I really enjoyed the several organizations that provided information on their own grassroots efforts to get-the-word out about their good work, about how they created very positive online "buzz" about a particular issue, or how they countered an opposing political effort through grassroots online organizing, etc. It was great stuff. But I kept thinking of how these efforts are not always used for "good", and I brought up how it's been through various efforts, including online activism, that the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has been so severely maligned, particularly regarding its work in China. I've found myself convincing family members back in Kentucky, and friends back in Texas, that, no, what they read in that church bulletin or heard on some local radio program or read on some online discussion group about UNFPA was, in fact, NOT true. How does an organization effectively counter malicious, seemingly-grassroots online efforts to discredit its excellent work?

(I've written to UNFPA directly and encouraged them to respond as well, FYI)