{"id":40507,"date":"2017-04-27T16:00:41","date_gmt":"2017-04-27T20:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/blog\/stay-credible-world-fake-news\/"},"modified":"2024-02-22T10:01:32","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T15:01:32","slug":"stay-credible-world-fake-news","status":"publish","type":"blog_posts","link":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/blog\/stay-credible-world-fake-news\/","title":{"rendered":"How to stay credible in a world of fake 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-->\n<title>How to stay credible in a world of fake news | Granicus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/blog\/stay-credible-world-fake-news\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to stay credible in a world of fake news | Granicus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/blog\/stay-credible-world-fake-news\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Granicus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/granicusco\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-22T15:01:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Yoast-Logo.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" 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Marketing"}}]}},"acf":{"page_type":"internal","external_url":"","page_template":"centered","sidebar_position":"right","post_author":"","post_date":"","post_description":"","post_link":"","post_file":false,"media_gallery":false,"project_metrics_title":"","project_metrics":false,"show_hero":false,"hero_margin":false,"hero_type":"image","hero_subhead":"","hero_headline":"","hero_text":"","hero_button":"","hero_icon":false,"hero_image":false,"sidebar_type":"sticky","content_builder_sidebar_group":{"content_builder_sidebar":false},"flexible_page_builder_group":{"flexible_page_builder_fields":[{"acf_fc_layout":"wysiwyg","add_menu_anchor":false,"anchor_menu_text":"","wysiwyg_group":{"show_section":true,"alignment":"left","subhead":"","headline":"","wysiwyg":"<p>Whether in context of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2016-11-23\/facebook-s-quest-to-stop-fake-news-risks-becoming-slippery-slope\">social media<\/a>\u00a0or the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w23089\">2016 US election<\/a>, you\u2019ve likely heard the term \u201cfake news\u201d in the last year. Most often, fake news is in reference to articles or stories published with false\u00a0information claiming to be real news. An important clarifier of fake news is that it is different\u00a0from\u00a0satire (like theonion.com). Fake news is actually<i> intended<\/i> to mislead the public in the hope that it will be shared widely, and as a result, increase the spread of false information in support of a specific agenda.<\/p>\n<p>The scariest part about fake news stories? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/craigsilverman\/fake-news-survey?utm_term=.nh5dmr9bM#.pbaXMaAj7\">Most people believe them<\/a>\u00a0and it is difficult to undo the damage they can have to organisations or people involved once they go viral.<\/p>\n<p>With an increase of fake news being perpetuated \u2013 particularly on social platforms \u2013 how can information disseminated by government organisations stay credible? Here are some tips to make sure your agency\u2019s communications are trusted and received\u00a0as valid by your readers.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Establish your\u00a0government organisation as a source of truth<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The first step to staying credible in a world of fake news is to help people understand (perceive and value) your organisation as a credible source of information and truth. They can trust your information because your job is to serve all people. Across the country, citizens rely on credible information from organisations with a .gov url domain in the US (and .gov.uk domain in the UK). As the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usg.edu\/galileo\/skills\/unit07\/internet07_08.phtml\">University of Georgia<\/a> writes, \u201cIf you come across a site with this domain, then you\u2019re viewing a government site. The information is considered to be from a credible source\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Government organisations have long been considered providers of valuable, credible information \u2013 not perpetrators of fake news. This is why maintaining credibility with your content during this time is so important. When releasing information to the public, make sure the source of your information is linked towards the top. Ensure your audience has clear access to data, survey results, public comments, and all other relevant information that supports your information.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Attract\u00a0a keen audience looking for credible information<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>There is no greater value than a person who voluntarily raises their hand and asks to hear from your government organisation. And in an age where journalism is being questioned for authenticity, government communicators have a huge advantage to attract and retain new\u00a0audiences. When your audience comes to you directly, it\u2019s a clear indication that they have an interest in listening to what you have to say. This is why capturing authentic audience members \u2013 most often in the form of subscribers \u2013 is so important to staying credible. Give people easy options to connect with your organisation, via all channels available. Choice for citizens is key &#8211; it helps show you care about their needs.<\/p>\n<p>At Granicus, we focus a lot of our efforts on helping government organisations increase their reach \u2013 or the overall size of their audience. That\u2019s because authentic reach \u2013 when considering\u00a0all levels of engagement \u2013 is the <a href=\"https:\/\/uk.granicus.com\/pdfs\/guide_2016_benchmark_report.pdf\">strongest indicator<\/a> of the potential for great outcomes. The larger the audience, the more people you&#8217;re likely to inform, engage and move to take any necessary action. In all aspects of visibility \u2013 whether it\u2019s television viewership, sports match\u00a0attendance, or advertising clicks \u2013 total audience is always the most valued metric.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s okay to have some portion of your audience remain inactive, but remember: in the world of subscribers, there is power in letting your audience participate when they want, or unsubscribe at will. If they are inactive, don\u2019t give up on them \u2013 work to re-engage them by introducing them to new content, topics, or messaging. They raised their hand to hear from you once before, so don\u2019t abandon them.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. Be proactive on social media<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>It might surprise you that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-36528256\">social media has outstripped TV <\/a>as the number 1 news source among young people\u00a0in the UK, and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.journalism.org\/2016\/05\/26\/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2016\/\">62 percent of adults<\/a> in the US get their news from social media. Knowing that so much of your audience is being exposed to\u00a0information and absorbing all kinds of &#8220;news&#8221; on social platforms, it is important to remain active, and be present there too. But how can you differentiate your tweets or posts from the fake ones?<\/p>\n<p>First, it\u2019s important to approach social media with your eyes wide open. Know that by participating in social platforms, you\u2019re working to level the playing field between true and false information being spread. Approaching social media with clear messaging (and words that have the least likelihood of being misconstrued) is an important first step.<\/p>\n<p>Second, you can also look to partner with other credible sources on social media to help amplify your messaging. If you are a state agency, your natural go-to sources could be other agencies within your state \u2013 reach out to other communications teams to ask for a retweet or repost to add credibility to your information. The more credible organisations supporting your information, the better.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>4. Live\u00a0by a content and style guide<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The most important thing you can do in a world of fake news is continue to counter any false narratives and deliver authentic content in\u00a0open, accessible and engaging ways. Heading into an ocean of fake news means that your audience will be more skeptical than ever of your messaging, so make it easy for them to differentiate your content and believe it.<\/p>\n<p>Providing clear information (<a href=\"https:\/\/uk.granicus.com\/pdfs\/guide_GC_Plain_Language_Playbook.pdf\">in plain language<\/a>) up front with an opportunity for your audience to ask questions, dig deeper, and clarify in the ways they need to, will build trust. If you can be guided by a content code (for example by adhering to your organisation&#8217;s own design, messaging, content and style guide), this kind of brand consistency in the &#8220;look and feel&#8221; of your messaging will help ensure credibility.<\/p>\n<p>Staying credible in a world of fake news can seem daunting, but the best path forward is to establish your organisation as a source of truth, build an authentic audience and then continue to produce useful, targeted content. This process in itself is an honest one, and will help your organisation rise above fake news.<\/p>\n<p><i>Need some help reaching your target audience? Want to increase engagement with your content and services? Join us at a <a href=\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/worldtour17\/\">Public Sector Digital Engagement Day<\/a> near you to network and learn from other digital leaders.<\/i><\/p>\n","button":""}}]},"posts_slider_group":{"show_section":true,"posts_slider":[{"add_anchor":false,"anchor_name":"","background_color":"green","slider_subhead":"","slider_headline":"Discover More Blogs","slider_text":"","slider_type":"blog_posts","manual_resources":false,"slider_resource_tax":"recent","add_additional_filters":false,"department_filter":false,"market_filter":false,"outcome_filter":false,"product_filter":false,"region_filter":false,"solution_filter":false,"topic_filter":false,"slider_link":{"title":"View All Resources","url":"\/uk\/learning-center\/","target":""},"slider_link_icon":false}]},"centered_layout_builder_clone":{"flexible_page_builder_group":{"flexible_page_builder_fields":[{"acf_fc_layout":"wysiwyg","add_menu_anchor":false,"anchor_menu_text":"","wysiwyg_group":{"show_section":true,"alignment":"left","subhead":"","headline":"","wysiwyg":"<p>Whether in context of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2016-11-23\/facebook-s-quest-to-stop-fake-news-risks-becoming-slippery-slope\">social media<\/a>\u00a0or the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w23089\">2016 US election<\/a>, you\u2019ve likely heard the term \u201cfake news\u201d in the last year. Most often, fake news is in reference to articles or stories published with false\u00a0information claiming to be real news. An important clarifier of fake news is that it is different\u00a0from\u00a0satire (like theonion.com). Fake news is actually<i> intended<\/i> to mislead the public in the hope that it will be shared widely, and as a result, increase the spread of false information in support of a specific agenda.<\/p>\n<p>The scariest part about fake news stories? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/craigsilverman\/fake-news-survey?utm_term=.nh5dmr9bM#.pbaXMaAj7\">Most people believe them<\/a>\u00a0and it is difficult to undo the damage they can have to organisations or people involved once they go viral.<\/p>\n<p>With an increase of fake news being perpetuated \u2013 particularly on social platforms \u2013 how can information disseminated by government organisations stay credible? Here are some tips to make sure your agency\u2019s communications are trusted and received\u00a0as valid by your readers.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. Establish your\u00a0government organisation as a source of truth<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The first step to staying credible in a world of fake news is to help people understand (perceive and value) your organisation as a credible source of information and truth. They can trust your information because your job is to serve all people. Across the country, citizens rely on credible information from organisations with a .gov url domain in the US (and .gov.uk domain in the UK). As the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usg.edu\/galileo\/skills\/unit07\/internet07_08.phtml\">University of Georgia<\/a> writes, \u201cIf you come across a site with this domain, then you\u2019re viewing a government site. The information is considered to be from a credible source\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Government organisations have long been considered providers of valuable, credible information \u2013 not perpetrators of fake news. This is why maintaining credibility with your content during this time is so important. When releasing information to the public, make sure the source of your information is linked towards the top. Ensure your audience has clear access to data, survey results, public comments, and all other relevant information that supports your information.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. Attract\u00a0a keen audience looking for credible information<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>There is no greater value than a person who voluntarily raises their hand and asks to hear from your government organisation. And in an age where journalism is being questioned for authenticity, government communicators have a huge advantage to attract and retain new\u00a0audiences. When your audience comes to you directly, it\u2019s a clear indication that they have an interest in listening to what you have to say. This is why capturing authentic audience members \u2013 most often in the form of subscribers \u2013 is so important to staying credible. Give people easy options to connect with your organisation, via all channels available. Choice for citizens is key &#8211; it helps show you care about their needs.<\/p>\n<p>At Granicus, we focus a lot of our efforts on helping government organisations increase their reach \u2013 or the overall size of their audience. That\u2019s because authentic reach \u2013 when considering\u00a0all levels of engagement \u2013 is the <a href=\"https:\/\/uk.granicus.com\/pdfs\/guide_2016_benchmark_report.pdf\">strongest indicator<\/a> of the potential for great outcomes. The larger the audience, the more people you&#8217;re likely to inform, engage and move to take any necessary action. In all aspects of visibility \u2013 whether it\u2019s television viewership, sports match\u00a0attendance, or advertising clicks \u2013 total audience is always the most valued metric.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s okay to have some portion of your audience remain inactive, but remember: in the world of subscribers, there is power in letting your audience participate when they want, or unsubscribe at will. If they are inactive, don\u2019t give up on them \u2013 work to re-engage them by introducing them to new content, topics, or messaging. They raised their hand to hear from you once before, so don\u2019t abandon them.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. Be proactive on social media<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>It might surprise you that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-36528256\">social media has outstripped TV <\/a>as the number 1 news source among young people\u00a0in the UK, and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.journalism.org\/2016\/05\/26\/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2016\/\">62 percent of adults<\/a> in the US get their news from social media. Knowing that so much of your audience is being exposed to\u00a0information and absorbing all kinds of &#8220;news&#8221; on social platforms, it is important to remain active, and be present there too. But how can you differentiate your tweets or posts from the fake ones?<\/p>\n<p>First, it\u2019s important to approach social media with your eyes wide open. Know that by participating in social platforms, you\u2019re working to level the playing field between true and false information being spread. Approaching social media with clear messaging (and words that have the least likelihood of being misconstrued) is an important first step.<\/p>\n<p>Second, you can also look to partner with other credible sources on social media to help amplify your messaging. If you are a state agency, your natural go-to sources could be other agencies within your state \u2013 reach out to other communications teams to ask for a retweet or repost to add credibility to your information. The more credible organisations supporting your information, the better.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>4. Live\u00a0by a content and style guide<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The most important thing you can do in a world of fake news is continue to counter any false narratives and deliver authentic content in\u00a0open, accessible and engaging ways. Heading into an ocean of fake news means that your audience will be more skeptical than ever of your messaging, so make it easy for them to differentiate your content and believe it.<\/p>\n<p>Providing clear information (<a href=\"https:\/\/uk.granicus.com\/pdfs\/guide_GC_Plain_Language_Playbook.pdf\">in plain language<\/a>) up front with an opportunity for your audience to ask questions, dig deeper, and clarify in the ways they need to, will build trust. If you can be guided by a content code (for example by adhering to your organisation&#8217;s own design, messaging, content and style guide), this kind of brand consistency in the &#8220;look and feel&#8221; of your messaging will help ensure credibility.<\/p>\n<p>Staying credible in a world of fake news can seem daunting, but the best path forward is to establish your organisation as a source of truth, build an authentic audience and then continue to produce useful, targeted content. This process in itself is an honest one, and will help your organisation rise above fake news.<\/p>\n<p><i>Need some help reaching your target audience? Want to increase engagement with your content and services? Join us at a <a href=\"https:\/\/granicus.com\/worldtour17\/\">Public Sector Digital Engagement Day<\/a> near you to network and learn from other digital leaders.<\/i><\/p>\n","button":""}}]}},"post_slider_clone":{"posts_slider_group":{"show_section":true,"posts_slider":[{"add_anchor":false,"anchor_name":"","background_color":"green","slider_subhead":"","slider_headline":"Discover More Blogs","slider_text":"","slider_type":"blog_posts","manual_resources":false,"slider_resource_tax":"recent","add_additional_filters":false,"department_filter":false,"market_filter":false,"outcome_filter":false,"product_filter":false,"region_filter":false,"solution_filter":false,"topic_filter":false,"slider_link":{"title":"View All Resources","url":"\/uk\/learning-center\/","target":""},"slider_link_icon":false}]}},"call_to_action":{"hide_call_to_action":false,"color":"red","custom_cta":false,"custom_subhead":"","custom_headline":"","custom_description":"","custom_link":null,"custom_image":false}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_posts\/40507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog_posts"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_market","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_market?post=40507"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_dept","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_dept?post=40507"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_type?post=40507"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_region?post=40507"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_outcomes","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_outcomes?post=40507"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_topic?post=40507"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_products","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_products?post=40507"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_solutions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_solutions?post=40507"},{"taxonomy":"resource_tax_services","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/granicus.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource_tax_services?post=40507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}