Countering the Costly ‘Firehose of Falsehood’

Devin Hughes

When it comes to gun violence, there is an ongoing concern about the rhetoric being effectively used to prevent improvements in safety.

GVPedia, a gun violence prevention organization, recently published a paper about how to use communication techniques to address the disinformation it sees thriving against the greater good.

The paper contends that gun rights advocates have used a technique called the Firehose of Falsehood, a term coined by The Rand Corporation, to spread false narratives. The paper additionally offers strategies based on science and research about how to work through this dangerous information.

GVPedia says the Firehose of Falsehood (FOF) has led to substantial success in the judicial system, legislative system and in shifting public opinion on guns and gun laws.

In short, the report states:

• According to the study, over the past 50 years, the gun lobby has deployed at least two Firehose of Falsehood campaigns. The first turned the 2nd Amendment from a collective right to an individual right capable of overturning gun safety laws. The second transformed public and legislative perception of firearms from a risk to public and personal well-being to the epitome of self-defense and safety.  

• There are two strategic ways to counter disinformation campaigns: first, at the organizational level which means a coordinated strategy that focuses on mass communications and second, at the individual level which means personal, one-on-one conversations among individuals.

It seems to be that the FOF is a moral and organizational ethics debate.

“I can say from my research is that people who use this strategy feel that their side is on the right side of history or in some cases their financial well-being depends on those enacting a Firehose of Falsehood, so the dishonesty of the strategy is often viewed as a small price to pay for achieving victory,” says Devin Hughes, founder of GVPedia.

“If winning, regardless of the cost, is the overarching goal,” Hughes adds, “the Firehose of Falsehood is, unfortunately, a powerful tool in achieving that victory.”

He talks about how it works successfully and the biggest associated costs.

“The Firehose of Falsehood is so effective because it plays on psychological biases all people have,” Hughes begins. “Disinformation is often surprising and memorable, can be tailored to perfectly fit an existing narrative and is easier and faster to produce than accurate information.

“Most people suffer from confirmation bias, which means they seek out information that already agrees with their pre-existing beliefs.

“This, combined with people often caring more about signaling their loyalty to a political tribe than being factually accurate, leads to the more frequent sharing of disinformation on social media than the sharing of accurate information,” he says.

That often creates a momentum of strong, emotional belief and hardline, rigid communication.

“This in turn means that disinformation is more likely to be casually encountered than accurate information,” Hughes asserts. “Research shows that people are bad at discerning between inaccurate and accurate information, further fueling the Firehose of Falsehood in a self-reinforcing cycle.”

The public has to pay for this strategy being successful.

“The biggest cost to society of the Firehose of Falsehood is the rapid spread of disinformation that leads to inaccurate beliefs in the world, which then directly influences policy and laws,” Hughes points out.

“If people recognize they are being lied to,” he adds, then “it can lead to apathy and disengagement in the political system, which sadly can still be a victory for the Firehose of Falsehood if those wielding it want the status quo to remain.”

Hughes says that there is also a tool to combat the communication strategy being used to prevent increased safety measures with guns.

“The Firehose of Truth is taking the first two elements of the Firehose of Falsehood — being high volume and multichannel as well as rapid, continuous and repetitive — and applying them to accurate information,” he says. “The Firehose of Truth should match the breadth and scope of the disinformation campaign, ensuring that if someone is hearing inaccurate information they will also hear the correct information as well, along with refutations of the disinformation.”

GVPedia reported that by “enacting ‘deep canvassing’ tactics that rely on canvassers listening attentively and encouraging empathy instead of traditional canvassing techniques,’” can act as an antidote to the FOF.

“Deep canvassing takes a very different approach than traditional canvassing which typically involves barraging people with facts or statistics about why they should support a particular issue,” Hughes says.

“Instead, deep canvassers ask people about their thoughts on the topic in question and attentively listen. After giving people a chance to express their views, they ask the person to relate to people directly impacted by the issue in some form and offer personal stories. Each deep canvas takes around ten minutes and is much more of a conversation than a presentation.”

This human interaction stands out more positively, increasing the odds of better, helpful communication taking place.

“The deep canvassing approach of listening attentively and encouraging empathy is in stark contrast to much of today’s hostile political climate,” Hughes says. “Listening and forming a connection is difficult and time consuming. But it is essential.”

He’s passionate about it as a way forward to help society through thinking and communication that leads to action that can make society a safer place, saving lives and preventing injuries from guns.

What must be guarded against, the paper states, is the temptation and impulse to “overtly silence the opposition, as such efforts will most likely prove ineffective, and may substantially strengthen the disinformation campaign.”

Better to focus on “1) Circumventing tribal barriers by meeting people where they are, establishing emotional credibility through personal narratives and building trust and 2) Exploring the other person’s beliefs and core values by respectfully questioning, listening and affirming.”

These can become part of an elegant solution.

“If implemented consistently I am very confident that this approach can counter a Firehose of Falsehood strategy,” Hughes states.

Yet it does take endurance, assistance and sustained commitment.

“It is important to remember that consistency requires substantial resources and dedicated volunteers to carry out — and it is a slow process,” Hughes says.

“It can take years to substantially move the needle on an issue and counteract lingering disinformation, but it’s worth the effort because it is the only evidence-based path to enacting systemic change at both the organizational and personal levels.”