#FightHasbaraWithHasbara: On Issue Framing

Hey fam, a stray thought on framing the issue and social media algorithms. Attacking the other side’s frame (most prominently, AllLivesMatter or BlueLivesMatter — I’m not using the hashtag here intentionally) is usually weaker than either a) keeping the focus on the original frame (in this case #BlackLivesMatter) or b) reframing the issue to account for the other side’s rebuttal while still doing so in a way that steers the conversation in the originally intended direction.

There are many important reasons for attacking an opposing view’s frame while partially using the opposing side’s language, but unless it is a weak frame, winning over undecideds or substantively moving a lukewarm opponent on the issue is not one of them. Self-care and rallying the base are important — if that’s the intended outcome — but this just isn’t an effective way to shift the narrative in a positive direction. I think this is especially true in written form.

On social media, using the opposing side’s hashtag, linking to an odious petition, or sharing a vile status, increases visibility and makes it trend. Again, there are good reasons for doing all three of these things, but lowering the visibility of the original post/hashtag or doing damage control on the number of people signing the petition are not among them. People in directly affected communities must grieve and rage however they see fit, but White folks posting about how these reactionary frames and actions make them feel is a net negative when it’s done non-strategically.

Even though he’s writing for a more mainstream liberal audience (or maybe even because he is), Lakoff’s classic on issue framing, Don’t Think of An Elephant, is worth checking out. I read it when I was 16 or 17 and it had a big impact on my political and discursive development.

Last night, Baltimore Palestine Solidarity did a film screening of The Occupation of the American Mind. While the motive of the Israeli spin doctors is sickening, we can learn from their methods. Hasbara literaly means “explaining” in Hebrew, but might as well mean propaganda.

I’m convinced propaganda is not a dirty word. We need to #FightHasbaraWithHasbara.