Run this on every piece, whatever its cause. Each question maps to a technique in the archive. If you answer "no" to any of them, fix the piece before it goes out. It takes five minutes, and it separates advocacy you can stand behind from the techniques this archive documents.
Who is speaking
- [ ] Does the piece name who wrote or paid for it, where the reader will actually see it? (Disclosure theater)
- [ ] If your local election law requires a "paid for by" line or an imprint, is it there? Many places do; check the rules where you publish.
- [ ] Is every voice in it a real person, speaking for themselves, who agreed to be quoted? (Astroturfing, Testimonial)
- [ ] Are paid endorsements and paid posters disclosed?
- [ ] If you used AI to draft text or make images, would you be comfortable saying so, and do you where the platform or the law asks? No AI-made image, voice or video of a real person saying or doing something they didn't. (Synthetic media)
Is it true
- [ ] Does every factual claim have a named source you could show a reader?
- [ ] Do your numbers have their denominator, date and comparison? (Card stacking)
- [ ] Have you left out any fact you know would reverse your point? You needn't argue the other side, but you mustn't hide what undoes yours.
- [ ] Is every story real, with composites or changed names flagged? (Narrative)
- [ ] Would the slogan and the small print survive being read side by side? (Motte and bailey)
Is it fair
- [ ] Is any label you use for an opponent an accurate description of their record? (Name-calling)
- [ ] Does the emotion match the facts, and does any warning come with a real way to act? (Fear appeal, Emotional appeal)
- [ ] Is your target a decision, a policy or a named, responsible actor, rather than a whole group of people? (Scapegoating)
- [ ] Would you accept the same technique, used the same way, from the other side?
The last question is the one this archive is built on. A technique is a technique regardless of who uses it (Doctrine (working definition)).
After you publish
- [ ] If you got something wrong, correct it as prominently as the original.
- [ ] Keep your sources, so you can answer anyone who asks.