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Flyposting

(https://rebeltoolkit.extinctionrebellion.uk/uploads/images/gallery/2024-04/pts-8.PNG)

a grid of assorted XR posters if being pasted onto a bluw wall by two people wearing hi-vis jackets

Planning your flyposting action

Check out this general guidance for how to organise all sorts of Paint the Streets actions, then come back here for specific advice for flyposting.

Organise a flyposting team

Get together in an affinity group of 2-5 people. Roles needed are:

  • Coordinators and Police liaison
  • Flyposters: 1 to roll on the paste, 1 to put up the posters, 1 to roll on more paste on top
  • Social Media Rebel to take photos of the work, and post them online (don’t forget to use the hashtag #paintthestreets and tag our Facebook or Instagram pages!) as well as sharing them in the PTS Telegram chat.
  • Some groups like to have look-out people, particularly in areas where security guards may be on duty.

Note: Avoid taking (or posting online) photos of anyone actually doing the flyposting as it could be used as evidence in the future. Always obtain permission before taking a photo of someone.

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What materials do I need for fly-posting?

  • Buckets or large tubs (to carry the paste)
  • Bags (to carry everything without it being too obvious)
  • Posters
  • Poster paste - wallpaper paste is most durable but not environmentally friendly. To make flour paste: Check out this video
  • Brushes
  • Rollers / & pins

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Key tactics when flyposting:

  • Pick a few best locations to paint.
  • Pick some backup locations if you have to change plans.
  • Travel as light as possible.
  • Pick a meeting point and time, and communicate these via Signal or other encrypted chats the night before.
  • Use emergent strategy to move: avoid planning a travel route which could be snitched on (information leaked) or messed up by delays - instead, make the route up as you go along. Change location every 20-30min depending on how discreet your action is.
  • Always have a plan B.

What's a suitable target?

Remember, you don’t have to flypost; you can give posters away and put them up on school/university noticeboards, in windows of cafes and on flyer tables. People often like being given things and to have a chance to share their thoughts on the climate and ecological emergency- use any available opportunity for outreach.

General good targets:

  • Billboards or temporary walls
  • Public transport - trains, back of buses, bus stops and stations
  • Busy central areas in cities: town squares, statues, pedestrian areas
  • Universities, colleges, schools
  • Places with high pollution levels
  • Locations with iconic backdrops for dramatic/symbolic effect, e.g. Eiffel Tower or Government buildings in background
  • HQ’s of companies agreed as targets by XR strategy
  • Companies linked to fossil fuel industry and fracking e.g. HSBC, Barclays
  • On the floor in a place where lots of people get an aerial viewpoint e.g. a square surrounded by skyscrapers
  • Places people queue or areas of high footfall
  • Replacing ferry flags

Fly-posting Etiquette

DO target: derelict buildings, areas with existing fly-posting, electrical boxes, lamp posts, and ugly structures, temporary hoardings. Pick areas with high footfall.

DON’T target private property, institutions like schools, hospitals and police stations! Avoid pasting over someone else’s poster unless it’s out of date.

If you still need more guidance, check out this amazing website: Everything You Need to Know to Blanket the World in Posters

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