The More You Deny It, The More They Believe It
“The more you deny it, they more they believe it.” That’s one of the phrases I toss around in my “Combat Communications for Conservationists” workshops. Kristen Grimm, fearless leader of Spitfire Strategies, agrees. In her latest email newsletter, she writes:
Do yourself a favor, skip the myth vs. fact sheet…Research shows that using the myths vs. facts format to present information actually reinforces the very point(s) an organization may be trying to discredit.
When confronting lies or misleading statements from other parties to an environmental dispute, Grimm recommends “make an assertion that is factual without referring to the incorrect information.”
I agree completely — and I encourage you to click the link to sign up for Spitfire Strategies’ helpful email newsletter, which is full of great advice for environmental writing communication.

How about just a “Facts” sheet? Skip the myths altogether.