Section 6:
Formal Communications Strategies & Avenues
to Prevent & Address
Urban Legends, Myth, Rumors &
Organized Misinformation Campaigns
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.
Formal communications avenues
Formal communications avenues are the things you can write into a
strategy easily. They are the strategies that get studied in PR and
marketing classes. While leveraging informal networks is vital, you also
need to be thinking about formal communications avenues - from billboards
to murals to public service announcements and on and on. These tactics
alone won't work - it's essential that they are supported by well-trained,
trusting network engaged in informal
interpersonal activities (see earlier section).
Formal communications can include advertising, brochure-distribution,
banners and presentations at:
- Sports events
- School and university events
- River clothes-washing point
- Religious-based gatherings
- Playgrounds
- Senior centers
- Ceremonies
- Fashion shows
- Public showings of popular movies
- Live theater or dance performances
- Billboards, banners, handouts
- Murals
- Advertising space
- Radio
- TV
- YouTube
- Online groups (Facebook groups, etc.)
- Phone text messaging (messages that are easily forwarded)
- Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook
You also want to 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 - and telling them upfront how you will be
answering certain questions. Also, ask reporters/show hosts what they are
hearing from their audiences.
Work to 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.
Use the
Facebook status updates,
Twitter
feeds and other online social media platforms of all participating
organizations to deliver messages and counter misinformation. This bullet
point deserves an extensive, detailed strategy of its own, and if I have
time (and funding!) I will certainly do that.
Don't just post one message to a social media channel and think you are
done, and don't just post text-based messages. Think about photos, artwork
and hashtags. Encourage staff and all of your collaborators to share your
social media messages as well. Remember that you can re-purpose
communications tools from other sources for use on social media. For
instance,
Craig
Manning, a health communications strategist with the Viral Special
Pathogens Branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
was sent to Guinea at the first outbreak of the Ebola crisis in March
2014. When one of his colleagues, Pierre Roland, an expert on Ebola, gave
a presentation at the U.S. Embassy in Conkary about mitigating risks of
transmission, Manning recorded him, then had the content edited into 30
second snippets translated into 10 local languages and broadcast over
local radio stations and TV - these would be great to share repeatedly on
social media as well.
What about a rickshaw parade that carries banners with the message you
want to deliver? Or a public kaoroke performance with messages in between
songs? Think outside the box! Make message delivery fun and something the
press would love to cover!
For examples of how billboards, TV advertisements, social media and
other avenues have been used to counter misinformation, try
The
Communications Initiative, which frequently talks about strategies
used by various humanitarian and international development
organizations.
It probably goes without saying, but be ready to be flexible and to
adjust your communications strategies and activities suddenly. It is
highly unlikely your strategy will do all it needs to as it was
originally designed to.
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