Social Media

Since the mainstream media refuse to cover the majority of our work, an important way we can share our message is through social media. This book contains everything you need to know about social media platforms and how to use them as an activist or a local group.

• Creating content for social media
• Making sure your posts are seen
• Links and short URL
• Moderation & Community Management
• Comment threads: how to engage with the public on social media
• Overview
• Strategy
• Personas & types of responses to the crisis
• Ideas & other training
• Self Care / Self Preservation
• Social media guides
• Twitter / X
• Facebook
• Facebook Events
• Instagram
• Business Suite for Facebook and Instagram

Creating content for social media

There are two things to consider when you start creating content for social media platforms: what you want to say and how you're going to say it.

Which can be translated into: text and image.

A platform like Instagram is based on visual content (photos & videos) whereas a platform like Twitter/X works with short texts in reaction to the current news.

The content you produce will be based on these specifications.

What to keep in mind

⭐ Instagram

• share up to 10 photos per post, preferably square (Instagram now accepts other sizes but all your photos should be the same size, otherwise they will be cropped automatically).
• create short videos called reels (you can edit them directly in the app, Instagram tends to give them more visibility than posts with one photo).
• use hashtags to categorise your content and help others find it
• links are not clickable: put them in your stories or use LinkTree in your profile.
• tag other accounts in your photos to grab their attention (but don't abuse it!) or create a collaborative post.

⭐ Facebook

• posts with multiple photos tend to work better than posts with only one photo.
• you can add links to your posts, but Facebook is not a fan as it wants you to stay on the platform.
• for the same reason: upload your videos directly to Facebook rather than putting a link to a Youtube video, for example.

⭐ Twitter / X

• you only get 280 characters to say what you want: make it short and to the point, or create a thread.
• add photos or videos to grab people's attention.
• you can tag other accounts to grab their attention: do it in the photos to avoid wasting precious characters (it's great to tag journalists if you got breaking news)
• use hashtags to categorise your content and help people come across your posts: pick one or two that are relevant to your post (try to use existing ones that people are already using)

Where to find ideas

If your local group or community group is quiet at the moment, you might not know what to post in order to keep your social media active.

The M&M Broadcast channel is where the XRUK social media team will share a round up of key posts. You can join it here.

You can post about previous actions - yours or from other groups (inspire your audience!); future events (including talks and training); share what other groups and allies are doing (always prioritise XR content, but once in a while it won't hurt to share non-XR content as well, it's all about finding a balance).

On Facebook and Twitter, you can share articles and react to them.

Keep up to date with what's happening in XR by following our broadcasts: you can share everything that's going on there on social media.

Get breaking news photos and videos from the Live Action Content Telegram. You will find great quality photos on pics.io. You can also check out this (archive) folder as it contains photos & videos that can be used on social media.

Reach & Interaction

Social media is all about REACH, meaning getting our ideas in front of as many people's eyes as possible. The key to increasing the reach with social media is INTERACTION with the posts:

• like (as well as Love, Laugh, Cry, Angry... on Facebook)
• comment
• share

The more people react to your posts, the more the algorithms will show your content to other people (it's a virtuous circle). It's also very helpful if you answer the comments others left you.

Try to post content regularly on the platforms you're using (regular content doesn't mean every day but following a rhythm, for example, twice a week). You can schedule posts in advance to save time.

Once in a while, check the insights of your account to note which posts seem to work best, so you can replicate the recipe (what type of content? what day did you post? at what time?).

💡 "insights" are statistics about your social media account (for example: number of followers, number of views on one post etc.)

If you're keen on creating graphics yourself to use on social media, here are a few resources that can help you out.

Graphics

The optimum graphics sizes to use on different platforms seem to change all the time - go to this website to view latest guidance - it is regularly updated by experts with the latest sizes to use for each platform.

Graphics Tools

The first thing to do is to check the design programme, download the fonts and familiarise yourself with the XR colours.

You can download XR assets and create basic XR graphics on Aktivisda.

If you're looking for software to edit images on your computer, Affinity Photos is a good alternative to Photoshop (it's not free but way cheaper, and it's very easy to use if you're used to Photoshop). GIMP is a free and open source software.

Making sure your posts are seen

We need to know how to boost our posts so they are seen by more people.

Boosting Posts

The algorithms on social media are such that the more popular posts appear higher up on the feeds. Thus, the more we interact with posts the more they are seen by people.

To intereact with a post, you can:

• like it (thumbs up)
• comment on it (write a short text underneath it: give your opinion, say what you liked about it etc.)
• share it (in a private message, on your own profile, etc.)

Directing posts at specific people, organisations or groups

When making or sharing posts, it is best to mention specific people and/or groups. This directs the post to those people as well as their followers. Otherwise a post you make is only seen by your friends or followers.

In general this is done by @-ing a person. This means putting the “@” in front of their username or handle.

Eg. if I want to direct a post at XRUK on twitter I would include @XRebellionUK.

Often when you first type the “@” symbol a drop down of popular accounts or friends will appear and as you type it will narrow down to the person you are aiming for.

You can tag a person in the text you're writing or in a photo (for Instagram and Twitter/X).

💡 HINT: keep a note of accounts you want to commonly “@” somewhere handy!

Using Hashtags

A “Hashtag” refers to the “#” symbol when used on social media. We have several hashtag such as #ExtinctionRebellion or #RebelForTruth.

Any phrase can be a hashtag is it starts with the “#” and has no spaces between the words. Often they will appear highlighted or in a different colour when typed correctly.

Trends (popular subjects) on social media will have one or more hashtags associated with them. This means you can use a hashtag to tag your own posts as being relevant to the trend. So instead of linking your post to the account @XRebellionUK you may instead what to include your post in the trend #ExtinctionRebellion or whatever hashtag is "trending" at the time (e.g. #climatecrisis or #wildfires or #floods).

Hashtags categorise content and help other people to find your posts. A common way to browse social media is to search for hashtags, so by tagging your posts with one of these trends you are adding your voice to it and your post will show up in the search.

💡 Don't invent hashtags as you might end up being the only person using it so no one will be able to find your content that way. Use the search before to find out what hashtags are being used on similar content.

💡 To make your hashtags easier to read, you can capitalise the first letter of each word. For example, instead of writing #betterwithoutbarclays, write #BetterWithoutBarclays. This also makes your social media posts more accessible, as capitalised hashtags can be read by screenreaders.

💡 Only use one or two hashtags on Twitter as you don't have much space to write, but you can go ahead and use 10-20 hashtags on Instagram (put them at the end of your text so they don't make it difficult to read).

Links and short URL

Short URL are very handy on social media since space can sometime come as a premium (especially on Twitter/X).

On Instagram, links posted are not clickable but you could use an easy-to-remember URL as an alternative, for example joinxr.uk/local to encourage people to join your local group.

How to create a short URL

You can use our in-house solution: https://xrb.link/ (you will need a Hub / Mattermost account to log in).

You can also use other online tools such as bit.ly or tiny.url.

Copy your long URL then paste it in the tool of your choice and convert it.

LinkTree

LinkTree is a great tool to add to your social media accounts.

A LinkTree is a link that will take people to a page you can personalise and that will contain all your important links (other social media accounts, website, on-going campaigns etc.)

An image tells a thousand words so check out this example.

Many Instagram accounts use it as an alternative to non-clickable links. They will create a post, and instead of writing something like "For more information, check this link" they will write "For more information, check the link in our bio / profile". And the link for the campaign they mentioned in their post will be linked in their LinkTree.

It's also a very convenient URL to put on your leaflets and posters.

Learn how to use LinkTree with this tutorial (6 min).

Moderation & Community Management

General Guidelines

Moderating entails keeping the comments on posts positive and constructive by answering the argumentative ones, hiding or deleting comments that are too bad or negative, and engaging with trolls or people being rude, to get them to follow the rules, or finally to ban them.

On our social media pages and accounts, we suggest that you moderate with a light touch generally, but harder if required - you could have a zero-tolerance approach to swearing to create an inclusive safe space for all and hide all comments that include swearing.

💡 Answering comments is great for building your community as social media platforms tend to show your posts to more people if they generate engagement (likes, comments, shares).

Debate and criticism of the movement is welcome both from the general public and from within, so don’t delete critical content. As social media accounts moderators, We attempt to maintain a regenerative space and do not believe in censorship as we learn and grow from debate, criticism and reflection.

You can hide comments that are rude, offensive or ad hominem attacks. You should ban anyone who makes abusive and rude remarks (i.e death threats, threats of harm to others etc), or anyone who spams the pages (continuously) with irrelevant links or material, or anyone obviously trolling.

What should we be saying to commenters?

Make short positive comments either in response to comments, or to start a conversation, or to explain something to someone.

For example, in response to someone saying they support XR, you could reply:

• ‘Thank you, are you involved in your local group?’ or:
• ‘Check out the map of local groups at joinxr.uk/local’ or:
• ‘Thanks for your support - it means so much!’ or:
• ‘Get involved here’ and link to the Action section of the website.

Negative comments can be either ignored or engaged with. They may be deleted later by a moderator if they are plainly rude or abusive, but comments critical of XR are not deleted if they can be explained or deflected.

Be careful when engaging with negative comments. Be polite, factual, brief, and importantly take care of yourself. If it doesn’t feel right or safe to answer then ask for support from someone else in your group, or ask for the group's wisdom.

For detailed guidance read this chapter: Comment threads: how to engage the public on social media

Facebook Groups

Facebook has built a set of tools to help admins and moderators of groups manage posts and members. We suggest that you set up some ground rules, as well as questions for people who'd like to join in (this is a good way to filter trolls out, especially if your group is a private one).

Suggested Group Rules

1. XR Principles: We strongly encourage group members to adhere to Extinction Rebellion’s (XR) core demands, and their principles and values (available at https://rebellion.earth and under the “who we are” link there).
2. Focus of group: This group is specifically for XR related news, actions events and solidarity shout outs, and to grow the XR community. It is not a space for general news, petitions and discussions. (this rule can be amended for whatever your group’s focus is).
3. No hate speech, shaming or bullying: Everyone is welcome. Bullying of any kind isn’t allowed. Antisemitic, derogatory and or undermining comments about race, ability, religion, background, culture, sexual orientation, gender, or identity will not be tolerated.
4. Extremism: The climate crisis is an existential threat so passion is to be expected, but XR will not tolerate extremist posts and are strictly non-violent.
5. Be kind and courteous: We’re all in this together to create a welcoming environment. Treat everyone with respect. Aggression of any kind will not be tolerated.
6. Language: This is a community space so swearing is discouraged in comments and disallowed in posts. The moderators reserve the right to delete content that transgresses this rule.
7. Privacy: Please respect every group member’s privacy. What is discussed between members in the group should remain in the group.
8. Responsibility for posts: XR [insert group name here] does not take responsibility for what group members post but will moderate according to these guidelines to the best of its ability.
9. No spam or self-promotion: Self-promotion, spam, and irrelevant links & other content are not allowed and may be deleted.
10. No Ad Hominem attacks: When discussing posts and comments, please focus on the facts of the argument you are making and not on the poster or commenters in a personal way.
11. Adherence to these rules: The admins and moderators reserve the right to delete content or remove people who breach any of the above rules.

Examples of group joining questions:

• Question 1: Will you abide by the group’s rules as laid out in the “rules” section?
• Question 2: Do you agree to abide by the demands and principles of Extinction Rebellion as laid out on their website?

Comment threads: how to engage with the public on social media

Commenting on social media requires patience and emotional control. You are not just replying to the person you are responding to. You should always keep in mind all the other people who are watching and learning from the interaction. It is an opportunity to educate and inform everyone who is reading the comments, not just the person that you are replying to.

Overview

Handbook Contents:

• Strategy
  • What are we commenting for?
  • Where are we commenting?
  • How should we go about it?
• Personas
  • People you may meet and people you may be
  • How people emotionally process the climate crisis
  • General Criticisms of XR, and possible responses
    • Negative comments on XR / rebels / Greta
    • People critiquing XR for excluding various groups
    • Comments on the climate emergency
    • Closing Remarks - Ending a Conversation
• Ideas and other training
  • Insights from Psychology
• Self-care or Self-preservation

Strategy

What are we commenting for?

Before typing, it can be helpful to think about what you are trying to achieve through engaging in conversation online. There are different types of conversations to be had, and different ways in which these can contribute to the overall aims of the movement. Here are a couple (although there will be others):

• Telling the truth. This is core to both XR and the purpose of this group. While a single comment might not result in someone who isn’t facing up to the climate emergency doing an instant u-turn, it may chip away at these views. Perhaps more importantly is the effect it could have on others viewing the conversation.

• Amplifying action-specific messages. If people are discussing an action and its effects, if at all possible, we can try to bring the conversation around to the intended message of the action.

• Explaining and defending the movement itself. XR does not need everyone to agree with our tactics - previous successful social movements have attracted criticism. However, if we alienate too many people, this could undermine our message so it is worth listening to people’s concerns and explaining the reasoning behind our actions.

Where are we commenting?

To actively look for people on social media to respond to, you can search for Extinction Rebellion or #ExtinctionRebellion on social media. If there are action-specific hashtags (eg #ChangeIsNow #MakeHistory #CitizensAssembliesNow) search for these. On X (Twitter) some people mis-spell rebellion with one ‘l’ (i.e. #extinctionrebelion) so try this too.

You can also create new social media content. However, the focus of this guide is largely on responding to existing comments as this is a way of engaging with people who are already discussing climate change and XR.

The comments sections of newspapers are also very important for Rebel Responders Online Outreach. These can have a lot of comments and very large numbers of people reading them. Sometimes comments are very negative - especially in articles about disruptive XR actions - and a few positive comments can really change the overall feel of a thread.

For news articles, you can search for ‘extinction rebellion’ in google news or in any news site's search.

Personal vs Official Social Media Accounts

Most people involved in Rebel Responders are using their personal social media accounts. There are of course ‘official’ XR accounts for geographical areas and interest groups. But the intended audience for this guidance document is people who want to help the movement using online engagement without necessarily having an organising role. Often it is a way of contributing to actions for people who would love to attend but can’t. If you are speaking on behalf of XR, using an official account, it’s important to be respectful to the range of views; but when responding as an individual we can be more personal and only have to represent ourselves.

XR news on Facebook

New Outlets As XR activists take action they’ll get featured in local and national media. Many outlets have a Facebook page where they post their stories. These attract comments we can engage with.

Ads When XR use Facebook ads people can, and will comment. These ads are reaching a large audience, so adding positive comments is really useful if you see XR ads.

Local Media Finding who your local media are can be exhausting and frustrating, but local newspapers are still a good place to start as they will have a web presence.

Local Media Works is a good UK wide directory that will give you the names and contact details for local newspapers; you can use this to search for on-line versions of the same.

Public Interest News lets you search using a map that also includes some local radio.

The BBC Directory of Partners Is another list of local news organisations with links to BBC news.

How should we go about responding to comments?

Social media does not always bring out the best in us. Don’t lose your cool, we are not necessarily aiming to win the argument, we want to win the person. Social media is usually not a private conversation so what really matters is how XR supporters come over to all the people reading the thread later on.

Take a breath. Take three breaths. Walk the dog. Then respond with truth and respect even if the other person shows none. Surprise people with stories, wit and charm. Nobody ever changed their mind because of a Facebook response from a stranger beginning “Well, actually…” -- remember that people operating with incorrect information are victims of media gaslighting. We’ve provided some ideas and information below, but don’t just cut and paste things, speak truthfully in your own voice. Listen to the story of the other person, if possible, and find points of agreement.

If you are very new to XR, please read key parts of the website, including the demands and our Principles and Values. Try putting these into practice, for example thinking of: ‘We welcome everyone and every part of everyone’. Speaking from personal experience and showing the different backgrounds and stories of those involved might be as important as the discussion itself. The climate crisis is an issue for every single person on Earth and no individual is responsible for it.

Engage with people

Be friendly, polite, and witty. This is important for everything else to work. Having a curious and open attitude are key. Genuinely listening to people and their concerns about change with curiosity is helpful. People find it hard to accept change about things that are widely accepted to be harmful even when misinformation is not a widespread issue (think smoking in western countries) let alone an issue where ignorance, fear and misinformation from key figures are widespread. It also can help you to empathise with them.

Listen

Genuinely listening means holding space. It means not formulating a response until the person has said what they need to say, then deciding how to respond when they are done. Open questions such as 'what is important right now?' 'how should these issues be addressed?' 'how can the way we address things improve?' (you never know, you may come across some helpful ideas)

Be reflective

Acknowledge that this is a difficult reality to face for a lot of people. Simple reflection involves stating a person's concerns back to them e.g. Them: What is the point? You: 'you don't believe we can address this?'.

Click to see more examples...

More complex would be:
E.g. You are concerned that we're in a situation that we cannot deal with for our future so would rather focus on what is important here and now

The point is to infer the rest - they will let you know if you are mistaken, but if you're right they will carry on the conversation.

Educate but don't keep trying to force people to accept your reasons for change

Plenty of people know smoking can be harmful to their health, but if you keep telling them why they should quit they will automatically take the other side of why they should/want to keep doing it/can't stop unless they are already motivated to make changes (however they are most likely ambivalent about this because they're not sure how). Same with engaging with climate activism (and that involves many changes at individual and system levels), not just one by an individual).

What could this conversation look like?

It can be better to ask 'what positive social changes would you like to see', 'if we were to have a magic wand which addressed these issues what changes would have happened, in your view', ask for an elaboration.

Whatever changes they suggest, try to link what they want to XR demands or any current campaigns/training/events we have. e.g. 'politicians are rubbish' might lead to talking about Citizens' Assemblies. Or 'my river is polluted' might lead to joining the Restore Nature Now event, or highlighting the work of Dirty Water campaign. Even if you can't link to something specific, then acknowledge their concerns and leave room for more discussion about taking action in some way. Not everyone is ready or motivated, but you've opened that door to further engagement. And you have hopefully had a positive conversation in what might be a very negative environment.

We have some ideas of what can make change difficult so use that. Ask the person, what they feel are the 2 most difficult obstacles then say something like 'you want to see positive change happening in xyz area and ABC makes that tricky' (do not use the word "but" in place of "and", as people will not listen to anything before that word). A "pros and cons" list of change can be helpful to acknowledge ambivalence (but not too long!). Then ask for a bit more elaboration on what desired change looks like.

Even if they say 'xyz makes it difficult', they're imagining it. Ask them what would help. Gain permission before you provide any suggestions and find out what, if anything they know about your suggestion before elaborating on it.
E.g. can I make a suggestion about what might help?
Them: okay.
You: The UK has a lot of wind power available, which you might have heard about before. Can I ask what you might have heard about this before
Them: rattle it off
You: Fill in gaps, address misinformation etc

Then you, this is what we would like to achieve with our movement. Would you like to ask me any questions about this and what we do/why we do it this way?

This is a more digestible and collaborative way to share information

Ask people what they value

Most people value their security, family, ambitions etc. Then link what you are aiming for to those values. Also talk about what XR values to build their empathy towards you, e.g. a safer and healthier future for everyone, particularly younger generations.

Also ask if they prefer subsidies going to fossil fuels or building more sustainable infrastructure for example. Most people want that. Building empathy for others including younger people may also help. Remember to show that you are concerned for everyone's welfare including theirs and that we are open to doing things better to achieve change. Remind people of what we want to achieve. Sometimes people will not want to listen though and it can help to check in with yourself to be able to sustain efforts.

Example from Apple training

Apple stores have scary training on how to deal with customers, but a really important bit is about empathy. For example;

Customer: This Mac is just too expensive.
Apple store staff member: I can see how you'd feel this way. I felt the price was a little high, but I found it's a real value because of all the built-in software and capabilities.

Some key reminders

Invalidating someone’s feelings and experience means they won’t listen to anything you say. They may have badly incorrect information but there’s a lot of it out there and we can help with that, if we show respect and empathy even for people with very toxic views. Don’t give people the argument they want.

Don’t insult people even if they are very very wrong or mean. Don’t always feel the need to reply, trolls are in this for fun - often responding to a troll with a reasonable comment and then not engaging in an argument will look excellent in the eyes of other people reading your interactions.

Sometimes it might be easier to link to a blog or youtube video and say “this explains it much better than I can”.

Note for XR social media moderators

While this chapter is aimed at people commenting, and responding to comments on any platform, some of those platforms are ones where XR has moderation powers.

When in doubt, just follow the guidelines in this doc. As moderators we often have to distance ourselves from our personal opinions and in a way totally ignore the topic itself to just focus on whether or not the "rules" are being followed. So even if you don’t like someone’s comment or the way a thread is developing, if it doesn’t violate our guidelines, just let it be.

Personas & types of responses to the crisis

People you may meet online

No two people are the same, but we can define broad groups of people who comment negatively about XR on social media, and look at their motivations so we can best deal with each in a positive and productive way.

• Edgelord. Contrary people, troublemakers, winders uppers. Their ambition is to provoke reaction. This person uses both sides' talking points. Debating an Edgelord seems pointless BUT it’s still worth keeping them busy. Time spent arguing means no harm elsewhere. Ideally via direct message to keep toxic discussion away from everyone else.

• Tabloid Talking-Point Talker. This person is absorbed in talking points against XR or climate change. It’s easy to get sucked into an argument throwing cliches at each other. Surprise them: listen. Ask questions about why they feel the way they do instead of trying to win logically. Nobody (except maybe a well trained scientist) ever changed their mind because of a logical argument. Find common points and be sympathetic to their concerns. They may be a future ally.

• Hypocrite Hunter. This person will find a way in which the environmentalist is flawed and use that as an excuse to dismiss their message. This may well be a sign of an underlying sense of shame or guilt. They find flaws in the halos of people taking action to excuse themselves for doing nothing.

• Nihilist / Climate black-pilled. This person is dealing with the truth about the climate crisis with fatalism. They ask why bother, it’s too late already what about CHINA? And is humanity dying out even such a bad thing?

Click to read a rebel's experience...

I felt like this until seeing XR actually start to shift public opinion. 100 years ago women couldn’t vote and “right thinking” people thought that was a good thing. There’s still a huge range of possible futures, and it’s worth fighting now to avoid the worst case scenarios. We can slow the speed at which the ship is sinking and buy future generations time to act.
If you don’t like what humans are doing, hopefully we can agree that it’s still not good for billions to have their lives cut short by war or food or water shortages.

• The Keyboard Warrior. This person is on a mission to discredit XR or climate change science. They cut-paste the same long statement again in many threads. They might even be, in rare cases, paid opposition. They are not worth engaging directly, but may give an opportunity for XR members to look good in responding. Remember that you are not just responding to the comment but for the benefit of other people reading the thread.

• Single Issue Soldier. This person only cares about one thread of the broad climate and environmental issues and want XR to focus on that over everything else. They are tricky as they are potential allies but need to respect XR’s mission and principles. Examples of issues on which these individuals may focus are: chem Trails, 5G rollout, animal rights, over-population or conspiracy theories.

• The Contrarian. This person has a knee-jerk disbelief in climate science because it is becoming accepted by the mainstream. This person is similar to the Tabloid Talking Point person, however they are unlikely to be convinced by quoting facts and figures. It may be useful to others watching to counter their misinformation, but resist getting sucked in.

• Concerned Citizen. This person has honest questions or concerns about how XR operates. Very much a possible future ally or even activist if handled well. XR is still a relatively new movement and many people still haven’t made up their minds what to make of it.

How people emotionally process the climate crisis

In many ways the way people react to the crisis are similar to how people cope with change or grief. Realising this can help you have empathy (understanding how they feel) and compassion (wanting to help them with their suffering) for some of the toxic ways people talk to and about us. These help explain some of the personas described above.

• Denial - it’s comforting to decide it’s not real and so no change is required.

• Anger - blame the messenger and other countries (what about CHIIIINA?)

• Bargaining - technology will fix things, I don’t need to change or worry

• Despair - it’s already too late so there’s no point caring about it or changing

When dealing with toxic people you can try to think more like a grief counsellor than a preacher. Nobody enjoys being told they are part of the problem and need to change.

There’s lots of articles online about grief [1, 2] and dealing with change in business [1, 2]- you may get inspiration from them.

General Criticisms of XR and possible responses

Here's a bunch of things people commonly say and some ideas for coping with each. Responding with personal experience can be helpful too e.g. your own motivations for taking part in XR or your personal fears about the future that aren’t listed here.

Please don’t feel constrained by what’s suggested below - they are just ideas and things that have worked for other rebels.

Overall one of the most powerful responses to “I don’t agree with your methods” or “you are all hypocrites” is to ask for advice. “What would you do differently” can seriously change a conversation thread for the better, and to see things from our perspective without feeling attacked. It can be a way to explain citizen’s assemblies and sometimes we might even get new ideas!

Most importantly, please don’t cut and paste the same response again and again into social media as it makes us look bad and makes you look like the troll.

Negative comments on XR / Rebels / Greta

This section gathers together some ideas for resonding to regular negative comments. As ever, never copy and paste.

Unwashed hippies...

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We're all sorts of people - including scruffy anarchists. but we're also:<BR> XR Grandparents: https://www.facebook.com/XRGrandparents<BR> XR Youth: https://www.facebook.com/XRYouth/<BR> XR Doctors: https://www.doctorsforxr.com/<BR> XR Lawyers: https://www.lawyersforxr.com/<BR> XR Farmers: https://twitter.com/XRFarmers<BR> XR Jews: https://www.xrjews.org.uk/<BR> XR Buddhists: http://xrbuddhists.com/

Some of us dress smart, some dress “scruffy”, some turn up in scrubs, some in costumes. Some work flexible hours, some are unemployed, some use their annual leave to be able to come.

We’re a real mixed bag!

We really do have plenty of alternative looking people which isn't always good optics, but they are the most visible and keen.

Don’t judge a book by its cover

You want people to ignore the demand for a future in which people and other life on Earth can survive because you don’t like the outfits of some of the people in a protest?

Sure, there’s a few hippy types, but there’s also a surprising number of scientists and doctors.

Can you tell which of those hippies is the surgeon, ex-policeman, head-teacher, psychologist, mother, designer, musician, nurse, engineer, lorry driver, scientist?

---

Jobless...

---

Use feal life examples of people who you know have used up lots of their annual leave to come to actions and protests.

I have a good job doing XYZ.

Many of the XR supporters work, either part-time or full-time, donating their spare time to help raise awareness and engage with people

Sure there are homeless and jobless people in XR, but there’s also lawyers, doctors, plumbers and single mums. Most of the people at the protest are using up their leave instead of having a holiday.

Use this as an excuse to tell something about the humans of XR; "That’s what I thought initially, but it turns out lots of members are parents and Grandparents. I met one couple who’d just had their first baby and they told me that it was the moment that they realised they really wanted grandchildren that they felt they had to take things seriously and make sure those future grandchildren had a good world to be born into."

Many people in XR are employed full time, they’re using their annual leave to fight for a cause they believe in. (Almost) everyone in the UK is entitled to paid time off, what we do with it is up to us.

XR is broadly a cross-section of pretty much any community; a mix of professions and trades, and of course some people may not currently be employed. Everyone volunteers their time to support XR, a cause that they believe in.

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You're all naive unrealistic kids -- people saying the XR approach won't work

It's easy to show it does BUT...

It's better to treat these comments in good faith and ask them for suggestions, as they implicitly are agreeing with the problem existing but not the solution

There have been many experiments conducted with regards to social norms, and people sitting down and standing up - its about people’s perceptions of what is normal.

Things start small and grow. The climate strikes started with one teenage girl bunking off school on Fridays because she took her future seriously… now we’re seeing millions of people getting involved world wide.

Send them a link to this lovely video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ

150 years ago it would have been hard to imagine women, in the UK, getting the vote.

It’s already working, massive changes have happened since XR was formed in 2018!

Despite people saying it wouldn’t: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/19/extinction-rebellion-climate-change-protests-london

XR are kids

Young people have got the most to lose, but they're supported by middle aged peeps too and there's plenty of retired people lending a hand too

Young people today are constantly told to get off their phones, get involved in the world - do something. This is them doing something.

Many retired people at our protests who want to do right by their grandchildren.

XR are a minority trying to bully the majority

There isn’t a clear binary between people who are concerned about the climate emergency and those who are not so it might be best to try and shift the debate from ‘majority’ vs ‘minority’ framings. (Polls show that a majority of people in the UK believe that we are in a climate emergency AND that a majority believe the government is not doing enough about it (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/18/climate-crisis-seen-as-most-important-issue-by-public-poll-shows). So you could technically claim that we are representing the majority! But it is unlikely most people are as far along in their journey of accepting the climate emergency as XR members.)

This isn’t ideological. This isn’t about religion or beliefs or preference. It’s about self survival. We need to acknowledge the crisis we’re in and work together to make solutions. That will take everybody.

It's OK to shout fire in a crowded theatre if you notice the theatre is currently on fire!

We’re trying to get the government to understand how serious the situation is, and trying to propose ways for the citizens to have more influence over the political class rather than less.

Greta Thunberg is not neurotypical and therefore mentally ill and nobody should listen to what she says. Also she's being controlled by adults

Many influential thinkers are “on the spectrum”, people with aspergers react differently to information. Sometimes our world can overload them because they find it harder to filter, but it’s not an illness, it’s more like a different computer operating system that has strengths and weaknesses.

Her message is simple “Listen to the overwhelming and urgent scientific consensus before it’s too late”? Which sounds more sane that most politicians.

XR are anarchists

XR isn't an anarchist movement, but they do aim to disrupt our way of life. To change our system of politics with the introduction of Citizens Assemblies and to change our economy by investing in technology of the future, not the past.

XR are criminals

Breaking the law isn’t always amoral - unless perhaps it is our own government not adhering to their own laws, such as being accused by the High Court of failing to implement its own commitments of their own Climate Change Act and have systematically broken laws on air pollution limits.

So were the suffragettes/Rosa Parks/Gandhi, whom history now exhaults as heroes and role models of civil disobedience movements

• All initiated successful non violent protests
• However, be careful as from some people’s perspective they were fighting for their own rights which is slightly different.
• If appropriate, it may be worth pointing out that we are fighting for our rights of survival with the weight of science behind us.
  

Sadly, breaking the rules is sometimes the only way to get people to pay attention.

Many XR campaigners have tried legal methods such as writing to MPs, ‘awareness raising’, changing our own consumer behaviour, demonstrating, etc. Traditional approaches haven't worked.

The climate is already changing rapidly. Radical action, including peacefully breaking the law, is a proportionate response to the climate emergency. Civil disobedience forces lawmakers to into a difficult dilemma of choosing crackdown, or addressing the issues most of us are concerned about. This is what we are trying to achieve.

XR cost the taxpayer/economy money

This is true, but the costs of not preparing and mitigating for climate change will be staggering, so it’s an investment that will pay off.

Do you know we already have climate refugees in the UK? Fairbourne in Wales are the first 1,000 whose village is now decommissioned. This story is set to be repeated.

We are already seeing millions displaced around the world, most recently in Pakistan. The UK is contributing to global funds in an attempt to help the global south mitigate impacts, because the Government knows climate migrants will come here, costing taxpayers more in the long run.

XR are dumb people

XR have a huge mixture of people from kids to people in their 80s and even older. More importantly, many are engineers, doctors and scientists, social workers, lawyers, even ex-police officers. There’s also a lot of parents who believe what the science suggests is likely to happen if we don’t change how we do things. If you are talking about our methods, that’s something else…

XR are hypocrites because flying/train/car/water bottles/meat

You're right. It's really tough. Personally I've been trying to shift to one or two animal-product-free days a week. That way I don't need to worry about it so much. I'm trying to think about red meat as a treat not a basic. Individual actions don't matter BUT it's valuable to act like you take it seriously.

Trying to use the phrase "animal-free diet" or similar as I find many people (me included) have had very negative experiences in the past with aggressively evangelical vegans.

It says a lot about the day and age that we live in, that we feel like we cannot go without cars - this is partially because our public transport is not good enough to support the population, and partly because a lot of adults living now, do not remember what it was like before cars became commonly affordable and we are lazy. Overall though, it’s about balance and reducing as much as possible. The benefits of getting a bike and using it are phenomenal. Walking the kids to school may take longer but it's healthier both for the adults and the children.

None of us are perfect, but I don’t know anyone in XR who isn’t trying to do better. Sadly, the society we live in forces impossible choices, which is why we need things to shift on a bigger scale. We can only do so much as individuals…

Most people have already made the individual changes they're able to - within their financial and social means. We've been making individual change for 30 years, but the government and big business haven't been pulling their weight. It's too easy for a government to set far off targets for another government to actually deal with, and that's all they've been doing.

I know climate change is important but … XR have caused me to be late for work

First empathise rather than trivialise: I’m sorry to hear that. None of us take the disruption we cause lightly.

Our choice of methods is based on academic research showing how effective non-violent direct action has been in the past. The US civil rights movement, Gandhi’s non violence, suffragettes…

• Why Civil Resistance Works
• The Future of Nonviolent Resistance
  

XR has come about after decades of scientists and campaigners raising concerns about the effects of human activity on the climate. The legal, not-disruptive methods haven’t worked so it is time for more radical activism (this is also a good time to point out if you’ve personally taken part in legal environmental activism).

XR Drink/Smoke/Do Drugs

XR is staunchly drug and alcohol free at their protests. That doesn't mean none of us drink or smoke, but it's strongly discouraged during actions. That also doesn't mean that people (Whether involved in XR or not) don't disregard that view. But for the most part, it's a pretty sober place.

I know climate change is important but … what about if an ambulance can’t get through. Someone could die!

When planning road blockades, making sure emergency services can get through is always part of the process; this is our “blue light” process.

It might seem surprising but we liaise with the police and other emergency services, both before and during actions, to try to make them as safe as possible.

A lot of planning and careful thought generally goes into choosing appropriate sites and making the whole action as safe as possible for ourselves and the public.

We are fully committed to being a non-violent movement. The aim is to be disruptive, not to cause anyone to get hurt.

I’ve been campaigning for years and non-violence doesn’t work. We’ve got to take on the state and the police and smash the system. Fighting is the only way to get change - look at the French yellow jackets.

XR is committed to non-violent actions. Engaging in violence will simply alienate the general public and undermine the cause and the message. That tactic has been proven in research to be less successful than nonviolent direct action movements.

We are an inclusive organisation. We have people who are young, old and disabled. Violent action is off-putting to more vulnerable groups.

A core principle is to work with the police to ensure everyone’s safety, whilst recognising that they are employed to maintain the status quo., and that not all people get the same treatment by police. The police do not need a reason to not follow procedure and giving them an excuse to be heavy handed helps none of us.

There are many other examples in history of non-violent protest being successful (suffragettes, etc). The key to this is having the numbers to support the movement. Small protest groups can be dealt with harshly, and with few repercussions. Large groups of protesters, drawn from all aspects of society, protesting non-violently makes it harder for that to happen as there is far more accountability.

By communicating clearly and non-violently, our message is easier to hear and respect, and is consequently spread further. We aim to build a mass movement, not to alienate unnecessarily. This is how movements become successful, by demonstrating we have the moral high ground. The government’s own Office of National Statistics says two thirds of adults in the UK already are concerned about climate change; we need them to become activists too to change the system.

It’s a zombie death cult and everyone’s brain-washed

XR is constituted from people of all different backgrounds and beliefs, including doctors, scientists, lawyers, and a variety of religious groups. What we have in common is our desire to try to focus the Government on taking the climate crisis seriously and setting up a Citizen’s Assembly. There are many things that we’d all disagree on amongst ourselves, but that’s the point of the Citizen’s Assembly, a truer form of Democracy that allows us to discuss, learn and decide on actions and policies. Everyone is free to express their opinions as long as it’s done with respect.

People critiquing XR for excluding various groups

When we see the movement we believe in so much being criticised, it can be tempting to run in to defend it. Hold back though. If someone feels XR is racist, ableist, foregrounding middle class people, etc., even the most carefully worded defence is likely to come across as just not listening. There is a good chance that if you immediately go into defence mode, you also actually aren’t really listening to what is being said! Some rebels use the acronym ‘WAIT’ which stands for ‘Why Am I Talking?’ to encourage this pause in action, especially when it comes to historically privileged groups contributing to debates involving less privileged groups. We are all learning as we go and the best thing sometimes is just to take in a critique and mull over it.

If, after some thought, you decide this is a conversation you can meaningfully add to without detracting from anyone else, here are some ideas on things to say.

• I'm really sorry if you feel excluded or that XR isn't in your corner. We're made up of a really mixed group of people - from the working class to the elite and everyone from single parents to university professors. We know we can always do better as we are fighting to get those in power to change and sometimes don’t get messages right. We are learning though. We know that individuals have done as much as they can do within their means, but it's time for those in power to use that power for the good of all of us.
• It's true that many people are less able to participate because they lack the resources or the time to do so, or are not able to take the risks that white, middle class British citizens can, because of the discrimination they face. are more privileged than others. We recognize that and we are working to make sure that our actions and demands are more inclusive of those who face exclusion. We work alongside other action groups, because we understand the need to support each other in shared goals of ending the oppression of too many people right here in the UK.
• XR’s lack of diversity stems from the toxicity of the system as a whole (marginalised groups can be too constrained by their immediate difficulties to have resources to protest about the future). We are sincerely trying to recognise where XR reproduces that toxicity, and change by working to include more diverse populations and work alongside other movements, where we share goals.

Comments on the climate emergency

As well as the suggestions below, there are also some very thorough responses to common climate denier arguments in this article: How to Talk to a Climate Skeptic: Responses to the most common skeptical arguments on global warming.

Overpopulation is the problem we just need to fix that

Wealthy people in the North part of the planet have a much much higher carbon footprint than people in poorer countries. The issue is about how much consumption each person has and how much of it leads to emissions. The top 1% have a carbon footprint double the size of the poorer 50% of the world.

This is a problem, and it does need addressing, but without putting a limit on the number of children that people are allowed, or ending up with a society like that in Logan’s Run, or the planet causing a mass extinction (which we are already experiencing, if not an instantaneous extinction), or pandemic of some description, there is no EASY answer to this question. It does however, raise more questions that we should be asking each other about the kind of future that we want to create and live in!

Overpopulation is a big issue - but it’s an issue based on our ability to provide for that population - XR is fighting for sustainability, and a sustainable world will include addressing overpopulation.

Be careful entering into debates about overpopulation. This is the only major environmental issue in which it is possible to blame the world’s poorest people (see this article). So when people claim it is the ‘most important’ issue, on some level (maybe not consciously) they are using this to refuse to engage with the fact that it is the wealthy, over-consuming parts of the world and our ineffective governments that have got us into this mess.

Providing education is the best way to lower birth rates

China (or China & India) is so big and polluting that nothing we do matters.

“I found out recently that Chinese citizens are much less polluting than us, a lot of the pollution in China is to make products for export to the UK and other developed countries, so we’re outsourcing our own pollution”

“I used to think that too, but apparently China is embarrassing us in terms of tree-planting, which is one of the most effective measures of dealing with climate change. China is moving into renewable energy faster than many European countries."

The Chinese love their grandchildren just as much as we do, they are starting to take this seriously, and we have to too.

XR India exists & XR Hong Kong exists - so we work here where we can realistically make a difference and leave it up to our fellow activists abroad to do the same.

Here’s a video about the global climate strike from India

India and China run thousands of factories making things for us, here in the UK. The emissions produced by those factories are done in our name - so we own a share of them too.

There are high levels of awareness of the climate emergency in most Asian countries. People living in poorer countries are most at risk of the effects of the climate emergency and also want their governments to act. Some are even taking great risks to take part in protests.

We're just a small country so nothing we do matters

We lead by example (appeal to national pride -- UK has a history as a world leader in policy)

Our consumption is an issue that makes us complicit for much of the far East’s pollution

We are a small country, but nobody else is going to get our house in order for us. Let’s do our bit, and lead by example.

As one of the main countries (arguably the country) that started the industrial revolution which was of course fueled by coal, we have a responsibility to also lead the rapid shift away from this type of economy. UK historical emissions per person are among the top 5 countries in the world.

The USA is so polluting that nothing we do will matter.

See the previous 2 talking points!

XR USA are out in the streets today too!

It's too late and we're already f----ed so just enjoy your life

INSERT A BUGS LIFE clip/quote/synopsis (about how a colony of ants and some circus bugs can defeat the bigger mean grasshoppers - moral of the story being about being small and coming together and working together) The good news is that there’s no scientific consensus on it being “too late” - though we are “likely” to need to radically adapt as an entire species, especially in the global South.

There’s a concept called “Deep adaptation” (see Jem Bendall / Ruper Read’s writing) that is a key focus of some people in Extinction Rebellion; not just mitigating harm but also supporting us to prepare for Deep adaptation; another way in which our government, most media and business is currently failing to tell the truth.

Our actions today will still have a vast impact, and we just don’t know exactly how much power we have to mitigate harm, so instead of just sitting on the Internet arguing with you, I’m going to do everything I can - so I can tell my grandkids I tried my best!

Many of us have children and grandchildren, and that changes the perspective many of us have. Yes, the situation may look hopeless, but knowing that our kith and kin might have more of a chance of a better life as a result of our actions today makes it worth trying.

Climate change is a scam/false

This resource is excellent for countering arguments, but remember someone spouting them is probably using them as an excuse for doing nothing, so arguing facts probably won't change their behaviour.

Rather than argue with a conspiracy theorist, I usually talk to them about mass extinction which is undeniable and clearly man made -- and saving animals from habitat loss is still important enough that I’d rather they raged against that than at climate protesters

I wish you were right but apparently 97% of people who have specialised in this area of research agree that climate change is real AND caused by humans. This video covers a lot of points a lot better than I can here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hCRafyV0zI

We’ve already passed peak oil, so we need to adapt to other sources of power anyway. Even if it turns out to be false, the actions we are campaigning for would make the world a better, healthier and more sustainable place for our children to grow up in.

Using the fact that the climate has changed in the past to debunk human caused climate change isn't terribly useful to anyone.
The earth has been hotter than it is today, and it has been cooler. It's never changed between them as quickly as it has since the industrial revolution, however.
But regardless of what the planet does normally, humans can't survive in those conditions. That's all that really matters.
XKCD have a pretty good visualisation of the temperature changes since the last ice age, and why today’s changes are different. (It's also worth understanding that in the context of the climate "warming" means an increase of energy, in the scientific sense - so there's more energy bouncing around creating hotter hots, colder colds and faster transitions between them).
A word of caution, some have said that the flaw in the XKCD comic is that most of the data is extrapolated from indirect evidence so it’s possible there were sudden peaks and dips and we’re just seeing a smoothed out line.

1m sea level rise isn't that much

Yes, but that's every high tide being a meter higher. Every storm surge being a meter higher.

Speaking very roughly a 1m sea level rise means floods that would happen every 100 years start happening every 10 years and floods that would happen ever 10 years start happening most years.

Parliament Square is only about 5m above average sea level. A bad storm at high tide and then the Thames barrier is all that’s stopping London being flooded like New Orleans.

The UK is a friggin ISLAND for fucks sake - you don’t have to be a genius to work out it will affect us (insert disaster movie clip that illustrates point?)

The country of Kiribati has already lost a few islands and is purchasing land on Fiji preparing for losing the rest of their land to climate change. Rising sea levels are already impacting entire populations today, and they’ll be on your doorstep soon too.

I'll be dead before it matters, and I don't have kids

Great. Extinction Rebellion is your worst enemy. We’re here for the people who care about future generations, and will only be an endless torment for those who are interested solely in their own selfish gain at others’ expense.

You may not be dead before this happens at the rate things are going currently.

You may not have kids, but plenty of other people do - do you really want to be held partially responsible for the death of many others?

If there is nothing or nobody else that you care about then that’s fine, but many of us do, and we will continue to campaign to try to reduce the impact on future generations.

I would bet that you still care about other people. People in your life who are younger than you. And maybe even people you don’t know, just because they’re human beings too. Don’t you? (or something like that - appeal to the good in them)

If someone is creative or cares about creative culture, then they might care that 1000 years from now nobody will be left to appreciate Shakespeare, Motorhead, Yeats or Batman.

X isn't the problem, you should focus on Y (eg 5g, chemtrails etc)

XR are not about individual problems, we're about putting pressure on governments, and other organisations that dominate our lives, to act appropriately to the scale of the crisis.

XR doesn’t state that it has all the answers, just that we need to be able to believe that the Government is serious about listening to scientists and implementing the courses of action that need to be taken.

Flying isn't that big a deal as a %age of the problem

But worldwide plans are to massively increase air traffic.

It’s massively increased in recent years, so reducing to say 1990 levels isn’t an unreasonable ask. People now commute by air.

COVID has caused a change in our culture’s acceptance of teleconferencing, and it’s reasonable to think those tools will get even better with mass uptake, so many flights for just working in an office or having meetings are no longer very useful.

Taxing flights is bad as it penalises the poor more and stops people getting the benefits of seeing other cultures

Quotas would work better. So you can get say a flight every 2 years at normal prices, but anything more than that (including for work) is punitively taxed, like we do for having a 2nd home.

Common questions

Check out this document to see a list of Frequently Asked Questions and how to answer them.

Closing Remarks - Ending a Conversation

Sometimes you need to bring a conversation to a close, perhaps because the person/people you’re talking to are repeating the same message - or possibly because you’ve run out of time and need to excuse yourself. Here's some inspiration on how you can do that:

"I've shared my view on SOME TOPIC and I've heard yours. We disagree on the importance of them in the context of the climate emergency but I don't feel I have anything more to contribute on that topic which is relevant to this thread. Thank you for the discussion, THEIR NAME, and for your time.
I’ve really enjoyed talking to you about this, I’m afraid I need to go offline to get to work - but thank you for your time."

Ideas & other training

• How to do Digital Outreach and Troll Patrol Web site, XR Scotland
  
  

• The Nervous Rebel’s Guide to Social Media Document XR Scotland
  
  

• Social Media Trolls: A Practical Guide for Dealing With Impossible People
  
  

• Campaigners create Twitter 'fact avalanche' to combat climate untruths
  
  

• Do not feed the climate trolls - Article from ScienceAlert.com about how they deal with Climate Trolls.
  
  

• Message to White Allies from A Black Anti-Racism Expert: You’re Doing It Wrong- this is about Black Lives Matter, but the principles are still useful
  
  

• You’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you- excellent article about how humans react to information that does not fit their world view.
  
  

Insights from Psychology

The Conditions Required for Successful Persuasion

According to research by Cialdini, Petty, & Cacioppo (1981) persuasion works best differently in two different conditions:

• When the information feels highly relevant to the person being persuaded: quality of the argument is a key factor (central route)
• the information feels less relevant to the person being persuaded: expertise of the speaker is a key factor (peripheral route)

Attitude changes from the former route are more likely to be enduring and predictive of later behaviour. They concluded that one consequence of the different routes to persuasion was that changes induced via the central route tended to be enduring and predictive of subsequent behavior.

• Further elaboration on central/peripheral route,John T. Cacioppo and Richard E. Petty (1984) ,"The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 11, eds. Thomas C. Kinnear, Provo, UT : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 673-675.

Mood & Persuasion

Bless et al. (1990) found that:

people in good moods are less likely to use the ‘central route’ that focuses on argument quality, whereas people in bad moods are more willing to ‘elaborate’ - i.e. think through and evaluate argument quality i.e. are more likely to use the ‘central route’ that leads to enduring attitude change - IF you can persuade them!

Bless, H., Bohner, G., Schwarz, N., & Strack, F. (1990). Mood and persuasion: A cognitive response analysis. Personality and social psychology bulletin, 16(2), 331-345.

How do these 'routes' work

The final article (Chaiken, 1980) is a really in-depth document that explains how the two ‘routes’ work (referred to in the paper as systematic and heuristic processing. Heuristics refer to the idea of using ‘rules of thumb’, so this is the peripheral route and systematic = central). It’s worth reading if you want to understand these concepts better, but to fully understand it requires a working knowledge of ANOVA stats methodology.

The key finding is as follows: ‘In the first study, high consequences subjects exhibited significantly greater initial opinion change in response to messages containing six arguments but were unaffected by the communicator's likability. Conversely, low consequences subjects exhibited significantly greater opinion change in response to the likable communicator but were unaffected by the amount of argumentation provided.

In Experiment 2, subjects for whom the message topic was high in personal relevance showed slightly greater opinion change when receiving five arguments from an unlikable communicator than when receiving one argument from a likable source. In contrast, subjects for whom the topic was low in personal relevance exhibited significantly greater opinion change when they received one argument from a likable (vs. five arguments from an unlikable) communicator’

To interpret: for those with a high level of involvement - arguments matter. To those with low involvement - likability matters.

NOTE: DON’T interpret this as ‘it’s a good idea to be unlikeable’! The point is that arguments matter for people who feel highly involved in a situation.

Chaiken, S. (1980). Heuristic versus systematic information processing and the use of source versus message cues in persuasion. Journal of personality and social psychology, 39(5), 752.

So what does this all mean:

We want people to be using elaborated, evaluative thinking if we want them to have enduring attitude change - focusing on personal relevance of the issue results in people using this ‘central route’

If, however, people seem likely to only process the information in a quick, simplistic way, focus on being likeable, on conveying expertise, and keeping them in a good mood!

Self Care / Self Preservation

Having decided to join this group, please do not feel under any pressure to respond to all types of negative comments you see. Your own wellbeing is important. If you only want to comment on particular types of online conversations (e.g. you don’t have the energy for conspiracy theorist climate deniers, or you don’t want to have anything to do with a thread where people are being aggressive) that’s fine. Set your own limits based on what you feel comfortable with.

Even then, if the scope of the online negativity becomes too much and you find yourself becoming irritable or depressed, you might need to take further steps to set boundaries around online outreach. It can seem quite obvious, but it’s really important to do this. Here are some suggestions:

• If you find yourself getting a little bit compulsive, try setting limits on your phone. Most phones let you set time limits for particular apps. Iphones are more fiddly than Androids, but you can do it in 'Screen Time'. There are various ways to achieve this on the desktop as well. Turning all your devices off for a bit is a simple one!
  
  
• Practice conscious time management. For example, you could use the pomodoro method to commit to 25 minutes of online outreach every day, and then walk away from it for the rest of the time. It doesn’t have to be 25 minutes of course- the important thing is that you create a dedicated time for it and try not to let it bleed into other areas of your life.
  
  
• Practice good sleep hygiene and put your screens to bed at the end of the day, about an hour before you plan to go to sleep. Don’t keep them in the bedroom. Don’t check them if you wake up in the middle of the night, especially if you are already having trouble sleeping.
  
  
• Rinse your brain and reset. Read a novel or collection of poems. Go for a walk in nature. Go for a walk in town. Talk to someone face to face. Ride a bike. Do yoga. Listen to a nice audiobook. Do whatever is necessary for you to clear your head.

Social media guides

Twitter / X

Twitter has recently been renamed X. This page is currently under construction 🏗️

In the meantime, you can access these (unchecked) resources:

• Turbocharge your Twitter account
• Twitter for campaigning

Homepage

We won't introduce the whole platform here, only the tools you might need.

1. Notifications: other accounts have interacted with you (like, comments...)
2. Messages: these are private, unless they are group messages (in that case they can only be read by group members)
3. Profile: where you can see your previous posts, edit your profile picture etc.
4. More: more options detailed below
5. Post: create a post (ex tweet)
6. What's Happening: was also known as Trending Topics, these are hot news and regularly change

The 'More' menu

1. Lists: a very useful tool to see posts grouped together (see info below
2. Settings & Privacy: where you can update your account (for example change your password)

Create a post

You can add up to 280 characters to your post, spaces included, so choose wisely! You won't write on Twitter like you write on Facebook, you'll need to get to the point.

1. Add up to 4 photos or a video (both best in square format) to grab people's attention.
2. Add emojis
3. Schedule your tweet if you need to
4. Create a thread (more explanation below)

Then press the blue button to post.

⚠️ You can't edit posted tweets (only delete them) so make sure to proofread your text before you click "post".

Photos & Videos

Format

You can post up to 4 photos per post, with a preference for square format but 16/9 (landscape) photos will work as well (portrait photos will look cropped).

Videos can be up to 2 minutes and 20 seconds long, and shouldn't exceed 512MB.

Tags

Photos are a great place to tag people whose attention you'd like to grab (like journalists). Plus, it saves you space in your post (note that some accounts restrict who can tag them so sometimes you'll have to tag them in your text rather than the photo).

You can tag up to 10 accounts per photo (to avoid spamming). Make sure to have list of handles ready as it'll make the task easier than browsing the list of existing accounts.

Description

You can add a description, sometimes called alt-text, to your photos so they’re accessible to even more people, including people who are blind or have low vision. Good descriptions are concise, but present what’s in your photos accurately enough to convey their context.

Create a thread

Sometimes what you have to say will exceed 280 characters so you might want to consider creating a thread. A thread is a succession of posts linked together. When you scroll on your homepage to read other people's posts, you might find a post from a thread. If you click on it, it will "unfold" the whole thread, which you can then read (click here to see an example).

💡 Threads are a great way of sharing bits of a press release to grab journalists' attention (don't forget to tag them in photos so they get a notification)

Note that once you've started a thread, you can add more posts to it as you go which is really handy when you're covering a live action!

1. Already written posts - as long as you haven't posted your thread, you can still modify those.
2. Add more posts to your thread (no limit)
3. Post your thread (you can add more posts to it later)

Tips for a great thread

• Add an image at least to the first post to grab people's attention.
• If you know how many posts your thread contains, add the info on each post (eg 2/5), alternatively, add the emoji 🧵 to all your post so people understand it's a thread.
• Write your posts so they contain complete sentences (avoid cutting a sentence in half between two posts). There is no limit to how many posts a thread can contain so just make more posts to fill all your text.

Lists

Lists are a useful tool of accounts that have something in common.

For example, XR Midlands has a list of Midlands Local Groups to spot posts from these groups more easily and engage with them to give them more visibility. You can have lists of accounts posting about a specific subject (eg climate change, racism, politics, cats...) which is useful when you want to know the latest news on these subjects (Twitter/X is a platform based on trending topics and breaking news rather than aesthetics or documentaries).

Here are some ready-made lists that might be useful to you:

• All the local groups in the UK
• All the UK Nations & Regions
• All the XR campaigns & communities groups
• All the XR Groups in the world
• If you spot missing accounts from those lists, please let us know

You can access your lists (and create your own) by clicking the ... (more) on the menu in the left-hand side of your homepage, then "lists".

You can "pin" the most important ones (click the pin 📌 on their left) , so they will show up at the top of your homepage. Click and then you will see posts (and reposts) coming from only those accounts.

Facebook

This page will get you started with the biggest social media platform in the world.

📅 If you need help to create a Facebook event, please head here.

Landing page

This is the first thing you're going to see when you open Facebook on your computer (explanations below):

1. Logo & search bar

Wherever you are on Facebook, if you click this logo (white f in a blue circle) you will always come back to this page.

The search bar on its right will help you find pages, groups or events.

2. Stories

These vertical images are called stories. In fact, some of them might be short videos that will play once you click on them.

A story is a post that will stay on Facebook for 24 hours and then disappear.

3. Timeline

The top part of this area is dedicated to the creation of a post:

• click where it says 'What's on your mind' and write your text
• you can add photos or videos by clicking the green icon underneath
• then click the blue "post" button

If you're not here to post on Facebook, scroll down and you will see posts from your Facebook friends, from pages you follow and from groups you have joined.

4. Notifications & Profile

If you have new notifications, you'll see a red circle with a number inside.

💬 The speech balloon icon takes you to Messenger where you'll find your private conversation with other people.

🔔 The bell icon is for all your other notification, for example if someone wrote a comment on a post you created.

Last but not least, if you click on your profile picture (top corner on the right hand side of your screen) it will open a new menu with more options, as detailed below.

Menu

1. Access your personal profile

This is where you'll see your posts, your photos and videos...

2. Short cut to switch to your page's profile

If you have access to a Facebook page as an admin or moderator, click there to switch to your page's profile and "act as the page" (as well as on the page).

3. See all profiles

If you're an admin or moderator of multiple Facebook pages, you can switch between them by using this menu.

4. Settings & Privacy

⚠️ This is an important part: you can access various settings to protect your account (for example by setting a strong password), change the notifications you'd like to see etc.

Terms

We mentioned a few things that might not make sense for you yet. Here are a few explanations about what are:

• a personal profile
• a Facebook page
• a Facebook group

Personal Profile

On your personal profile you can change your profile photo, your cover (at the top), add a description about you etc. You can also create posts from there for your Facebook friends to see.

Some people don't like sharing about them on social media and that's fine. Just make sure to visit the settings and change them accordingly to how much you want to share (with your friends only, with your friends' friends, with any Facebook user...).

On the opposite, you might want to use your Facebook personal account to do some activism and be loud about things.

1. Click the drop down menu
2. Select the privacy option you'd like to apply
   • public means that anyone visiting your profile, whether they have a Facebook account or not, will see your posts
   • Facebook keeps in memory the latest setting you used, so be careful when you post that it's the appropriate one for the information you're sharing

Facebook Page

A page is like a display window for a business, an organisation, a club, a charity etc. Anyone can create a Facebook page to share their work.

A page is a public space (anyone can see it and read its posts) where the admins and moderators remain anonymous (you don't who the people behind a page are).

Pages look a lot like a personal profile, but instead of displaying the opinions of a single person, they will show the work of an organisation.

Pages have a profile picture (usually the logo of the organisation), a cover (big picture at the top), and if you scroll down you'll find their posts, starting with the most recent.

Under the cover, there are a few buttons which can be different from one page to another. On the XR UK one, you can click to sign up to the mailing list (blue button) or start to follow the page. Following a page means that you will see posts from this page on your timeline when you open Facebook.

Like, Comment, Share

You could say that's the Holy Trinity of social media.

These interactions are really good to give the posts more visibility (the more people interact with a post, the more Facebook will show the post to other people). This will benefit the page and help it gain more followers in the process, which can lead to more people joining XR "in real life".

1. Like: the easiest interaction possible.
2. Comment: write your own comment (for example: "what a great action!") or answer people's comment (if they are asking a question for example, try to stay away from trolls, they don't need your attention, time and energy).
3. Share: you can share a post to your timeline for your friends to see ("Share now" or "Share to feed" if you want to add a comment), or send it via private message to a specific friend.
4. Reactions: to use these emojis to react to a post, hover (don't click) your pointer over the "like" button and they will appear above it.

💡 Look for your XR Local Group Facebook page, click "follow" and write comments under their posts when you see them to boost the visibility of the page, and maybe get more people to join your local group!

Facebook Group

Groups are community space. They can be private (you must be a member to see what's happening inside) or public.

Groups only have a cover photo, not a profile photo. If you're not a member, you will see a "Join Group" button underneath it.

They often have rules, for example: climate related posts only, don't sell items in this group etc.

Admins and moderators keep an eye on the group to make sure they are respected. The bigger the group, the more admins and moderators it'll need- to make sure it stays a safe space, doesn't become full of spam, to welcome new members etc.

Any members of the group can post on it and write comments on other people's posts.

⚠️ If you're a local group, we don't recommend using groups unless you have a good team of reactive moderators. Groups, especially public ones, tend to attract spammers who will post inappropriate content (which can be offensive).

⚠️ If you want to create Facebook events for your local group (to advertise your next meeting for example) you will need a page (you can technically create events in a group but they will be linked to your personal profile which is not ideal for security reasons).

Facebook Events

This page will teach you:

• how to create an event
• how to make another page a co-host for your event
• how to add an existing event to your page

For help using the rest of Facebook, head over to the Facebook page of the Social Media book

Create a Facebook event

Get your cover ready

Check this folder in case the cover you need is already there. Best to use something that already exist than reinvent the wheel!

If you feel crafty, head to Viz Gen / Aktivisda to create your cover. The correct Facebook event photo size has the dimensions of 1920 x 1005 pixels (a 1.91:1 ratio, or about 2:1).

💡 Good practice: centre your title so it looks better on the events menu (as shown below), avoid writing too much text (your text should be inside the event, not on the cover), make sure your text is easy to read (use a simple background, pick contrasted colours, for example black on yellow or white on dark blue).

Start creating your event

Watch the step by step tutorial or follow the explanations below:

1. Switch to your page profile them go to your landing page (click the Facebook logo). Click here for a reminder on how to do this.
2. On the left-hand side column, click the "events" button.
3. Click the blue button "+ create new event".
4. Add your cover icon.
5. Give your event a catchy name (make it self explanatory, for example: XR Manchester Weekly Meeting).
6. Set up a date and time (recurring events will be explained below), don't forget to add an end time so people will know how long your event is.
7. Select "in person or "virtual"
   • if it's in person, you can add an address ("add location")
   • if it's virtual, you can add a link in "external link"
   • in both cases, it's safer to repeat this information in the description of your event.
8. Write the description ("what are the details"):
   • What should people expect from this event? How to join? Will there be food? Is it accessible? Should they bring something?
   • You can add emojis to create a better reading experience (but don't abuse them) by copy/pasting them from an outside source (Telegram, Word, an emoji bank...)

Recurring events

If you have regular meetings, you might want to set up your event as a recurring one to avoid having to create a new event each time.

Select "repeat event" in the menu.

Then select a frequency in the drop down menu.

If your event happens fortnightly, select "custom".

Now select all the dates when your event will happen.

If your event always happen at the same time, add the time to the first date then tick the box "Add this time to all dates", then click "add". Otherwise, add the times for each dates separately.

Co-hosting an event

Add a co-host to your event

A co-host is another organisation or local group that is co-organising an event with you. They will be able to modify your event, so make sure you're only adding trusted pages as co-hosts.

When you're in the process of creating an event, scroll down a little after writing your description and click "add co-host".

Write the name of the page(s) you want to add (for example: Extinction Rebellion UK) or their username (in that case: xrebellionuk).

A username is a unique name you will find when visiting a Facebook page and looking at the URL. It's what goes after facebook.com/

• https://facebook.com/xrmidlands/ 👉 username = xrmidlands

• https://facebook.com/xrUKTalksandTraining/ 👉 username = xrUKTalksandTraining

Some pages have not yet picked a username so they will have numbers as well in their URL.

💡 If you often create events with the same co-hosts, make yourself a spreadsheet with their usernames so you only have to copy/paste them insteas of writing down the name of each page every time.

⚠️ Be careful of selecting the right page. Sometimes Facebook is a bit cheeky and will pop a list on your screen (it might be a glitch, it could be fake pages too), as shown below:

1. Click add co-hosts
2. Write the username or name of page
3. Ignore the pages without the proper logo
4. Only select the page showing up with the proper logo
5. Repeat to add more co-hosts

Accept a co-host request

If you're lucky, you'll see a notification pop up on your page's profile if you are asked to co-host an event. Sadly that's not always the case. This is a glitch within Facebook.

When you send a co-host request to a page, copy the link of your event and send it via private message (or email, or via a chat if you know one of the admins). This way they will definitely be aware of it.

If someone sends you a co-host request, it'll will look like this:

You can then click "accept" or "decline".

Add an existing event to your page

If you've spotted an event you'd like to advertise on your page but you haven't been made a co-host, watch this step by step video tutorial, or read the explanations below.

Head to the event you'd like to add, then:

1. Click the 3 little dots on the right-hand side
2. Click "add to page"
3. Check it's being added to the right page then click "add event" to confirm

Instagram

Instagram is a social media platform based on visuals (photos and videos). This page will detail everything there is to know about posting on Instagram, from the very basics to more advanced functions.

As a warm-up, here's what Instagram looks like:

Create a post

Read below for the detailed instructions or click here to watch a step-by-step video or scroll down to see some screenshots with basic instructions.

1. Open the app on your phone
2. Click the + button (either at the top of your screen or at the bottom in the middle)
3. Take a photo or select one from your gallery

If your photo doesn't fit into the square format, click the double arrowheads symbol on the bottom left corner of your pic.

You can select more than one photo by clicking the square symbol underneath your photo, on the right hand side of your screen, next to the camera symbol. Once this function is activated, you can add up to 10 pictures to your post. Click on the ones you want to add in the order you want to add them to your post. Click again if you want to deselect one of them.

💡 When you add more than one picture, your post is then called a "carousel" because you have to slide laterally to see all the photos in your post. Carousels are valued by Instagram algorithm more than single photo post because spend more time on the app to watch all your photos. It's a good trick to get more visibility!

4. Click the blue arrow on the top right hand side corner when you've chosen your photo(s).
5. You can edit your photos if you want to (luminosity, saturation...). Move on by clicking the blue arrow again.
6. Write the text for your post.

To help your post get more visibility, add some hashtags to it, preferably at the end so they don't make your text difficult to read. Pick hashtags relevant to your post.
For example: #ExtinctionRebellion #BetterWithoutBarclays (if it's an action against Barclays) #EndFossilFuels #ClimateAction
Don't invent hashtags! Try to use some that are already used by other people as they are more likely to be seen.

💡 Links are not clickable on Instagram, unless you put them in a story or in your profile.

7. Tag other accounts

If you want to grab someone's attention, you can tag them on your photo. They will then get a notification and are more likely to see your post and share it.

8. Add a location (if relevant to your post, completely optional)

How to make a simple post:

Collaborative post

Read below or watch the step by step video.

A collaborative post will be shared on two Instagram accounts instead of one. It's not automatic: your request to collaborate on a post has to be accepted by the other account.

What's great about this option is that it'll give your post more visibility as it'll be shown to two communities. It's a good option if your local group is doing an action with another group. This way one person can get the Instagram post ready instead of posting separatly, so it can save you some time.

To create a collaborative post, do everything you would do for a regular post, then click "tag people or add collaborator". You'll see an option to either tag other accounts in the photo or "invite a collaborator".

Search for the account you want to add and invite them.

If it's the first time you're collaborating with someone, you can send them a private message beforehand as well so they are aware that you're going to send them a request and can accept it quickly.

Event reminder

Read below or watch the step by step video.

You can't create event on Instagram as you would on Facebook, but you can create a reminder for people to suscribe to.

Start by getting your post ready with all the info regarding your event (date, time, place etc.) then click "add reminder".

Write your event name and add the start time.

People seeing your post will also see a little insert at the bottom inviting them to suscribe to the reminder, and they will get a notification before the event start to remind them about it.

Create a Story

A story is a type of post that will exist for 24 hours then disappear.

Stories can be used to promote a regular post, to remind your audience of an event (for example: "We're meeting tonight at 7 PM"), for breaking news, for information you don't want to post permanently to your timeline, to interact with your followers etc.

💡Note: you can share links in your stories which you can't do in a regular post.

You will find stories at the top of the Instagram app when you open it.

▶️ Watch the tutorial to learn how to create a story (2 minutes): https://youtu.be/uQk6AVo53_Q

Business Suite for Facebook and Instagram

Meta Business Suite is a free tool that Facebook page admins can use to manage their pages and linked Instagram accounts. Note that you can't manage Facebook groups with it.

💡 A more detailed video tutorial is coming! We hope that the screenshots will help you navigate Business Suite for the time being.

There is a phone version of Business Suite but we're only covering the desktop version here.

🔗 Accessing Business Suite

You can either follow this link: https://business.facebook.com or got to your Facebook Page and

1. Make sure you're logged in as your page
2. Click on Meta Business Suite on the left-hand side column

🏠 Dashboard

The dashboard gives you an overview of your account.

From there you can:

1. Switch between different accounts (if you're the admin of multiple Facebook pages)
2. See where your attention is needed when there is a red dot (meaning you have new notifications such as messages, comments etc.)
3. Check if your Instagram account is linked to your Facebook page

Link Instagram and Facebook

On the screenshot below you can see that there isn't an Instagram account linked (the logo remains grey). It can be because it hasn't been connected yet, a problem with the connection, or just because you don't have an Instagram account (which is the case here).

To link your Instagram account to your Facebook Page, click "Connect Instagram" (on the right-hand side of the two logos with the tiny Facebook and Instagram icons). Then follow the process.

Click "Log in to Instagram" (blue button):

Tick yes for "allow access to Instagram messages in inbox":

Enter your login details (username or email + password).

⚠️ And we mean your XR account login details, not your personal one.

If you're stuck and need support, please contact @lucielc on Mattermost.

🔔 Notifications

To access the notifications, hover your pointer over the left-hand side column until it appears more detailed, then click "notifications" (bell icon).

That will give you an overview of the most recent interactions people had with your page.

From time to time, you will see a blue button that says "Send 20 invitations". If you click it, it will send a notification to 20 people who recently interacted with your page to invite them to follow it. This way you might gain more followers, yay!

🗩 Inbox: messages and comments

A very important feature! Click the speech bubble in the left-hand side column.

This is the place where you'll be able to read, answer and manage your messages and comments. If you have a new message or comment, you'll see a red circle with a number in it in the horizontal menu.

Terms:

• Messenger: messages sent to your Facebook Page
• Instagram: messages sent to your Instagram account
• Facebook / Instagram comments: comments people have written underneath one of your posts

Manage messages

There is a search bar if you're looking for an old message from a specific person or account.

When you open a message, you can see more information about the person or account who sent it on the right-hand side of your screen.

💡 If you open a message but can't or don't want to answer straight away, make sure to click the little envelop icon above the conversation to mark it "unread" (this way you won't miss it next time you visit Business Suite, or someone else from your team can spot it and deal with it).

Manage comments

A good practice to keep your inbox tidy and up to date, is to tick the "done" box once you've answered and/or interacted with the comments people wrote.

Don't panic if you clicked by mistake! Head to the filters menu next to the search bar, and click "done" and you will see appear all the old comments you've already dealt with.

🗔 Create Posts

Click on "content" in the lefthand side column.

1. Menu

   • Published: all your past posts
   • Scheduled: all your future posts (if you've been using the scheduling option)
   • Drafts: posts that still need to be worked on (by you or someone else from your team)

2. You can see if a post was (or will be) published on Facebook or Instagram by looking at the small icon in the corner of the preview image.

3. Click the blue button on the top right-hand side corner to create a new post.

1. Post to: select if you want to create a post for Facebook, Instagram or both (it's both by default).
2. Media: add a selection of photos, graphics or a video to your post. Read this page for guidance on content.
3. Post details: Write your text
4. Preview: this is what your post will look like once published.

Select Facebook and/or Instagram.

Keep in mind that these platforms have specific requirements so not all posts should be "mirrored". For example, links are not clickable on Instagram. Read below for more explanations.

Once you've written your text, you might want to adjust it to fit the requirements of both platforms. Tick "Customise post for Facebook and Instagram". You will see the Facebook and Instagram icons appear.

To edit the Facebook post, click the Facebook icon, and vice versa for Instagram. To keep the same example as earlier: if you have links in your text, delete them for Instagram (add them to your story or LinkTree instead).

You can add collaborators to your Instagram post (note that if you do that you won't be able to add the scheduling option). Not familiar with collaborative posts? Read more about it here.

Post straight away or schedule for later (a great option if you want to schedule posts ahead when you have time to keep your socials active, posting regularly is key to reaching more people!).

The "active times" button will give you options for when your followers are more likely to be active and then might engage with the content you post. Note that this option is not always available.

It's now time to publish your post or save it for later.

📊 Insights

If you like statistics, you'll enjoy this part of Business Suite!

This is the place where you'll learn more about your reach (how many people have seen your posts), engagement (how many interactions your posts received), your audience (demographics, location)...

If you have time, you can investigate the "Weekly Plan" that Business Suite created for you to keep you posting more content (which should in turn help you get a better reach and more engagement, theoretically).

⚠️ Creating content for social media is incredibly time-consuming so don't feel obligated to do more than what you're able to do time wise!