How to Counter Online Disinformation: A Case Study

Photo Credit: NYTimes

It is tough to deal with disinformation.  It floods social media.  It is meant to misguide, disrupt, and undermine fact and truth.

It's tough to have a plan or a strategy to counteract lies, especially when the lies come from or are given weight by a prominent public figure, such as President Trump.

The following is an excellent, practical, short case study for capturing the high ground and limiting the effectiveness of disinformation, courtesy of Alan Steele Bowser, a civil activist, attorney, and president of the Montgomery County Civic Federation outside Washington DC in Maryland.  Alan's key points are (in his text below I have bolded key passages), 

"...use the sandwich method:

1) state the facts

2) push back on the lie without repeating it

3) return to fact-based, positive messaging"

What Alan writes echos what I wrote previously as I tracked down an online troll who had attempted to troll something I had written.  I wrote in response then,

"The internet amplifies lies, but it also calls them out.

When someone posts strident nonsense or hate messages, don’t leave their views unchallenged.  A troll may attempt to spread their hate message by piggybacking on your post, thereby gaining access to your audience.  However, if you provide a factual, responsible response, they can’t respond in turn without retweeting your message as well.  A sensible reader can distinguish sound, compelling arguments and sort out the nonsense if they have all the information, not just the troll's point of view.  Take this advice from another Twitter user, @yarkot, on how to respond to trolls,

1.     Start with the truth (if you lead with the lie, you privilege it)

2.     Note attempt to divert the truth (note, rather than amplify, the lie)

3.     Return to the truth the lie is designed to hide (don’t allow the distraction/diversion to work)"

Here's what I call Alan's case study on countering disinformation:

CASE STUDY

 Stategy for Countering Disinformation

No matter where the disinformation Comes from.

[Quote follows]

THIS IS IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM EXPERTS REGARDING THE DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN BEING COORDINATED BY TRUMP:

It’s now abundantly clear that Donald Trump is leading a coordinated right-wing disinformation campaign to muster every legal, governmental, and communications tool in its arsenal to cast doubt on the validity of our elections and delegitimize Joe Biden’s presidency.  

The experts are advising us to:

Project confidence across social media channels - amplify messages that support objective reality and tap into the public’s strong desire to move the country forward. 

Continue a steady pressure campaign aimed at GOP lawmakers and government officials who are validating Trump’s lies - it’s working. 

GENERAL MESSAGING GUIDELINES:

The message is simple: Voters Decided. 

The best defense is a good offense - Take the higher ground and hold it. Amplify big, overarching themes. Base content on consistent, fact-based messaging. Elevate the everyday heroes: poll workers who kept locations running, voters who braved the pandemic to be heard, non-partisan election officials doing their jobs, and peaceful activists calling for our democratic process to be upheld.

Never amplify lies - Do not engage with or point to content, articles, or threads on social media that contain disinformation lies. Heightened engagement and traffic - regardless of who it's from and what it says - is rewarded by a platform's algorithms and will result in spreading the lie further. Be prepared to respond in private settings. Always be sure you’re citing trusted, verified sources. 

If necessary to push back do it in an indirect way - If and when a clear tipping point has been reached and it becomes necessary to respond, use the sandwich method: 1) state the facts 2) push back on the lie without repeating it (e.g. “our opponents lost the election in Pennsylvania, so contesting the results by making false claims is all they have left...”) 3) return to fact-based, positive messaging. Aim to pivot the debate away from the negative lie, towards pro-democracy messaging.

Recommended hashtags: 

#VotersDecided #TransitionNow

Message Recommendations:  

The people have spoken - voters overwhelmingly chose Biden to move the country forward. #VotersDecided

Our new leaders are acting quickly to lead a government for the people to move the country forward and fix the crises created by the last Administration.  #TransitionNow

Our legally mandated election process is moving forward as our founders intended. Voters have decided, and now all states will report official election results to Congress by December 8. #TransitionNow

SAMPLE TWEETS: 

@JoeBiden and @SenKamalaHarris will be sworn in on Jan 20, 2021 - and they’re already rolling up their sleeves naming a COVID-19 advisory board and calling for Americans to protect themselves and each other by wearing masks! #VotersDecided

This weekend we celebrated #VotersDecided in the streets! Now our democracy moves forward - we’re going to swear in new leaders that stand for and protect the will of the people! 

Our democracy stands strong - no matter what they tell you. We’ve had peaceful transitions of power through previous pandemics, the Great Depression, and World War II - this year is no different #VotersDecided

The Trump admin is legally required to begin the transition process now that @JoeBiden is the winner. @GSAEmily and other federal officials need to begin the legally mandated transition process now! It's irresponsible to stall as the pandemic rages on! #VotersDecided