Short primer on dealing with disinfo
Hey, so, a few words about disinfo campaigns, because I’m seeing a lot of people I know targeted as they flee birdsite or end up in the crosshairs of Internet hate groups:
First, trust but verify. If you can’t source a claim to a credible source, distrust it or at least remain skeptical. Quite a few hate groups launder fake info through seemingly credible websites and whisper campaigns, and it’s worth not trusting those until credible evidence comes forward.
Short primer on dealing with disinfo
Second, don’t try to publicly refute the attackers or any online mobs they send your way. Protect yourself first. http://www.crashoverridenetwork.com provides actionable info that you can use to audit your online presence and handle being targeted.
Especially good here: get yourself a security key for your personal email. If you use Gmail, you can also set up Google Advanced Protection on your accounts: https://landing.google.com/advancedprotection/
Short primer on dealing with disinfo
Third, stay calm. It’s really easy to panic if you or a friend gets targeted. Step back, go offline for awhile if you need to, and make a plan to get through it. It’s going to be okay.
Some people, even people you care about, will fall for it. Reach out to people that haven’t and set up a support network for yourself. It’s often really easy to feel like everything is falling apart, but it isn’t.
Also, get yourself a therapist if you can. Seriously. It helps.
Short primer on dealing with disinfo
(I’ve kept a therapist for about 5 years. It’s helped me get through a lot, and is strongly recommended as general maintenance. I cannot stress how much it helps if you can find one.)
Fourth, remember that not all disinfo is designed with a target in mind. Several campaigns are designed to mentally or emotionally paralyze you by bombarding you with too much info, making the truth hard to find, or trying to convince you to stop trying.
Ignore those outright.
Short primer on dealing with disinfo
I’ll append more if I can, but those are the big ones I can think of for now. Feel free to add your own to this thread if you know of any I missed.