Procter & Gamble is being accused of discrimination after it was found they are paying a Black-owned contract company far less than the white-owned companies. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: Procter & Gamble is being accused of discrimination after it […]
Johnson & Johnson is using a technique called the Texas Two Step to avoid paying victims who’ve sued the company – and a bankruptcy judge has given them permission to do this. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Click here to find out more about baby powder lawsuits. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software […]
The public has been calling for a ban on Congressional stock trading for months, but so far virtually nothing has been done about this growing problem. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: The public has been calling for a ban on […]
Ukraine is asking for highly sophisticated “Hunter – Killer Drones,” and the defense industry is begging the government to make this happen. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: Ukraine is asking for highly sophisticated hunter killer drones and the defense […]
Michael Avenatti has been sentenced to four years in prison for stealing from his client Stormy Daniels. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: Michael Avenatti has been sentenced to four years in prison for stealing from his client Stormy Daniels. What […]
The state of Ohio has passed two highly controversial bills in the past week that have put the Buckeye State in the national spotlight. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: The state of Ohio has passed two highly controversial bills in […]
Local leaders across the country are wondering when the next catastrophe will it as Congress slow-rolls gun control measures. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: Local leaders across the, the country are wondering when the next catastrophe is gonna happen, […]
America’s Lawyer E08: Dozens of members of Congress have been caught violating the Stock Act in the past year, but so far nothing has been done to stop this massive problem, and we’ll tell you the very obvious reasons why. Johnson & Johnson is re-writing the rules in order to avoid paying tens of thousands […]
The January 6th Committee’s televised hearings will start this evening, and what they reveal to the public has the potential to blow the roof off of Republican corruption that many people have been ignoring for far too long. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins talks with Heather Digby Parton from Salon.com about what we’ve already learned […]
Child hunger has gone through the roof in America ever since the expanded Child Tax Credit payments expired. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: Child hunger’s gone through the roof in America ever since the expanded child tax credit payments expired. […]
A judge in New York has upheld a law that would allow victims of gun violence to sue gun makers. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: A judge in New York has upheld a law that’s gonna allow victims of gun […]
Exxon can no longer escape a trial for lying about the dangers of climate change. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: Exxon can no longer escape a trial for lying. I mean, just lying for decades and decades about the truth […]
Asking if you can have impact using digital advocacy is like asking if you can have impact using the telephone. Digital advocacy is a tool – it’s not a strategy in itself.
Liba Beyer
We have big dreams and ideas, and we go after them. We want to know that what we’re doing is making a difference. So how do we get better at it? How do we evaluate our advocacy? Improve? Adjust? Revolutionizing Activism: How do We Know It Works, proffered a framework of what it looks like to evaluate your activism in practice. Stephen Duncombe, Center for Artistic Activism co-founder, led a conversation with Liba Beyer (Chief of Global Campaigns UNHCR), and multidisciplinary artist Shaun Leonardo, full of insights and tips we think you’ll find useful!
1. Define Your Goals
Stephen Duncombe notes that evaluation begins with ideation: “In order to evaluate effectively, you really have to think about what you want to have happen before you can assess whether it actually does happen.” This varies of course, but it’s the first step towards being able to evaluate the impact and efficacy of your activism.
2. Respect the Levels of Impact
Shaun Leonardo noted that while his ongoing work, Primitive Games– a performance that invited different groups of people to debate gun violence with their bodies rather than words– hasn’t changed policy just yet, it has made a difference. “Now, what was interesting to me is that their belief systems and the ways in which their world views are so entrenched, those things did not necessarily shift dramatically. But what I heard was a willingness and openness to say that maybe I don’t have it all correct. There was a desire to listen to these participants, to the opposition of the debate, because they had passed through a process in which they had to see each other first as human beings.”
3. Partner Up!
Liba Beyer notes that one of the tricky things about evaluation is that it is often expensive. Beyer recommends whether going at it solo, as a small organization, or as a larger team, a key element of successful evaluation is working with partners:” they’ve got to be partners who give legitimacy, give local flavor, give diversity, relevance, compliment what your organization, and what your initiative is.”
We hope you check out the discussion and let us know what you think.
And for further reading about evaluating the efficacy of your advocacy check out our book, The Art of Activism, and our very own experiment to evaluate the efficacy of artistic activism, The Copenhagen Experiment.
For more information about Revolutionizing Activism, click here.
It was revealed recently that the Southern Baptist Convention has been covering up allegations of sexual abuse for decades and Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins joins me to talk about this, and many other issues today. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. […]
Some Democrats don’t think Biden can win in 2024, so they’re looking for better options before its too late. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: Some Democrats don’t think Biden can win in 2024 so they’re looking for better options before […]
Elon Musk and Twitter are now facing class action lawsuits over the takeover deal that may or may not still be on the table. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: Elon Musk and Twitter are now facing class action lawsuits over […]
The police officers that responded to the Uvalde shooting have received a ton of criticism, and rightfully so. In addition to changing their story multiple times about what happened that day, the police force has now stopped cooperating in an ongoing investigation. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins talks with Jordan Chariton of Status Coup News […]
Victims of terrorism have been trying to hold banks accountable for laundering terrorist money, but the US government doesn’t want that to happen. Attorney Chris Paulos joins Mike Papantonio to explain what’s happening. Click here to find out more about terrorism lawsuits. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse […]
America’s Lawyer E07: The massive sex abuse scandal from the Southern Baptist Convention has already disappeared from the headlines, but the victims aren’t giving up their fight for justice. We’ll bring you the details. Democrats are worried that Biden can’t handle a re-election fight, and a small faction is hoping to recruit a new face […]
The crypto crash might be making headlines, but crypto theft and fraud should be the focus of regulators. Mike Papantonio is joined by attorney Michael Bixby to talk about this financial Wild West. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: The crypto crash might be making headlines, but crypto […]
A banking executive is in hot water for saying that nobody cares if Miami is underwater in 50 years due to climate change. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: A banking executive is in hot water for saying that nobody cares […]
Polls are currently showing that the Democratic Party is just about as unpopular as ever, so how did this happen? Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: Polls are currently showing that the Democratic party is just about as unpopular as ever. […]
Some of the most extreme members of Congress – from Paul Gosar to Marjorie Taylor Greene – are being propped up by right wing billionaires who apparently share their disgusting worldviews. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins recently spoke with investigative reporter Alex Kotch about who these families are, and, more importantly, why they are funding […]
If Roe gets overturned, Democrats are hoping it will give them an edge in November – but polls are saying it just won’t happen. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: If Roe gets overruled Democrats are hoping it’s gonna give them […]
Hillary Clinton’s former campaign manager Robby Mook says that Clinton personally approved sending false information to reporters about Trump being linked to a Russian bank. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: Hillary Clinton’s former campaign manager Robby Mook says that Clinton […]
This past week, Republicans went out of their way to blame everything except guns for mass shootings, and none of them want to address the actual problem. There is no other way around it: Guns are the problem, and the ease with which Americans can get their hands on weapons of war is terrifying. Ring […]
The Biden administration has put the brakes on their “Disinformation Board” after massive public backlash. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: The Biden administration has put the brakes on their disinformation board after massive backlash. Wow. No surprise here. It was […]
America’s Lawyer E06: Hillary Clinton’s former campaign manager claims that Hillary personally authorized the release of false information linking Donald Trump to a Russian bank, and this move set a series of events in motion that hurt America to this day. We’ll bring you the details. The Supreme Court overturning Roe might be a big […]
Independent media outlets are getting destroyed by YouTube, and a pending piece of legislation could explain why. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: Independent media outlets are getting destroyed by YouTube and a pending piece of legislation could be why that’s […]
Greedy Wall Street bankers are buying homes across the country and re-selling them at ridiculous markups, creating a housing bubble that could pop very soon. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio: Greedy Wall Street bankers well, they’re at it again. They’re […]