Reclaiming Our Narratives

A comprehensive practical guide for addressing and countering Identity-Based Disinformation (IBD) through positive identity expansion.

Overview

This guide provides a structured, ethical approach to understanding, analyzing, and countering identity-based disinformation while promoting authentic narratives that celebrate diverse identities and experiences.

This repository contains the source Markdown files used to generate the official guide PDF. It is designed as a living resource, and we encourage community participation (see Join the Community).

Reading the Toolkit/Guide Content

You can read the guide's content directly by browsing the Markdown (.md) files within the guide/ directory in this repository. The filenames are prefixed with numbers to indicate the recommended reading order.

Quick Start (Navigating the Content)

0. Access the Official Guide: For the formatted PDF version, download the latest from GitHub Releases or oicd.net.
1. Get the Overview: Read the Executive Summary for a high-level understanding.
2. Understand Core Concepts: Dive into the Introduction and Understanding IBD.
3. Learn the Approach: Explore The Power of Narrative Expansion.
4. Plan Your Implementation: Follow the Implementation Steps.
5. Put it into Practice: Utilize the Worksheets (files starting with 17- to 21- in the guide/ directory) and ensure you adhere to the Ethical Guidelines.
6. (Optional) Explore Further: Review Best Practices, User Examples, and AI Guidance & Prompts (files starting with 12- to 16- in guide/).

Get the Official Guide Formats

• Official PDF: Download the latest version from oicd.net
• Versioned Releases (PDF): Find versioned releases on the GitHub Releases page.
• E-book/Print: Available via IngramSpark and major retailers.
  • ISBN: 978-0-9567316-1-6 (Paperback)
  • ISBN: 978-0-9567316-2-3 (eBook)

Repository Structure

• guide/: Contains all the core Markdown source files for the toolkit chapters, worksheets, AI prompts, etc.
• user-examples/: Examples of the toolkit being used, contributed by the community.

Vision

Our vision is to empower communities to reclaim their narratives through:

• Understanding the mechanics of identity-based disinformation
• Developing positive, authentic counter-narratives
• Building resilient community networks
• Sharing successful strategies and outcomes
• Maintaining ethical standards in narrative development

Contributing

We welcome contributions from researchers, practitioners, and community members to improve the toolkit's content!

Easiest ways to contribute (no technical skills needed):

• Report Content Issues: Use the "Issues" tab on GitHub to report typos, broken links, or suggest improvements to the content (select the "Report a Content Issue" template).
• Suggest New Features/Content: Use the "Issues" tab to propose new sections, features, or significant changes (select the "Feature Request / Content Suggestion" template).
• Share Your User Example: Use the "Issues" tab to share how you've used the toolkit (select the "Submit a User Example" template). We encourage sharing experiences!
• Discuss Ideas: Use the "Discussions" tab (if enabled) for broader questions or sharing general thoughts.

Editing Content Directly:

• You can edit the Markdown files directly in the GitHub web interface. Navigate to a file in the guide/ directory and click the pencil icon to edit. GitHub will help you propose the change.

For more details, see our Contributing Guidelines.

Code of Conduct

This project is committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful community. Please review our Code of Conduct.

Edition

• First Edition: April 2025

Acknowledgements

• Primary Author: Dr. Bruce White
• The OICD Advisory Board members provided critical feedback.
• Contributions from OICD key area advisors: Dr. Anna Kruglova, Dr. Susan Rottmann

License

This project is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). See the LICENSE file for full details.