Introduction
Right wing trolling and disinformation campaigns aim to confuse, demoralise and divide. This takes a toll on targeted communities as well as the campaigners and organisers defending them. Effective responses to disinformation require collaboration, care for those affected, and active solidarity.
The following resources provide helpful guidance. You may also be interested in these other resources in the Commons:
Responding to Trolls
Building a Collective Care Response to Trolling
Trolling threatens the safety and well-being of our people and undermines the sustainability of our movements…Organisers we work with have shared that the impacts of trolling on them and those they organise with have included isolation, anxiety, burnout, and even withdrawal from organising altogether. Within groups, the energy to ‘firefight’ against trolling can divert resources and energy away from strategic objectives.
Trolling becomes more likely as we grow collective power.
So, what can we do? Three key principles emerged from our discussions:
- Prepare and plan
- Provide dedicated peer support and care
- Build a broad-based response
For more information, see the full article from Act Build Change.
Fighting Online Racist Trolls
Te Raukura O’Connell Rapira from ActionStation (Aotearoa New Zealand) ran a workshop at the FWD+Organise 2019 conference (organised by Australian Progress), about how their organisation worked with volunteers to tackle the trolls behind online hate. The Tauiwi Tautoko Program is where non-Māori take online action to support Māori, taking volunteers on a journey of decolonisation to make them more effective allies.
It is also an act of broader solidarity. It’s an attempt to shift the conversation, and offer real support.
For more information, see Fighting Online Racist Trolls and How ActionStation trains an army of keyboard warriors to promote love over hate.
Building Relationships & Working With Others
Be Proactive and Develop Relationships with Journalists
“If resources permit, have your project communications team proactively develop relationships with credible information sources. Based on the media ecosystem assessment… build relationships with a network of trusted journalists. Organize one-on-one meetings to brief them on your work, regularly invite them to your events and activities if appropriate and maintain a drumbeat of information to these journalists.” – Source
Working on sensitive issues means there is often a tension between needing to be discreet and needing to be more vocal to correct inaccurate information or promote accurate details. – Source
If you do not proactively share what your organization does and what you stand for—or work with local partners to do so—then someone else may fill information gaps with inaccurate information. – Source
For more information, see page 22 of InterAction’s Disinformation Toolkit.
Collaborative Statements & Coordinated Pressure
An example of NGOs and academic experts collaborating to pressure Google to extend its climate disinformation policy and stop amplifying climate denial content.
The narrative shift to new (climate) denial seeks to undermine the solutions to mitigating the climate crisis and delay political action.
For more information, see the letter – 24 organizations and experts call on Google to stop amplifying and profiting from climate denial content from the Center for Countering Digital Hate.
Working Groups
InterAction hosts more than 30 Working Groups that help NGOs coordinate their work, advocate with one voice, and learn and share key lessons. Through InterAction’s country-focused working groups, Members collectively elevate issues related to disinformation with USG and other country and multilateral stakeholders where they have influence and can support the NGO community.
For more information, see page 21 of InterAction’s Disinformation Toolkit.
Solidarity Statements
Writing a Solidarity Statement: Considerations and Process Questions
Solidarity: The Past, Present, and Future of a World-Changing Idea
Building Resilience
How to do Activist work in Hostile Environments? 5 Elements of Resilience with Mariam Kvaratskhelia (Video)
In many parts of the world, civil society organizations face increasing threats from governments and opposition forces. But there’s hope. In this Resiliency Kit Q&A, Mariam Kvaratskhelia, a leading civil society advocate from Georgia, shares practical strategies to help your organization not just survive but thrive in challenging environments.
See more Coalition Building resources in the Commons Library