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Thank you for joining the engine room and the New Tactics online community for an online conversation on Incorporating Social Media into Your Human Rights Campaigning from May 13 to 17, 2013. Social media is being used by human rights organizations around the world.  But how do organizations use these tools strategically and creatively to reach their goals?

Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), one of the conversation leaders for this event, uses social media for online mobilizing and urgent human rights emergencies. For example, AIUSA used Twitter (and Storify) to successfully prompt a statement from the United States State Department on imprisoned activists in Bahrain - and to report back to activists in real-time. This is one of many examples of the strategic use of social media by human rights groups.

In this online conversation, we explored:

• How to define your social media goals and targets;
• Strategizing about how to reach your stakeholders with social media;  
• Making decisions about the resources you should devote to building and maintaining a social media presence;
• How to use social media without putting your staff and your constituents at risk;

This online conversation was an opportunity to exchange experiences, lessons-learned and best practices among practitioners using social media strategically in human rights work.

Summary of Conversation

Tactic examples shared in the conversation:

• Amnesty International USA used Twitter and Storify to get the attention of the US State Department to respond to the human rights violations in Bahrain.
• International Anti-Corruption Day and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) used hashtag #ExijoSaber to ensure public institutions were listening to locals from El Salvador, and their answers to the question, “what information from your government do you wish you had?”
• Amnesty International USA organized a social media campaign in response to the increase in human rights violations in Syria, they utilized Twitter and the hashtag #eyesonsyria.
• Greenpeace Mobilisation Lab used customized messaging to approach and influence the brand Volkswagen to live up to it’s progressive and environmental image by committing to ensure cars meet strong CO2 reduction targets.
• Greenpeace Hungry built momentum for companies to study their supply chains to confirm their products are GMO free through both online and offline mediums, specifically Facebook, public statements, and free consumer food guides.
• Utilizing solidarity, social media was used to collectively document abuses and honor victims and activists. Facebook was used to document and tell the story of the conflict in Syria, this included mock postage stamps, the Stamps of the Syrian Revolution.
• Kurd Men for Equality encouraged men to submit photos of themselves dressed in women’s traditional clothing and then collected and shared the photos on Facebook. This enabled individuals to support the cause without leaving their house. Messages were launched to authorities in Iran, and a campaign was built to communicate that being a woman is not a tool to humiliate or punish anyone.
• Amnesty International USA used a YouTube playlist to bring awareness to human rights violations in North Korea right when United Nations Human Rights Council member states were discussing the establishment of an International Commission of Inquiry. They also utilized blog posts and The Human Rights Channel curated by WITNESS.
• Amnesty International USA created a digital campaign utilizing Facebook, Twitter and the hashtag #saveBeatriz (English) and #salve Beatriz (Spanish) to gain global attention of this case in El Salvador.
• Twitter (Twitterbomb, Twitter Chat, and Livetweeting) was used as a movement building tool by Amnesty International USA to spread information regarding the death penalty in Maryland.
• In Venezuela, Venezuela Inteligente produced and directed videos with the hope of them going viral. Videos were also posted offline for free, Vuclip was included and mass BBM messages were designed to promoted participation in the legislative elections, especially the youth in Venezuela.
• The Red Elección Cuidadana, a coalition of Venezuelan NGOs coordinated  an election monitoring effect focused on receiving and documenting human rights abuses through multiple channels (phone calls to a central line, email, SMS, website and web form), Twitter and a hashtag, and a paid collaborative social suite.

Building a social media plan: walking through how to build a sound social media strategy

Participants shared resources, strategies, successes, and challenges that they have had when developing social media plans. For example, a  ladder of engagement is a highly effective way of growing a campaign by starting with small involvement and then increasing the intensity of involvement.

One participant mentioned the importance of utilizing various benchmarks to determine success. Success can come in many different forms, and each action, tactic, and campaign should have specific, individual benchmarks. Some examples include the Bahrain Twitter Action, where Amnesty International USA knew that their numbers would be low, so they looked for response from their target instead of high participation numbers, which was a main success for them. Another example of a specific success indicator is participation by key organizations and experts, which was used for a new website launched on international justice by Amnesty International USA. A key benchmark was to make sure new resources were being used by organizations and individuals in the field.

One participant commented that it’s important to work together with other groups that are in touch with international or regional Human Rights bodies, and then build your networks from there.

Small NGOs were encouraged to develop their social media strategy from beginning to end, just the way a larger organization would do. It is important for small NGOs to know who is already working on issues. Also, it’s important to get involved in the Twitter community, to follow important people and make exchanges with them early. When using Twitter, it is also important to have actions tied to important days, it makes it more effective for other people to follow you. Finally, having a Facebook page, especially with photos and the use of videos is important.

Another participant gave tips on keeping your audience engaged and interested. They recommended to find your audience through basic audience research and stay in touch with them. Also, you can provide updates, reward your audience in unique ways (a reward that is directly related to the issue or work), or give unique opportunities for your audience to influence your work.

Mitigating risk: determining your threat model and take healthy precautions when using social media in your work

A key part of using social media strategically, is using it safely. Participants in this conversation discussed methods for determining your risk and steps to take to mitigate that risk.

The Women’s Peacemakers Program recommends to not publish pictures, quotes or names without the full approval of the participants. While this may appear challenging and require additional time and resources, this best practice will reflect well on your organization and will encourage your participants to be aware of their social media uses.

One participant discussed creating safe event spaces, specifically utilizing the Chatham House Rule. This rule encourages organizations to consider how patients feel, start a conversation about the security and privacy implications of documentation, and encourages participants to write NO PHOTO on their name tags if they do not want to be photographed. Additionally, apps such as ObscuraCam can be used to blur faces in a photograph before the picture is posted online.

Another participant discussed the paradigm of human rights work. What happens when organizations want and need compelling visuals of their work and impact, and, at the same time, respect the privacy and security of the people they work with? New Tactics held a past conversation specifically about this topic: Staying Safe: Security Resources for Human Rights Defenders. Also, Tactical Technology has created a few online resources to help you understand and mitigate risk while using social media, these include Trace My Shadow and Me and My Shadow.

Additional ideas to mitigate risk on social media include, turning off geolocation, review what’s publically visible on your profiles, do not trust really sensitive information on social networks, and setting up anonymous accounts. These anonymous accounts should not be affiliated with an identifiable email address. It was recommended that individuals scrub metadata on photos and files, consider how a photo’s or video’s content count can be used to identify you, double check for https:// over http:// on social networking sites, and use a VPN on your phone and computer. Also, remember that everything that is sent unencrypted is like a postcard that any intermediary (network administrators, ISPs, or government) can read.

Complementing offline efforts with online tactics

Participants shared and discussed successful online/offline intersections of campaigning. They agreed that it’s important that you design a campaign with both online and offline components. Successful campaigns will share goals and objectives, communicate needs and expectations, and have regular meetings between the online and offline efforts.

Participants spoke about the importance of combining online and offline methods. One example of this was the Iran campaign example. This campaign asked supporters to dress up in traditional women’s clothing to show support for their movement. Here supporters are asked to take action offline and then engage or share online with a broader community. Another participant discussed linking social media to traditional media. The participant mentioned the importance of getting the attention of traditional media when the campaign first starts and then using social media to spread the information.

One successful campaign, Organizing Venezuela’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) started offline first and then decided to make use of various online tools to have maximum reach. They created blog, twitter, facebook accounts, and worked with partner organizations. Another participant also commented that they generally start with offline engagements with partners and then add social media. It was important to get a group of organizations together that all share a point of view in terms of context and particularly the situation that is taking place. This can be done through a strategy called referral marketing. Next, the partners should set up a course of action and establish priorities.

Finally, another participant mentioned four basic components for how to integrate online and offline activities: (1) audience, (2) horizontal engagement; (3) actions, and (4) completing the circle. Examples include search engine optimization (to learn about and find your target audience); and media attention, by raising awareness through online presence and then driving people to take action offline.

Resources on social media, shared by participants:

• 10 Tactics for Turning Information into Action: A 50-minute film on and offline toolkit documenting inspiring info-activism stories by Tactical Technology.
• 10 Tactics Remixed: Tactical Technology brings together snapshots of information-activism, featuring stories of how citizens have reacted to and challenged institutional power from the ground up.
• 10 Tactics Unstitched: A resource by Tactical Technology to help people run their own information-activism trainings. You can browse, download, and remix stories, images, and videos. Great examples are included.
• Amnesty International’s global Campaign for International Justice: Offers a variety of resources, maps, and information on the Campaign for International Justice.
• Building a Social Media Plan Worksheet: This resource is for people who want to build a social media plan for their initiative.
• Chatham House Rule: Resource to help mitigate risk for participants of social media, it states ‘participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that or any other participant, may be revealed.’
• Creating a simple ‘Creative Brief’: Helpful in identifying your targets, goals, etc.
• Experiments in Online Advocacy: A report by The New Organizing Institute.
• Grist’s social media diagram: Resource to help create a ladder of engagement where activities become progressively harder and more energy-intensive.
• Me and My Shadow: Project by Tactical Tech, helps explain the risks that come with the use of social media
• Nonprofit Social Media Decision Guide: By IdealWare, is designed to help organizations like yours determine what results and benefits you can reasonably expect from social media, and to guide you through the process of identifying the right channels for different goals.
• ObscuraCam: A Guardian Projects Android app, which allows faces to be blurred before a picture is posted.
• Online organizing: A blog post category by New Organizing Institute on online organizing.
• Professional Standards for Protection Work: Published by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
• Security Resources for Human Rights Defenders: A New Tactics topic conversation on staying safe.
• Social media for campaigns: New Organization Institute created a great toolbox with guides to using Facebook and Twitter.
• Social Media Strategies for Advocacy and Targeted Communications: Published by Internews, written by Tim Norton. This document specifically addresses using social media in advocacy and communication strategies.
• Susannah Vila’s slides: Resource to help organizations develop their social media campaign over time, from content to connections to actions. Includes powerpoint and examples.
• Trace My Shadow: A feature that allows you to select devices and/or services you want to use for social media, and pulls tips and tools for how to use them safely.
• Working with the United National Human Rights Programme: A Handbook for Civil Society: From The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.