One of the great communication challenges of modern times is that there can be so many obstacles to finding and verifying the information you need.
And when you have gathered the evidence you require – particularly if it relates to a controversial subject – you can encounter further obstacles in disseminating your message through the media.
This can be especially difficult if you’re trying to convey important truths on social media.
It’s here where the forces of disinformation – often from believers in various unsubstantiated conspiracy theories – can be highly disruptive.
And getting the right information in the first place can be a struggle in this highly technical age when there’s so much disinformation circulating on the internet and elsewhere.
This can be complicated by the fact that Artificial Intelligence is known to “hallucinate” – because it’s not bound by the ethics and rules of truth-telling rightfully expected and practised by those who use what’s known as “human intelligence”.
The British Broadcasting Corporation is so concerned about the need to properly scrutinise the news it’s gathering – and then to successfully convey its truths to listeners, viewers and online readers – that it runs an ongoing advertising campaign on the subject of disinformation.
Fronted by BBC newsreader Clive Myrie, the campaign highlights efforts it makes to grapple with the forces of disinformation by seeking to thoroughly verify the news it finds.
If you live in the United Kingdom, you may well have seen the BBC advertisement on your TV screen many times.
If you don’t – or you need a reminder of it – you can check it out here:
But technology designed to spread disinformation is not the only aspect of the problem.
Truth can be – and, sadly, sometimes is – deliberately mangled by misguided people in the news spotlight.
In the field of international politics, some aspiring leaders and incumbent leaders are all-too-often inclined to take advantage of modern technology to get their particular untruths into the public domain – from where they can be spread with scary rapidity.
Sometimes you could be forgiven that for thinking that some newsmakers have been inspired by the long-dead chief propagandist for Nazi Germany, Joseph Goebbels, infamous for advocating the concept that ‘a lie told often enough becomes the truth’.
When campaigning for the U.S. presidency in 2024, Donald Trump sometimes acted along these lines by repeatedly promising that he could end the war between Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours.
Many many hours of continuing warfare later, followers of world news will know that this claim has long since proven to have been completely lacking any reasonable foundation.
Meanwhile this month – amidst so many heart-wrenching video images on our screens of starving Palestinians – Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that there is no policy of imposing starvation in Gaza.
And he’s even claiming that there actually is no starvation in Gaza.
You can be reminded of this particular Netanyahu untruth on the following Global News report.
It is balanced in the report by giving voice to those who reject this “no starvation” claim – which includes Donald Trump; British Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer; and the Norwegian Refugee Council.
The report also provides a multitude of all-too-familiar images of Palestinian adults and children desperate for food and suffering from the lack of it – which allows viewers to make their own assessment of the Netanyahu “no starvation” claim.
The real situation about famine in Gaza has – at an international level – just been scrutinised by a large group of experts, working in conjunction with the United Nations, who are seeking to tell the world about the real situation in Gaza.
The group – known as “the IPC” – involves 21 partner groups including United Nations agencies and international non-government organisations aiming to improve food security in Gaza.
Those involved in the project have confirmed that, for the first time, a state of famine has engulfed Gaza.
The job of alerting the world about the importance of their findings has fallen to Geneva-based United Nations official, Tom Fletcher.
Mr Fletcher has given a much-needed demonstration of how the power of carefully-selected words can be put into action to spread truths for the benefit of humanity on a vital world issue.
Tom Fletcher’s announcement of the findings is impressively measured and attention-grabbing.
His use of repetition to underline the vital findings of the IPC report is powerfully effective.
This is something from which we can all learn.
To everyone open to truth, Tom Fletcher’s central point is that – despite the Israeli Government denials – there really is starvation happening in Gaza.
His message is clearly anti-famine.
And his scripting is focused on fairly criticising the Israeli Government – as opposed to the Jewish people in general around the world – many of whom are critical of the Netanyahu approach to Gaza.
Tom Fletcher has taken care to avoid being vulnerable to potential false claims of “anti-semitism” which the Israeli Government often throws at anyone criticizing its actions.
Nine times within his short dramatic statement, Tom Fletcher utters the words “It is a famine”.
And to break it up, there’s one dramatic wording variation when he says: “It is a predictable and a preventable famine.”
If ever there was a clear evidence-backed message being conveyed to the world, this is it.
Tom Fletcher ventures to discuss the cause of the famine – covered by foreign broadcasters who repeatedly publicise the number of food-laden trucks on Israel’s fringes – when he declares “Yet food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel.”
Tom Fletcher’s balance between factual substance and emotional push is masterly.
His slow, dramatic delivery of his meticulously selected words underlines the life-and-death seriousness of the situation.
So, communications-wise, what does it mean for you if you’re seeking to convey important points on a controversial issue?
If you’re dealing with a controversial issue, you need to:
+ Be extra careful to be able to back up what you say
+ Strive to be evidence-based, measured and persuasive in your approach – so that your message can stand up to close scrutiny on social media and beyond.
Meanwhile, I’ve had the pleasure of being interviewed about Great Answers To Tough Questions on the international podcast – The Online Prosperity Show – by its Melbourne-based host Prosper Taruvinga.
The show has dedicated a long timeslot to the subject.
Feel free to check out as much or little as you have time for at:
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyf45p6fXRE
• The Online Prosperity Show Platform: https://onlineprosperity.com.au/podcast/how-to-turn-interview-panic-into-poise/
And whatever communication challenges you come up with, remember that giving great answers to tough questions is a learnable skill!