SUBSTACK 2: Fighting the Firehose—How to Counter Right-Wing Disinformation Without Playing Their Game

Fighting Back Is About Message AND Organizing

The Disinformation Machine, Recap

The modern right’s media strategy is built on volume, speed, emotion, and repetition.

It borrows from Russian propaganda playbooks, supercharges them with American capitalism, and distributes it through everything from podcasts to Facebook groups to memes. It's powered by think tanks, billionaire donors, fringe influencers, and culture war entrepreneurs.

The goal isn’t to persuade people logically - it’s to shape the entire information environment. To confuse, demoralize, distract, and isolate.

And it works.

So how do we fight back?

Not by shouting into the void. Not by trying to fact-check every lie. But by using strategic, tested, and community-driven techniques - many drawn from how Eastern European democracies pushed back against Russian disinformation without becoming authoritarian themselves.

Here’s how:

1. Prebut, Don’t Just Rebut

One of the most effective tools against the firehose is prebunking - the idea that we can inoculate people against disinformation by introducing the narrative before the lie spreads.

Inoculation theory works like a vaccine. Expose people to a weaker version of the lie, plus a refutation—and they’re more resistant later.

Example:
Rather than wait for right-wing operatives to claim that teachers are “grooming” students, share real stories about teachers helping LGBTQ+ kids feel safe and supported—and highlight how extremists distort those stories.

Make the truth more emotionally resonant than the lie.

2. Swarming: Coordinated, Decentralized Response

We can learn from people who were successful in fighting propaganda. The Baltics and Ukraine didn’t beat Russian propaganda with centralized government spokespeople. They built networks of messengers - activists, creators, moms, veterans, nurses—who could respond in real time to emerging threats.

This technique, called “swarming,” isn’t about going viral. It’s about mobilizing dozens or hundreds of voices to respond to a narrative at the same time, on the same platforms, but from trusted local perspectives.

A coordinated swarm of small or local accounts can drown out even the loudest disinfo campaign—if it’s fast, emotional, and authentic.

Create templates, message guides, and visuals that communities can deploy quickly—and in their own voice.

3. Make Trusted Messengers the Front Line

In nearly every study, people trust people they know more than media outlets or institutions.

• Nurses

• Teachers

• Coaches

• Veterans

• Volunteer firefighters

• Church leaders

These people aren’t just good messengers - they are the message. Their lived experience, their credibility, their relationships—these are the best tools we have.

Equip them with short videos, native graphics, and personal stories to share.

Remember: “Culture beats content. Charisma beats credentials. Community beats control.”

4. Use Platform-Specific Content

You can’t copy/paste your way out of disinformation.

• Instagram Reels and TikToks need short, emotional video stories—no talking heads.

• Facebook remains dominant with older voters and is the most common source of political disinformation.

• WhatsApp and text chains are powerful for immigrant and working-class communities.

• YouTube can anchor more detailed stories, but needs compelling thumbnails and pacing.

Use the right content for the right audience on the right platform. And do it every week—not just in October of an election year.

5. Flood the Zone With Truth—But Emotionally

If the firehose floods with falsehoods, we must flood with emotionally resonant truth.

Don’t just “debunk.” Tell stories. Use repetition. Center values like care, fairness, community, and opportunity. Share the classroom wins, the union victories, the neighborhood comeback stories.

Facts tell. Stories sell. Repetition seals.

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6. Don’t Fight Alone—Create a Web, Not a Megaphone

Fighting disinformation isn’t a solo sport. It’s not about “owning” the narrative—it’s about building a resilient web of voices that reinforce, repeat, and reframe truth from different angles.

Think of it this way:
The right doesn’t have one message. It has a chorus - each voice slightly different, but harmonizing around the same emotional truth.

We must do the same.

The Goal Isn’t Just Defense - Narrative Strength

You can’t win a game you don’t play. If all we do is respond to the latest lie, we’re playing defense on a rigged field.

We need our own stories. Our own messengers. Our own cultural fluency.

We need to build a new media ecosystem that reflects our values - and doesn’t disappear after Election Day.

Because the firehose won’t stop. But we can make sure people don’t face it alone.