Blog post

Building a communications strategy in the era of misinformation

Audiences are more informed than ever but can there be too much of a good thing? Experts say that the internet has democratised free speech. But when there is too much content, we’re left overwhelmed, trying to escape a boundless house haunted by trolls, clickbait and conspiracy theorists.

Follow these tips so your audiences find your communications and social media strategy is informed and reliable

Conserve public opinion that uses the facts 

While the internet can be a hub of helpful information from DIY projects, recipes and tips to fight misinformation… It’s also an open platform for anyone to post and publicise anything. Pulsar CEO and co-founder Fran D’Orazio encourages comms professionals to promote public opinion that’s built on a contextually rich foundation so that the everyday scroller sees more than a title and a tagline.

The threat of storytelling misinformation

Kate Hannah of the Disinformation Project recommends equipping people with tools like counterspeech to use in discourse spaces. Fact-checking tools can divert a negative conversation and direct it onto the main issue or reveal more context. Empathy, humour and constant reminders of consequences to spreading hate or dangerous speech, are some communication strategies to use.

“Everybody is sort of a publisher now,” says Sushi Das. We all deserve to feel like we’re in a safe space. But the ungovernable realm of the online world puts safety into question. We are all tapping into our smart devices for news content. But the key is having high standards of the publishers and creators whose content you consume.

Traditional media is still held to account with regulations to follow and trained journalists on staff. This poses a strong force against misinformation. With standards, regulations and trained journalists, their outputs are a strong force against exposure to misinformation. The moment a news story goes online, the context is at risk of being blurred.

What does context look like in a world still learning to understand the vague guidelines governing online spaces? The devil truly is in the details or the lack of them.

Pulsar’s recent partnership with Newsguard helps them rate outlets producing news content based on such specific details: their standards of accountability, do they gather info responsibly, and correct their own errors?

The results contribute to a credibility score. Data powered by Pulsar show brands most susceptible to misinformation online – showing that every sector is vulnerable.

Preparing audiences against misinformation

There are multiple ways to frame a conversation or narrative. Kate Hannah says, “there is a responsibility to tell the truth, but in ways that help people make good decisions.” People need to be reading the news, not switching off. When producing news content consider how you want readers to feel, but also what you want them to do with that information.

Hannah referred to an instance in New Zealand where exposure in the city of Whangarei to Covid-19 spurred people to get tested even in the intense heat. Hannah holds journalists accountable for their negative framing of that event, and offers an alternative, that those lining up to get tested in those conditions are ensuring the safety of their community.   

Stay ahead of the misinformation

Anticipate the impact of a narrative on particular audiences. If you confront an audience already exposed to a misinformation narrative, they are unlikely to change their mind. If you anticipate them and introduce that audience to a truthful record, they are immunised when they encounter myths.

It may be your first impulse to hit that share button but “stop and think before you share anything. That share button is a trigger.” Sushi Das says, “everyone needs to be aware of themselves.” Question what you see and how the content makes you feel. Don’t just read a headline and share it with your communities. Use resources like First Draft and NewsWhip to better verify what you and your audiences are consuming online.

Research into misinformation is showing that people are getting splintered into different realities based on the news they consume and the algorithms that continue the pattern of content. By developing our media literacy and sharing the truth with our communities, we can change people’s minds before they engage with falsehoods. It just goes to show, don’t keep an avocado in water…or accept everything you see online as fact.

  If you see something that is mis- or disinformation, send them to initiatives like, info@thedisinfoproject.org or RMIT Factlab.

Watch Isentia’s webinar, “Misinformation: Stopping the Spread”, for more.