Immunising against conspiracy thinking on NGOs

This guide is your roadmap to a tested messaging strategy that fosters positive & constructive conversations about NGO contributions in Germany. Designed for NGOs in the diversity sector and their allies, it empowers organizations to connect with harder-to-reach, movable middle audiences while countering far-right conspiracy theories, like the "Great Replacement."

In an era where NGOs face accusations of being “traitors” or “enemies of the state” for supporting migrants and refugees, this guide equips you to rise above defensive postures and confidently share your story. It’s a product of ICPA’s Proactive Protection project (2023-2024), supporting NGOs in combating conspiracy-driven attacks that erode public trust and limit their vital role in democracy promotion. Inside, you’ll find a versatile messaging strategy for public campaigns, community engagement, civic education, and everyday interactions—tools to help you protect your mission and inspire trust.

Value appeals that drive the Community Well-Being Reframe of NGOs (See Section 6)

The message building approach used is based on a decade of work on narrative change in the area of migration and civic space and further insight and guidance on applying the messaging can be found in our #KommMit Toolbox and Strategic Communications Knowledge Base.

To find out more about the guide, the background project and who is behind it, see Section 7. You can access this resource in modules from the linked pages below or download it as a PDF. There is also a summary of the community well being messaging to download as 2-page messaging brief .