A focus on first impressions
Newsletter #132
This Week
Lindstrom’s Distracting Rollout
ICYMI: Resources For Fighting Misinformation
Spotted
Before We Go…
1. Graphics Communicate, Too
Last week in Nebraska, another candidate threw his hat into the race for governor, joining Lynne Walz in trying to unseat Gov. Jim Pillen.
Former State Sen. Brett Lindstrom is taking the independent route, which means before Nebraskans can even decide whether to vote for him, he first has to qualify for the ballot. That requires collecting at least 4,000 valid signatures, including 750 from each of Nebraska's three congressional districts, by 5 p.m. on August 3. That's just 14 days away.
Anyone entering a statewide race this late already has an enormous communications challenge.
Unfortunately, the campaign made it just a little harder.
The initial campaign graphic featured a stylized outline of Nebraska...except it accidentally lopped off southeast Nebraska.
2. ICYMI: Don’t Get Duped: Effective Ways to Counteract Misinformation
The field of strategic communications functions on the tenets of accuracy, timeliness, clarity, and truth. Misinformation undermines these principles and undermines trust with audiences, and in its worst form can destabilize democracy. In an era where misinformation spreads quickly on digital channels and through networks of people, distinguishing fact from fiction has become an imperative skill. This skill empowers individuals to navigate the complex media landscape, providing essential tools to combat falsehoods and promote truth.
Here are three resources to help stay informed.
3. Spotted
At a point in time when trust in our elections is under threat, we remind you of a 2020 report written by a republican, Chris Krebs, the former head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA):
“The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history. Right now, across the country, election officials are reviewing and double checking the entire election process prior to finalizing the result.”
Read: Joint Statement from Elections Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council & the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Executive Committees
4. Before We Go…
From The Wall Street Journal: Parasitic outbreak puts big lettuce in PR crisis mode.
“The cyclospora outbreak has consumers across the country holding the lettuce. And the U.S. lettuce industry fears it will take a hit—whether or not its leafy greens are truly to blame.
‘Being prosecuted in the court of Reddit and social media is just devastating to the industry without any evidence,’ said Max Teplitski, chief science officer at the International Fresh Produce Association.”
From The Associated Press: Cut the number of choices you make each day. Your brain will thank you.
Your brain gets tired from making decisions. Here’s how to help.
From Nate Bargatze via Facebook: A punctuation-related laugh.
Commas can be tricky. This one will make our grammar and punctuation lovers giggle.