommunications.com

Otherwise, please contact me for permission to reprint, present or distribute these materials (for instance, in a class or book or online event for which you intend to charge).

The art work and material on this site was created and is copyrighted 1996-2024
by Jayne Cravens, all rights reserved
(unless noted otherwise, or the art comes from a link to another web site).