Thread by @hopenothate

We're getting started with tonight's webinar, hearing from @Rob_Flaherty, @BexRink and @timothydurigan about how the Biden campaign tracked and countered disinformation during the Presidential campaign.

The challenge Democrats faced in 2016 and 2020 was not simply right wing memes and content, it was targeted content aimed at persuading people to not vote, or to believe actual untruths, and was regularly racist in its nature.

.@Rob_Flaherty: we poll tested the attacks we faced to understand which worked, and which voters those attacks were persuading, so we could decide where to spend time and money countering dis- and misinformation.

@BexRink: counter-measures were deployed, targeting voters with ad messaging that polling - and focus groups - showed would be effective

@BexRink is talking about counter-messaging, aimed at pulling people away from the disinformation they saw. This content didn't seek to fact-check or myth-bust the attack itself per se, but instead provide voters with content which research showed would be persuasive

@timothydurigan is sharing how much of the counter-measures the campaign used to combat disinformation happened behind the scenes - holding social media companies to account for implementing their policies, and working to avoid having attacks repeated via fact checks.

How do you persuade someone who believes the disinformation? @timothydurigan: "tenacity and empathy". You need to understand where people are getting their information, reaching out privately to discuss rather than calling them out online, and keeping at it, patiently.

Digital organising was key. Organisers were trained on the same tools and approaches the digital team used so that everyone could play their part. That could include conversations with voters, but also utilising the voices of trusted figures in the community such as pastors.

Great thread here with insights from tonight's panel:

https://twitter.com/vellstells/status/1329155973412491268

The @DNC tracks how social media firms are countering disinformation, and how well they actually implement their own policies on the issue - and they even have a scorecard for each firm: democrats.org/who-we-are/wha…

Choosing who carries your message is an important part of being persuasive with people who have consumed disinformation. Who is believable and compelling? Community leaders, faith leaders, celebs, doctors - there's a range of people who can be better messengers.

@timothydurigan talked about how foreign state actors found it harder to interfere in 2020, because of higher awareness, and better efforts to expose and counter. They did see lots of content from abroad which was really more spam-like in its nature which needed to be tracked.

Great question: how to manage staff who are being exposed to disinformation and abusive content on a day basis. @Rob_Flaherty talked about the "mental health drain" and the steps the campaign took to deal with managing people's stress.

We're coming to the end of this session. We'll post the video for anyone who missed it, and share it as a podcast. Thank you so much to @Rob_Flaherty, @BexRink and @timothydurigan for your insights, for your work on a fantastic campaign and for the result.