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Memos & Media Guidance
How to Identify and Combat Anti-Abortion Disinformation
When it comes to talking about abortion, we are up against extremists who intentionally deploy deceptive rhetoric to politicize and fearmonger about reproductive health care.
We’re here to help you identify and combat disinformation. One of the key ways we can fight for reproductive freedom is by amplifying accurate information from trusted sources—and drowning out all the nonsense extremists try to tout as fact.
What is disinformation?
Disinformation is false information deliberately shared with the intent to mislead or manipulate people.
Anti-abortion extremists fearmonger and spread lies to justify their position because they don’t have medical expertise, science, or public opinion on their side. They know they can’t win this fight based on the facts—so they resort to lying.
Tips for combating anti-abortion disinformation
Watch out for red flags when reading content:
🚩 Sources are untrustworthy.
- Anti-abortion disinformers have an ecosystem of fake news and research organizations that produce bogus news stories to back their position.
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Fake medical experts to avoid:
- Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine
- American College of Pediatricians
- American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs (AAPLOG)
- Charlotte Lozier Institute
- Family Research Council
🚩 Evidence is strictly anecdotal
- Anti-abortion “news” sites love to post sensational stories that are full of outrageous claims and try to push a one-size-fits-all narrative about reproductive health. They’re mostly made up and aren’t grounded in any scientific or factual information.
🚩 Their claims sound wildly exaggerated
🚩 Pregnant people are conspicuously absent from the conversation
Don’t retweet, like, or intentionally amplify anti-abortion content:
Avoid amplifying disinformation, even if you’re debunking it. Instead, repeat and amplify content that accurately discusses abortion. Elevate content about the safety of abortion care from trusted sources to drown out medical disinformation.
Debunk one-size-fits-all claims:
The science around pregnancy is complex, and all pregnancies are different. That’s why the best health care takes place privately between doctors and patients.
Use the “Truth Sandwich” approach when talking to friends and family:
- Start with a positive. Lean into shared values of freedom for everybody and how that connects to reproductive freedom.
- Debunk: Emphasize that the anti-abortion movement thrives from spreading disinformation about abortion care.
- Sandwich your debunking by ending back on a positive. Return to the truth about the safety and popularity of reproductive freedoms in the United States.
Define the villain (spoiler: it’s not the pregnant person):
Extremists want to control people’s bodies, period. Their goal is to interfere in our personal decisions and restrict access to abortion care in order to amass political power. Call out the anti-abortion movement’s agenda.