What are “positive narratives”?
“Positive narratives” are texts, stories, descriptions and articles that promote a positive attitude on a certain issue and help build a strong argument on that topic based on facts and truth, leaving no place for misinformation, abuse and distortion of information related to that topic. For example, a country's membership in the European Union can be framed within a positive narrative, highlighting all the benefits that a country has before and after accession.
Positive narratives play a significant role in countering disinformation and propaganda, helping to raise awareness and critical thinking among information users.
Here are several ways in which positive narratives may be used to counter disinformation:
Focusing on facts and credible sources: Constructing positive narratives around important topics and defining them with facts and credible sources of information helps spread accurate and credible information.
Using real and documented stories: Real and documented success stories, progress, and cooperation may serve as a counter-response to false and manipulated narratives.
Leveraging scientific facts and expertise: When disinformation is countered with scientific facts and professional expertise, using positive narratives to reinforce these facts and expertise can be very effective.
Focusing on cooperation and solidarity: Positive narratives that emphasize cooperation, solidarity and mutual support can contribute to sharing a powerful message against polarization and the spread of conflict.
Cultivating a culture of critical thinking: Fostering a culture of information critique and promoting skills for critiquing and analyzing information helps to raise public awareness of disinformation and propaganda.
Utilizing humor and irony: In some cases, employing humor and irony in debunking the absurdity and deception of disinformation can be a powerful tool for exposing its incredibility.
If you want to learn more about building positive narratives, register for our dedicated self-paced course on this subject:
Watch a recent video podcast highlight recorded with Thomas Coombes, the founder of Hope-based Communications, to get more inspiration to craft positive narratives:
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