Truth Brigade staff have told me to post our entire Facebook Papers campaign doc here, so here you go. Use this to craft Truth Sandwiches to post on your favorite social media or in letters to the editor or in personal conversations. Please don’t use Truth Brigade graphics in your posts unless you are a member. Ask me if you want to join up. If you do, you are not committing to spending a specific amount of time on Truth Brigade activities. You can do as much or as little as you want, on Facebook or on any of our other targeted social media platforms.
Facebook has been properly hit hard on allowing and even supporting disinformation in Spanish and about Latinos; anti-Semitism; about Blacks; about women; and much more. The FTC has asked a court to break Facebook up, but we will leave that aside for now. I am not going to quote the details of the Facebook Papers today, but we can come back to all of that from time to time. If you are a member of another targeted population with a DK group, please republish this Diary to your community.
There is one bit of news I have to mention. Facebook officially renamed itself Meta yesterday, so we can now talk about the Meta Papers.
Disclosure: I am a member of Truth Brigade. I do not speak for the group on policy. I just post on issues that we take up in official campaigns, and on disinformation generally.
Truth Brigade campaigns
Earlier this month, we sent out a mini-campaign for those who were following the news around the Facebook whistleblower, Frances Haugen. That story keeps getting bigger and more important. This week, reporting on the “Facebook Papers” sheds new light on just how little action Facebook has taken to stop the spread of disinformation and hate on its platform. As disinformation fighters, we know that we won’t truly get rid of lies on social media until Facebook steps up to the plate!
HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW
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As if we needed more proof, a group of 17 US news organizations has begun reporting out their insights from the documents provided by Haugen. Key takeaways from this project known as the “Facebook Papers” include the platform’s role in the Jan. 6th Capitol riot, inability to moderate disinformation and hate speech in non-English languages, and rewarding anger-fueled interactions over neutral ones.
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Mark Zuckerberg responded to this damning evidence on Facebook’s earnings call yesterday by claiming the papers painted a “false picture,” once again showing no desire to prioritize the safety of its users over its profit margins.
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As Truth Brigaders, let's use our voices for truth to bring as much attention as possible to Facebook’s continued inaction and real harm—a responsible Facebook means a more harmonious and fact-based world! A key additional benefit: fact-based seeds of doubt planted about the platform encourages critical thinking. Critical thinking disrupts disinformation!
HERE’S THE PLAN
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Craft a message using the “Truth Sandwich” frame
Research suggests humans tend to remember what they hear first, last and most often, so we recommend creating your message to counter disinformation in the form of a “Truth Sandwich.” Start and end your message with the truth—opening with shared values and closing with either a shared vision or a call to action. Encourage critical thinking by focusing on the disinformers’ motives instead of debunking specific claims.
Here’s an easy formula to follow, on and offline:
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Lay truthful common ground.
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Question the motives of the messenger to dislodge the disinformation.
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Reaffirm the truth in a way that gets you to a more proactive message.
2. Personalize and share your message, online and offline
TODAY’S SAMPLE MESSAGE
We deserve social media without hate and disinformation. Everyone should read the #FacebookPapers, which shows how FB has rejected making real improvements if they cut into profit. It’s time to rein in Big Tech’s power over our communities! #TruthBrigade facebookpapers.com
You can personalize this whole message so it is truthful and authentic to you. Here are some examples of ways you might personalize this:
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In the first sentence, lay common ground by acknowledging that there must be a way for us to have the good parts of social media without it harming our health and society - e.g. political polarization, hate speech, promotion of harmful body image.
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In the second sentence, encourage your networks to pay attention to the important conversation taking place around Facebook right now. Share your own insights from what you’ve learned - like that Facebook won’t fix its problems because it actually makes its profits from harmful and polarizing content.
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In the third sentence, put out a proactive message focused on what should happen as a result of this new reporting - for example:
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I’m calling on @Facebook to take responsibility for protecting citizens from disinfo and hate.
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It’s time for Facebook to follow the advice from its own research - it’s time to protect people over profits.
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We need Congress to reign in Big Tech monopolies and their power over our communities.
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Online, try to include a link to a reputable article—we want as many people as well-informed about this as possible!
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Tips
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Offline: A Facebook discussion is a great topic for an Indivisible meeting!
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As always, post on the platform where you spend the most time, write in your own words, and use #TruthBrigade.
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Encourage people to dive deeper into the Facebook Papers and other reporting, so they are able to learn for themselves the ways disinformation spreads and is enabled by platforms like Faceobok. We want to encourage critical thinking and bring awareness to Facebook’s inaction on these problems.
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Hashtags and @ to use on Twitter:
TRUSTWORTHY ARTICLES TO PULL FROM, OR LINK TO
IMAGES TO USE
Link
Key Truth Brigade links
Disinfo-Countering Best Practices
All Graphics for reprint
Indivisible Truth Brigade-Welcome Guide
Sign-up form