Workshops

Note: We currently have limited capacity to offer live workshops. We take on only 1-2 new clients a month in the UK and Europe, and only 1 new client in the U.S. and Canada every few months.

Our hands-on workshops use a mix of fun case studies and exercises that demonstrate the practical application of the core techniques for dismantling political lies, artful half-truths, smear tactics, and other dirty tricks of misinformation and public influence.

When working with smaller teams and organizations, we encourage them to also “bring their own cases” — specific problems they are dealing with — so they can better learn the techniques by immediately applying them to their own practical problems.

Topics

Our main workshop showcases the most essential countertactics underlying the Three Fundamental Pillars of the Blueprint.

We sometimes also offer workshops that either focus deeper on a particular Pillar of the Blueprint or focus completely on a specialized topic, such as:

  • Countering Political Bias, Indoctrination, and Radicalization
  • Neutralizing Authoritarian Disinformation Playbooks
  • Undermining Demagogic Appeal Tactics and Inflammatory Rhetoric

Core Workshop Outline

The main workshop covers our Three Fundamental Pillars with the most important principles and countertactics underlying them.

I. Dismantling: Core Principles and Techniques of Persuasive Refutation

  • The Principle of Concentration: Striking but a Few Blows
  • Counterattacking Reasoning Over Evidence
  • Replacing the Target of Attack with Rich Positive Associations
  • Employing Surprise Countertactics (Repetition-Break and Inversion)
  • Increasing Involvement and Deep Thinking
  • Using Cognitive Fluency to Degrade Falsehoods
  • Techniques for Enhancing Memorability

II. Debiasing: Reducing Political Bias, Indoctrination, and Radical Views

  • Reducing Resistance by Avoiding Forewarning and Validating Concerns
  • Affirming Autonomy and Reducing Psychological Reactance
  • Affirming Self-Worth
  • Utilizing the Self-Persuasion Approach
  • Unfreezing Biased Attitudes with Paradoxical Extremes

III. Deterring: Strategies for Turning Tables on Political Liars and Misinformation Superspreaders

  • Labeling Manipulative Tactics Employed
  • Inoculating Against Lies and Misrepresentations
  • Redirecting Lies to Anger and Resentment
  • Using Ironic Invectives
  • Ridiculing and Employing Rebuttal Analogies
  • Boomeranging the Outrage-Harvesting Content
  • Employing Metonymic Strategy of Reputation Degradation