Dan Slee

Okay, so two weeks running I’ve written about the state of newspaper Facebook pages but bear with me still, will you?

Last week, I blogged about the high volume of Liam Payne posts on Reach plc’s Black Country Live feed in my timeline. I blogged it and stopped counting at 100 posts on the former One Direction star.

Clearly, trolling the posts with ‘Yet again’ every time the channel posted yet on the late singer wasn’t having the desired effect. Facebook’s algorithm, it seems, doesn’t register sarcasm.

Three years ago, I started some research to pin down where local newspapers were but never got round to blogging. In short, the research showed Reach plc’s content on local Facebook pages was about 50 per cent local. Othernews companies were around 70 per cent.

Idly, I wondered how this compared to Black Country Live. So I looked at the last 100 posts.

The results, reader, will amaze you.

Just 10 per cent of the content on Black Country Live were local news. Ten per cent. If you count Liam Payne it rises to 30 per cent.

National news is 35 per cent, other West Midlands news is 26 per cent, Staffordshire is four per cent with other is five per cent.

Now, I’ve still got nothing against the admin pumping this out. I’m sure they put the hours in. I’ve also got nothing against Reach’s David Higgerson who commented in detail on my last post. Thank you, David. He mentions some good local reporting. There is. It’s just a shame it is drowned out.

But it did make me think that if the business model is national stories and stories from across the Midlands region then maybe Reach would be better if they dispensed with the idea they cover local news entirely.

A LadBible of regional news is fine but just call it that.

Here’s the list.

The Fieldhouse reopened on October 24 after being closed for three weeks to undergo a full revamp (Restaurant re-opening in Solihull).

Surinder Blah, now 72, abused one girl when she was just seven-years-old (Warwick Crown Court case on Leamington Spa man) 

Joel Hislop, 32, was convicted of the serious assault (Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court case) 

Joshua Burnham Smith, 18, has been banned from driving for 12 months (Leamington Spa magistrates court case) 

This Morning star died aged 31 last Wednesday, in a plunge from a third-floor balcony. (Liam Payne) 

Part of the motorway was closed following the incident near junction 8 (West Bromwich incident) 

Filming has been taking place in Netherton with the Peaky Blinders movie set to air in late 2025 or early 2026 (Netherton) 

New rates for benefits calculated after release of latest inflation figures (National) 

Man sentenced and has to stump up nearly £3,000 in fines after he was caught dumping rubbish (Court not identified). 

Update for over three million claimants about changes to payments from next year (National) 

The M5 northbound is closed between J1 for West Bromwich and J8 for the M6 (West Bromwich) 

The ITV The X Factor star, aged 31, died in Buenos Aires in Argentina last week – and Buerk has addressed the coverage on Radio 4 Today.

Nicole, who put together One Direction alongside Simon Cowell during her role as a judge and mentor on ITV The X Factor, has paid tribute to the 31-year-old.

Solihull’s Michael Buerk said he could not understand why Radio 4 and the News at Ten have given it such prominence

Coercive and controlling Paul Andrews beat a woman and was found guilty of sexual assault by digital penetration (Warwick Crown Court) 

This Morning star and GB News presenter called time on their long-standing relationship earlier this year – shocking fans and followers. (National) 

Kathleen Nicol was rushed to hospital where she sadly died the following day (Stoke-on-Trent) 

Rachael Gough, 46, has not been seen for months (Birmingham) 

The X Factor star died aged 31 last Wednesday, in a fall from a third floor balcony in Buenos Aires in Argentina where he was staying while supporting former One Direction star Niall Horan on his tour

Convicted sex offender Phidel Gonzales, 36, had to be segregated in prison due to being mistreated by other inmates, a court heard (Birmingham Crown Court)

The childhood sweethearts, who met while at school together in Solihull, named their daughter Mila Rose Grealish (Solihull) 

A busy stretch of the motorway between J6 Solihull and J7/7a Coleshill Interchange will be closed, with National Highways saying it would ‘inevitably cause disruption’ (Solihull) 

Alex Jones welcomed the Matrix and John Wick star into the BBC studio on Wednesday (October 23) evening. (National) 

The BBC star, who is an ITV Lorraine favourite too, was seen throwing up on a spin-off of Big Brother on ITV on Wednesday (October 23) evening in dramatic scenes. (National) 

Liam Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy was madly in love with the former One Direction star and has been left heartbroken by his sudden death – here’s what she has said

Ms Reeves is preparing to extend the freeze on income tax thresholds in a move that will raise £7 billion a year, according to reports. (National) 

The new Labour Party government has made £1.5bn profit from an unprecedented deal with Octopus and the agreement not only safeguarded jobs and customer service but also filled the public coffers at a crucial time. (National) 

Nationwide has urged people impacted by dementia to seek support by visiting in-branch dementia clinics . (National) 

DWP has issued a warning to thousands of married women over State Pension back payments after the National Insurance contributions mix-up. (National) 

Tony, 60, sent an unkind message about Clare’s presenting ability to her by accident which caused a huge row. (National) 

22 Kids and Counting star, who hails from Morecambe, spoke out just hours after happy news their brood is getting bigger. (Morecambe) 

EastEnders star opened up on the second episode of new podcast A Gentle Start: The Showercast’ by Timotei this week. (National) 

Tyson Fury has revealed his wife Paris suffered a miscarriage the day before his fight with Oleksandr Usyk – and he knew he had lost before even stepping in the ring (Sport) 

Workers told major law changes will boost their bank balances (National) 

‘Harpsford’ in leafy St Peters Lane in Bickenhill is on the market but anyone taking it on will need more to make it fit for habitation (Solihull) 

The body of Hardip Singh Sarai was found inside a derelict building on Soho Hill (Birmingham)

Daiana Gauna spoke out over her conversation with the Wolverhampton star a week on from his death at a Buenos Aires hotel. (Wolverhampton).

The glamourous mum-of-seven often shares snapshots of her life on social media, but fans spotted her wrist was often edited out (National) 

Malik is preparing to get back on the road following the tragic death of Liam, who starred on ITV The X Factor alongside him. 

Payne’s girlfriend Kate reportedly left the Wolverhampton singer and West Bromwich Albion fan in a Buenos Aires hotel room before his death after likening it to a “hostage situation”.

The cash-strapped authority have sites listed in Edgbaston and Hockley (Birmingham)

Free bus passes and prescriptions for pensioners will be protected in the Budget, which Labour Party Chancellor Rachel Reeves is poised to deliver next week. (National) 

The mum of five was quizzed by Louis Theroux on his podcast about her romantic encounters with big celebrity names (National) 

The Olympic cycling legend has tragically been given just two to four years to live (National) 

Ruth Langsford has praised her son Jack as the “greatest love” of her life, as she continues to navigate through a divorce with Eamonn Holmes after 14 years of marriage (National)

Officers are reviewing CCTV following the incident (Walsall).

The X Factor star’s girlfriend’s pals have spoken out days after Payne died in a hotel balcony fall.

Kate Cassidy and late One Direction star Liam Payne had been in Argentina for more than two weeks before she decided to return home to the US

The dog was tied to a tree behind bushes at the Sutton Coldfield beauty spot, close to the Banners Gate car park. Appeals are being made to find the owner (Sutton Coldfield)

BC Strictly Come Dancing pro dancer Gorka, who shares two children with ITV Emmerdale and Channel 4 Hollyoaks alum Gemma, has defended his fiancee. (National) 

It follows a woman reported being sexually assaulted on Corporation Street just after midnight on Thursday, August 22 (Birmingham) 

The X Factor star and Wolverhampton singer, who shot to fame as one-fifth of One Direction, died after plunging from a third floor balcony in Buenos Aires in Argentina last Wednesday.

Jia Xin Teo, 22, from Coventry, was found guilty of murder following a trial today (Coventry)

A murder investigation continues following the death of Riyan Ali following a shooting in Alderson Road in Washwood Heath (Birmingham)

New data reveals the roads which have the biggest problems with speeding – with three in the West Midlands making the top five (Walsall)

The X Factor star, aged 31, died in Argentina last Wednesday, following a plunge from a third-floor balcony in the capital city.

Mobile phone footage shows the fireball collision on the Aston Expressway last night (Birmingham)

The BBC Sounds and ITV star’s team at Money Saving Expert have shared details of the Marriage Tax Allowance perk which can hand married couples handy cash. (National) 

Piers welcomed Katie Waissel, a former X Factor star, onto his Talk TV Uncensored show on Tuesday night (October 22) where they addressed the tragedy.

Kimberley Baggley was told by doctors that she needed rest and was advised to ‘go on a spa day’ (Stoke-on-Trent) 

Staff at Ben’s Fish Bar swiftly intervened when a would-be robber tried to snatch cash at takeaway in Warwick Road, Sparkbrook (Birmingham) 

Rhiannon Skye Whyte, 27, died following an incident at Bescot Stadium railway station (Walsall) 

This Country star appeared on the ITV panel show, which aired from 12.30pm today Wednesday (October 23). (National) 

Jeremy Townend ‘exploited’ the young girl over many months (Cambridge Crown Court).

The city council sold properties in Edgbaston and Hockley (Birmingham) 

A proposal had been submitted to convert a four bedroomed property into address for multiple occupation (Birmingham) 

Riley Thompson, five, was diagnosed with an optic nerve glioma in February – his mum said that although she was a nurse, she ‘had no idea he was blind in his right eye’ (Glasgow)

Ex-Good Morning Britain star spoke out on Twitter, now X, in the wake of his Uncensored coverage of the Wolverhampton singer sparking fury earlier this week. 

Payne, 31, investigators are reportedly hunting for further information on employees of Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires after the ITV The X Factor star’s tragic passing.

New artificial intelligence speed cameras (AI) and devices can “see inside your car” to check whether you are paying proper attention to the road as well as just measuring your speed. (National)

The X Factor star was in talks for a series of dates next year despite concerns from those close to the singer that he wasn’t prepared mentally for the demands of life on the road.

Police are raiding ITV The X Factor star and Wolverhampton singer Payne’s hotel for intel on employees who worked the day of his death.

Nicole Sonahar, aged 28, said she went on the run for two years due to being ‘scared’ in her own accommodation (Birmingham) 

The alarm was raised after smoke was seen billowing from an old black ash tree in the tiny hamlet of Marshbrook, near Ludlow, Shrops (Ludlow)

The Brummie chef, known as the Potato Queen, faces tough criticism online (Birmingham)

One person has become a viral sensation after sharing a video of a hidden feature on a car that many people are only just discovering – and it’s very useful indeed (National)

Kelly Jones, aged 42, escaped prison as she was handed a 10-year ban on owning animals for what an RSCPA officer described as ‘terrible suffering’ (Tipton)

The latest estimates show the cost of raising a child from 0 to 18 is £166,000 for a couple, and £220,000 for a lone parent, according to figures released last year. (National) 

The X Factor star’s love letters to Kate, who left Argentina in the run-up to his death aged 31 last Wednesday in a hotel balcony fall, have emerged.

There have been reports the Labour Party Chancellor Rachel Reeves could change pensions tax policy in the Budget on October 30. (National) 

Bake Off has left fans furious and demanding “justice” after Andy, a popular favourite, was axed following a nightmare episode.(National) 

Kate Cassidy has shared a new Instagram post paying tribute to Wolverhampton singer Payne, 31.

The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Tearoom reopens on Thursday, October 24 – here’s the menu and prices (Birmingham) 

During the latest instalment of The Repair Shop, one guest explained how she was ‘future-proofing’ her life after being diagnosed with a degenerative eye condition. (National) 

Tyson Fury has revealed his wife Paris suffered a miscarriage the day before his fight with Oleksandr Usyk – and he knew he had lost before even stepping in the ring (National) 

One couple spoke out over the bizarre circumstances they found themselves in, after a lender rejected their mortgage because the money had come from Ireland.(Norwich) 

The former glamour model and mother of five sparked concern as she promoted a clothing brand on Instagram (National) 

Major changes recommended around driving rules for older people (National) 

His family released a statement confirming the tragic news today, October 23 (National) 

The mum of five said it was ‘beneficial for her overall well being’ (National) 

Former Strictly Come Dancing celebrity contestant, who was paired up with Johannes last year, signed off from a tennis tournament last week. (National) 

‘Harpsford’ in leafy St Peters Lane in Bickenhill is on the market but anyone taking it on will need more to make it fit for habitation (Solihull) 

The X Factor star’s father has flown to South America, where he is waiting to leave with his son’s body following the tragedy.

Daniel Khalife, 23, was previously based in Stafford (Stafford)

She was heard to say: ‘Everyone has at some stage put something on their CV they regretted putting there and shouldn’t have’ (National)

More than £4,000 has been raised since his death (Wolverhampton) 

The museum finally opens to the public after four and a half years on Thursday, October 24 (Birmingham)

An 18-year-old has since been charged in relation to the alleged incident (Walsall)  

A ‘suspicious vehicle’ has led to an evacuation of part of Birmingham Airport with some reports of ‘chaos’ while others say ‘everyone’s very unbothered’

The X Factor’s dad Geoff and his bodyguard Paul Higgins have been seen reviewing security footage of Hotel CasaSur Palermo after Liam plunged from a third-floor balcony last Wednesday.

That’s the list.

If you’re reading this in the Black Country I’m going to duck the question as to whether Wolverhampton and Walsall are in the Black Country. There is a hardcore that insists no, they are not.

I wrote the post and then I played about with creating the podcast.

I’d heard of Google’s Notebook Language Model so I thought I’d give it a try.

In short, the tool can be used to create a podcast with two speakers to talk through whatever content you give it.

Something like ChatGPT, a large language model, has consumed a big bite out of the internet so it’ll bring that knowledge with it. However, Notebook LM works only on what you’ve brought it. So, if you have a long report or a series of links on a subject you can chuck them in and ask them to summarise for you.

Seeing as though I’d just blogged about the coverage of Liam Payne’s death on Black Country Live on Facebook I thought I’d chuck that into the tool.

And for wider content I thought I’d also add a link to the UK Press Gazette coverage of Facebook moving away from news as a source it shares in people’s timelines.

Firstly, Notbeook LM provided a text summary of what it thought of the two sources. And then you get the chance for it to provide a summary as a podcast. After waiting two or three minutes, this was produced.

You can listen to the results here.

If you are not happy with the results or the emphasis, yes, you can go back and change that in the original text setting.

The results? Well, there are the ahs, and ums you would expect from a podcast as two presenters talk through the key points. It’s ;like liustening to two people who have read the material and are talking it through. I also love how they’ve added some value of their own. There is criticism in the original piece of Black Country Live’s coverage and the hosts come up with their own ideas for how the title could report on the issue.

With that in mind, is this a useful way of summarising two documents for you? It can be. The American accident is a clear impediment to a British audience but if you can work through this it may be a useful way for you to consume something on the go.

The added value the hosts give can also be useful so long as you know where the joins are.

At the moment, Google’s Notebook LM is at a pilot stage with free access. You can find it here.

A hospital visit can be daunting. So, children and parents can explore the building before they go using 360-degree photography and explainer videos. In a guest post, here’s how.

Hi,

My name is Phil McNamara. I am the External Communications Manager at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust in Liverpool.

Recently, we launched our new 360-degree virtual map of Alder Hey – called Matterport.

The challenge to solve

Many of these projects start as ambitious ideas linked to corporate strategy or vision. In our case, I was part of a group set up to improve the experience of children and young people coming to our hospital. After all, hospitals are scary places, especially if you’re only a small person. This is not a new idea; every hospital in the world has similar groups, and most of them start with ‘Let’s do a video’—there is nothing unusual about that request. I am sure most comms teams can relate.

Thankfully, 12 months earlier, I had been working on a Matterport map for Alder Hey’s Tier 4 inpatient mental health unit called Sunflower House. It is not a large building, but because of the sensitivities around the service, funders and partners could not easily access the building for a tour, for example. Plus, we wanted to show how great it was for young people (and their parents) who may stay there. So, a virtual map was an obvious idea. There was unanimous enthusiasm when I presented this option for the hospital (and eventually all the other buildings Alder Hey runs from).

How we solved it

What is a Matterport? It is basically like Google Street View, but better. It allows the user to walk around the area from any internet-enabled device as if they were in the building itself. The camera is 4K and you can add interactive areas, embed videos, MP3 files, and even games. It is perfect for a children’s hospital.

We successfully applied for funding to our brilliant charity for phase one of the project, and I was given a small project group and time to do it—well, you just had to find the time. To put it into perspective, Alder Hey is a huge place. It is one of Europe’s busiest and biggest hospitals, so mapping it was a huge task. 

We used a company called VisualEyes, based in Halifax and started to plan the project. Each scan takes about 10-15 seconds and involves the camera recording a 360-degree view of its surroundings. You also have to hide from the camera. We painfully scanned each area, moving slowly through the hospital five metres at a time, clearing the area, pressing record, hiding, and then repeating. We mapped the areas we had prioritised over four weekends, covering 188,000 square feet and eight departments. Most of the scans were in the morning when the hospital was quiet.

Then, we added interactive areas called hotspots. These can be videos, labels, or sound effects. There are 156 hotspots, including 74 videos—all done in-house, i.e. scripted, filmed, and edited. We used Veed for editing. This was the longest part of the project as each area and subsequent video was different, and we had to work with teams to agree on a script and then decide on a time and place to record.

Our audience… a child

We scripted each video as if a 10-year-old was listening, so there was no jargon or abbreviations where we could, and we kept them short—a maximum of one minute and kept the style the same. We had requests to shoehorn old videos into it, but for the most part, we said no. We used children and young people from our different youth forums to present many of the videos, but often, where the subject matter was a little more complex, we used our staff, who were brilliant, although they often had to be persuaded to be on camera.

It’s easy to get lost in such a huge hospital, so we created virtual signage next. The map has over 200 virtual signs. The templates were professionally designed, and our project group created each individual sign based on the design template using Canva Pro. 

Balancing this project alongside the day job was challenging, but having the support of the Executive team and managers was essential. We did have to pause the project on a few occasions, such as when we declared a major incident, as we had to prioritise different things, but we are very proud of the result.

Next steps

It is the largest virtual tour in any health setting in Europe and one of the largest in the world anywhere. We plan on phase two to finish the hospital map, add more videos and map some of the other buildings we have out in the community as well as include the latest updates. For example, we can gamify it with open-source gaming, i.e. embed html games, add treasure hunts, include AI chatbots, add avatars and even personalise a young person’s journey in the future. We have even spoken to the production company that makes CBBC’s Operation Ouch about the possibility of curating their content to add to this in the future.

I see this as a viable alternative to websites and some social media channels for young people to learn, experience and interact with an NHS organisation (although all the videos are on Alder Hey’s YouTube channel). Too often, I see public sector websites full of videos, leaflets, links, and forms that take up too much space on a website that is supposed to be for a mobile device. They target an audience that never uses them in that way. When was the last time a young person read a leaflet? In contrast, something like this is fun, practical, engaging, educational and in one place.

An unexpected spin-off

Although it is primarily for children and young people, we will use it as part of our staff induction for new starters. Our international department will send it to its overseas stakeholders. Our charity can use it to show where funding has gone and can be used for educational purposes, too.

We know the job isn’t fully complete, but we are very pleased with it. We hope, more than anything, that we help children and young people feel a little less nervous about going to Alder Hey. One comment we had from the launch which hit home was:

“…my daughter is neurodiverse and finds her visits to unknown parts of the hospital really hard! This will make all the difference, and I can’t thank you enough.”

If we have only helped that one person, then that’s enough for now.

To take a look at the Virtual Map of Alder Hey go here.

About a decade ago I sat in a deckchair on holiday and came up with a list of skills a public sector comms person needed.

A few years later I did the exercise again instead looking at what the wider team needed. I realised there was now too many skills for every team member to know. 

A few weeks ago, I was asked to repeat the process with an eye on what skills are now needed in 2025. Here is that list. 

The list is in two parts, core skills and specialist skills.

Everyone in the team needs the core skills with the wider specialist skills covered by the team.

After reflecting, I’ve added some basic AI knowledge to the core skills. Using it safely is a core task everyone now needs to know. 

CORE SKILLS

| Know your organisation’s priorities and how to deliver them.

| Know your audience and help others to know theirs.

| Know the age and cultural demographics of your area.

| Know which channel is the most effective for all demographics be this print, social, web, radio, podcast, face-to-face or TV.

| Know how to create content effectively on all platforms.  

| Know how and what to evaluate with the service area you work with.

| Know how to write a comms plan with the input of others.

| Know how to plan, shoot, edit and post effective vertical and landscape video.

| Know how to choose the best person or people to front your content.  

| Know that social media is social.

| Know that effective social media is a mix of some call to action with more lighter human content.  

| Know how to stay updated how the algorithms change on the key platforms.

| Know how to Speak human.

| Know how to educate the client.

| Know how to be a diplomat and know the big and small ‘p’ political awareness.  

| Know how to speak truth to power.

| Know how to tell stories.

| Know how to add emotion.  

| Know how to interpret data.

| Know how to respond in an emergency. 

| Know how to communicate with head and heart and when to do them.  

| Know and understand jargon but translate it into plain English. 

| Know GDPR. 

| Know copyright law with images, video, text and generative AI content.

| Know the basics of RIPA.  

| Know the HSE legislation.

| Know how to create accessible content.

| Know brand guidelines and when they are applicable.

| Know when to engage and when not to online. 

| Know current UK Government guidance on AI. 

| Know GCS guidelines for safe use of generative platforms.

| Know how and when to safely create words, images and video using AI  that are within UK Government guidelines, your organisation’s policies and the guidelines of the platforms to which they are posted.

| Know your social media house rules and when to enforce them.

| Know how to evaluate and locate relevant data with the critical mind of a scientist, the eye an artist and a filmmaker and the story telling ability of Roald Dahl.

| Know how to present your advice, findings and evaluation.

PERSONAL SKILLS 

| Know how to work as a team and as an individual. 

| Know how to work with a service area.

| Know how to work with empathy.

ETHICS

| Know your own professional standards and those expected by your organisation. 

| Know how your organisation’s constitution or founding legislation affects your job. 

SPECIALIST SKILLS

STRATEGIC

| Know how to draw-up an emergency plan and work with colleagues from other organisations at a stretegic level as part of the Civil Contingencies Act.

| Know as a head of communications how you help deliver the strategic vision of the organisation.

WORDS

| Know how to write good content in print, social and web.  

| Know how to write a marketing email subject line and to improve open rates and click throughs. 

IMAGES

| Know how to take and edit pictures.

| Know how to commission freelance photography.   

| Know how to use and update an image library with metadata.  

PRINT 

| Know how to work with designers  

MARKETING

| Know when and where to deploy marketing and when not to.

WEB 

| Know how to edit and create a webpage. 

| Know basic current principles of SEO and what metadata is.

| Known how to embed sharable content.

| Know that the social media is no longer about driving traffic to the website.

| Know the CIPR advice on when and how to engage with Wikipedia.

| Know the basics of Google Analytics 4 to help measure where people are coming from and what they are doing on your website.

AUDIO 

| Know when and how to create a podcast.

| Know how to pitch to a podcast or a radio journalist.

VIDEO

| Know how to brief a videographer.

| Know how to work with and create brand guidelines online.

| Know what TV journalists are visual and how to pitch to them.

COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT 

| Know how to find and connect with influencers be they online group admin, amateur photographers, local historians or food bloggers.

| Know when and how to engage with people in their own online spaces.

| Know how to build and maintain an online community.

| Know how to deal with comment, criticism and abuse. 

| Know how to create, maintain and enforce social media house rules.

MEDIA RELATIONS 

| Know how to log and take a media query.

| Know how to deal with a media query and its sign-off.

| Know how to build relationships with reporters.

| Know how to select a news, stock or library image for a media release.

| Know how to make a complaint. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

| Know how social media and customer services work.

| Know how to search social media for groups.

| Know how to create thought leadership content. 

OPEN DATA

| Know what open data is and what obligations your organisation has.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 

| Know how to safely use large language models to generate ideas and content  within UK Government guidance.

| Know how to identify fake images and video.

| Know how copyright and GDPR affects the creation of all content.

INTERNAL COMMS

| Know face-to-face, intranet, social and print channels and which is most effective for each task.

| Know who is best fronting different internal messages be that the head of the paid service, a manager or a colleague.

I hope this list helps you think of what your comms needs to look like in 2025.

Training I deliver:

ESSENTIAL COMMS SKILLS REBOOTED

ESSENTIAL MEDIA RELATIONS

ESSENTIAL VIDEO SKILLS REBOOTED

ESSENTIAL VERTICAL VIDEO FOR TIKTOK & REELS

Another day, another example of an election deepfake.

This time its the US election and the use of a voice AI tool to change the voiceover to a Kamala Harris film.

Basic video tools are also used along with existing footage.

The technology that created something like this is available to use for small change and the time needed to master then can be counted in minutes and hours.

You may be surprised that it was shared by Elon Musk the owner of X/Twitter without a note pointing out it was parody.

You’d also maybe think something that undermined the democratic process would make you run a mile.

The aside from this is that the UK Government’s Government Communications Service generative AI policy would thankfully stop a UK arm of government from making something like this.

I’ve been shouting about Facebook groups for the last six years so I’m professionally fascinated at how they’ve played an important role twice in 2024.

The campaigns in question are Labour in the UK General Election and the US Democrats in the upcoming Presidential campaign.

The single idea shared by both is this. People trust people like them more than politicians so why don’t we help them to talk about the issues of the day?

It plays out like this. A politician talking about, say, the NHS gets treated with a degree of scepticism while your neighbour’s struggles to get an appointment at Thorns Road surgery around the corner from you gets a hearing.

In fact, the politician may not even be let into the community group to have that conversation.

Both Labour and the Democrats have recruited local teams of volunteers to talk about their own experiences on key issues and share content in Facebook groups, Nextdoor and WhatsApp groups.

This strategy was a key reason why Labour won a 167-seat majority and it’s a factor in Kamala Harris being a short head in front in the US elections.

There’s research that underpins this. In short, if we see something from someone who look like us, we’re more likely to listen. We know this. The Edelman Trust Barometer puts ‘someone like myself’ behind scientists as the second most trusted people in the UK on around 70 per cent.

The theory of normative social behaviour tells us that we are more likely to listen to someone we know.

How Labour won using an army of advocates

The Times [paywall] reported in a story headlined ‘The army of digital sleeper agents who propelled Labour to power’. The story reports that Labour may well have spent £6 million on online ads but it’s the conversations online that were a new battle front.

“An unobtrusive but effective guerilla campaign was also launched, to softly target those in the comparatively new battleground of community Facebook groups with what one source dubbed “digital sleeper agents”.

“Community Facebook groups have exploded in recent years, with millions of people sharing local news, opinions, and getting into spats, and Labour is understood to have used them all over the country.

“The tactic is not new and has been used by the Conservatives, including the setting up of local community groups, but Labour believes its approach was “more organised” and rejected “vanity metrics” of likes or follower count.

“It’s about encouraging people to be active in the online space, in their community, and basically encouraging candidates to go into these groups and say ‘Hey I’m standing in the election, what are the local issues?’ If you’re a local candidate you should be visible in these places because that’s where people report and talk about antisocial behaviour or services not working. You have to be visible,” the source said, adding that “genuine local people” needed to be delivering the messages.”

The piece went onto say that WhatsApp groups in Muslim communities proved to be damaging as there was not the same ability to gain access.  

In the USA, this technique is also being used by Democrats with national memes and images being distributed and shared locally with a local spin.

But this is not just in Facebook community groups.

The impact of Taylor Swift

The ability to encourage people to come onboard and share their own content is exactly what’s electrifying about singer Taylor Swift coming out for Kamala Harris.

There is no more dedicated fans than the Swifties who bought a billion dollars of concert tickets in her recent global tour.

Mariana Spring, the BBC Misinformation reporter, in a recent edition of the Today Podcast, said the benefit to the Harris Walz campaign is that it dominates the algorithm.

“That fandom are able to generate loads of their own content memes, videos and posts. They make that for free and it’s organic. It doesn’t look sponsored by anyone. It’s coming from real voters real people. It’s coming from a genuine other voter who might be like you and that stuff keeps cropping up at the top of your feed and that is the thing that’s most valuable.”

Here, the impact isn’t in local Facebook groups but across a community of interest – Taylor Swift fans. The strategy is just as likely to reach a fan in the UK as it is in the swing state of North Carolina. But by keeping the Swifties for Harris star’s name at the top of feeds this can only help the Democrat campaign.

The ideas remain the same. Get real people to talk about it. It’s organic and free.

What does this mean for the public sector?

Often when I’m training people will see the benefit of actively sharing content in community Facebook groups. There’s some good examples where sharing to Nextdoor or Facebook groups has had real results.  

But the most common barriers are a lack of time and the fear of abuse.

These are reasonable issues to flag. Time is finite. People are busy. How can people be everywhere all the time? They simply can’t.

Organisations  can certainly start the ball rolling on sharing their own targeted content in targeted Facebook groups.

But wouldn’t it be good to have fellow travellers who can share what you are doing?

Thinking about it, this would work best on a micro-level. The Friends of Barnford Park already have a network. Could they share something about the new play equipment or the fun day?

Or the leisure centre user. Could they be enlisted to share about the New Year drive to get fitter?

When I worked in local government we tried to start a Facebook page for parents and children. It was to pull together things from leisure, libraries, schools and events which mums, dads and carers would benefit from. It failed. It didn’t work because we had nine admins and everyone else thought the other person was taking the lead. But could you recruit a group of advocates from them?

Maybe.

Yes, we do have share icons on a lot of content. But when was the last time you used them?

What Labour and the Democrats have done in their campaigns is to recruit advocates who are passionate about a topic.

So what are people passionate about? They may be passionate about their library. They may be passionate about being a parent of young children and sharing things that people can do like park events.

This leads me to what is the most popular content in Facebook groups. It is events. It’s things with dates, times and places where people can do things.

So, museum exhibitions, town centre fun days, leisure centres, fundraising campaigns, police information days, fire and rescue information all feel like people will put their hand up to be advocates.

I help deliver ESSENTIAL COMMS SKILLS BOOSTER to help people communicate more effectively in a changing landscape.