Training & Support of Staff to Prevent & Address Misinformation Interfering with Development and Aid/Relief Efforts

Updated February 16, 2020

This page is part of a 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 is not a stand-alone page. It should be read as part of the entire guide. This is the link to the introduction and index for the other pages in this guide.

Training Content

Training others in how to recognize and counter misinformation is not easy and takes more than one effort. Also, different groups require different training. Some people may need all of the in-depth information of the pages you are reading now. Some people may just need baseline information as it relates to countering a specific piece of misinformation your community is experiencing.

One important thing to make sure those you understand train is where misinformation comes from and the motivations people have to generate it. For instance, National Public Radio reported in May 2021 that Just 12 People Are Behind Most Vaccine Hoaxes On Social Media. These figures are well-known to both researchers and the social networks and include anti-vaccine activists and alternative health entrepreneurs. Some of them run multiple accounts with different names across the different platforms. They often promote "natural health" and sell various supplements, oils and books. Knowing that just a handful of people are behind information that looks like it's coming from multiple web sites can help people see that the information does not come from diverse sources and that those promoting the misinformation have a financial interest in promoting such.

Providing Training 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.

People get most of their information about what's happening at the community, regional, national or international level through talking with others, in-person and online. We talk with and listen to family, neighbors, work colleagues, friends, people at a faith-based community (a mosque, a church, a temple, etc.), etc. We talk in person and we share via social media and we largely believe what we are told.

When you are thinking about training and support on how to prevent or address misinformation, you need to focus on how those you train will speak in these informal interpersonal situations, not just formal presentations and speeches. You need to think about unofficial local leaders and how your staff does, or could, interact with such.

Also, acknowledge with every strategy developed that everyone is a potential messenger - every staff member at your organization, from the receptionist to the executive director (employee, consultant and volunteer), every client, every person who observes a development action - and even the family members and neighbors of all of these people. Remember this as you design any development activity, campaign or response. Every staff member should have a basic understanding of what your organization is trying to communicate and be able to verbalize it, in their own way, accurately, appropriately, to family and friends. Note that it takes ongoing effort to ensure that basic understanding - one meeting with a slide show isn't going to create this basic understanding.

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 Joe Biden of the USA, a very educated and respected leader, misspoke about prevention methods in an interview with the press, causing widespread confusion. Have briefings for all staff regarding any development activity, campaign or response - more than once.

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. Don't just stand in front of the group and talk: role play, provide model conversations, and let the group express their own fears and reservations so the group can, together, explore how to address such. The goal is to ensure that:

the core messages are fully understood by everyone delivering those messages - including when they deliver them informally to family and neighbors,
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) can be all answered in a unified way,
messengers feel confident and remain fact-based and accurate 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.

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.).

There is a free media literacy course from public media station KQED in the USA: Evaluating Online Sources: Checking Facts and Identifying Misinformation. The description says, "Prepare your students to be savvy online researchers by giving them the tools they need to distinguish facts from misinformation. Gain confidence and resources for teaching how to evaluate information and spot unreliable sources." But while this is designed for students, it really is excellent for any audience, including your staff, volunteers, clients, etc.

Section 4:

Training & Supporting
Employees & Volunteers in
Preventing & Addressing
Misinformation Campaigns

Training Content

Providing Training and Support

Section 4:

Training & Supporting Employees & Volunteers in Preventing & Addressing Misinformation Campaigns

Training Content

Providing Training and Support

Training & Supporting
Employees & Volunteers in
Preventing & Addressing
Misinformation Campaigns