One campaign stunt, 25 million views
Following Suella Braverman’s description of refugees as an “invasion”, Freedom from Torture needed to find a way to make a positive case for welcoming refugees. Working with the Sheila McKechnie Foundation, the organisation connected with Holocaust survivor Joan Salter, who is living testimony as to why rules were introduced after World War II to protect refugees – making her a difficult messenger for anti-refugee politicians to dismiss.
The video of Joan confronting Suella Braverman got 25 million views on Twitter/X alone and led to weeks of headlines in traditional media. Braverman was derided by conservative commentators. The government even threatened Freedom From Torture with legal action over the video.
There are learnings from a stunt like this that can be applied to other campaigns seeking to counter the culture war in support of human rights, lessons that are critically important as global superpowers gear up for elections
This session will explore framing, storytelling, conflict, creativity, authenticity, and more, and you will leave with lots to think about and apply to your own campaigns.