Strategic communications in hostile times
The next four years pose unprecedented threats and challenges to our communities, our democratic systems of governance and the work of and wellbeing of progressive social change advocates and organizers in the US. To meet the moment, progressive leaders are rethinking organizing, political, and communications strategies. The goal: to survive, and even thrive, in an increasingly combative political environment.
As a nonprofit creative change agency serving movements across the country, Resource Media has assembled our team’s strategic communications advice for making progress in politically tough times, building on three decades of experience advancing health, wholeness, justice and belonging in the US—often under very adversarial conditions.
Stay focused
The new federal administration has a very powerful superpower – the art of distraction. Over the next four years, we will collectively encounter a nearly endless supply of things to be outraged about. Our advice? Keep our collective energies relentlessly focused on our goals and priorities. We know this won’t be easy, and this is one piece of advice everyone on our team will struggle to follow on a day-to-day basis. But, we need to resist being thrown off of our game, and that means being disciplined in our efforts to stay focused on our goals and priorities and the things we can control.
Framing is critical
It can seem impossible to talk about anything important these days without the conversation devolving into a political shouting match. But there are ways, and as we find time and time again, how you frame a conversation makes all the difference. Take recent research Resource Media conducted in Indiana about the clean energy transition. When we asked Hoosiers whether coal power should continue, partisan divides predictably guided their responses. But when we focused our messaging on how much coal drives up household utility bills compared to cheaper alternatives, we found overwhelming interest across the political spectrum in addressing that problem. Connecting a highly politicized issue like coal to the realities of household finances creates the opportunity for a productive conversation across political persuasions.
Get smarter about responding to misinformation
Misinformation and disinformation are the new normal, and thanks to social media algorithms, misleading information is stickier and more harmful than ever. We collectively need to get much smarter about the latest social science around responding to misinformation. It’s not good enough to say, “that’s wrong, here are the facts.” Instead, we need to help audiences be better information consumers (through pre-bunking) and leverage the power of human-centered storytelling to re-center discourse. The Debunking Handbook is a go-to resource for the latest social science research, and our team has plenty of guidance and ideas for how to put the learnings to work and be very smart with proactive communications and prebunking and debunking strategies.
Rethink the messenger
A colleague loves to quip that we progressives are victims of the Enlightenment – we believe if we present people with the right facts, they will come to the right conclusions. We also tend to rely on experts to communicate ideas – doctors in white coats and scientists with peer-reviewed papers. Unfortunately, trust in institutions and “experts” is in freefall. Instead of doctors and scientists, people are turning to trusted social media personalities and the communities they’ve built around them to help them understand everything from nutrition and vaccine safety to childhood education and how to vote. We increasingly need to help people contextualize our facts and information through partnerships with people they trust. That can look like pitching podcasters instead of or in addition to traditional reporters and forging partnerships with social media Influencers alongside op-eds and letters to the editor.
Connect to aspirations and lead with solutions
In the strategic communications space, we’ve learned a lot about narrative and framing over the last few decades. The Resource Media team believes strongly in leading with vision and values, not opposition and politics. And we are in enthusiastic agreement with the guidance captured in this SSIR article, which basically boils down to the same thing: leading with aspirations and solutions, not problems and blame, will help you connect with people ready to make change. Be ready to articulate what you are for and why it matters. Remember: it takes an inspiring vision to break through the doom and gloom.
Have a crisis communications plan
If you are a nonprofit doing progressive social change advocacy in the US in 2025, you need a crisis communications plan that outlines your strategies for defending your organization, issues, and staff from attacks so you know how to best manage and share information during a crisis. Executing a well-conceived plan can minimize damage to your team, your issues, and, importantly, your organization’s reputation. As part of crisis communications planning, don’t forget to take steps to protect your staff and supporters from potential political attacks, doxxing, hacking, etc.
We offer these insights while recognizing that the threats of the current moment far outpace anything we’ve collectively experienced in the last few decades. These tools operate under a ‘persuasion’ mode that may work well with state and local policymakers, community members or even corporations. But, some communities may be more in ‘survival mode’ than others. As for our path forward, our team is eager to learn from organizations and individuals with experience fighting fascism and authoritarianism around the globe, and we invite those with that hard-won expertise to share insights as well.
–Resource Media team
