A Quick Defense of the UN

Verena Borton from the Davis Chapter spotted an editorial extolling a number of misnomers about the work of the UN's International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and its role in Internet regulation. As it turned out, the editorial wasn't even written by staff at the paper, the Davis Enterprise, it was purchased from a national news service. The editorial was published on the final day of the 2012 UNA-USA Annual Meeting, where members received training and materials on how to respond to falsehoods related to the UN's role on different issues that appear in the press.

As soon as she spotted the story (Sun. June, 17), Verena alerted the UNA-USA Membership Staff, and asked for support in responding. The National office worked quickly to draft a Letter to the Editor that Verena could submit to the Enterprise in response. She received the letter on Mon. June 18, and she submitted it to the editorial staff at the paper on Tue. June, 19. The letter was published on Wed. June, 20.

In just 72 brief hours, a UNA-USA Chapter was able to identify and respond to misinformation about the UN and its work. This is the type of speedy and effective grassroots advocacy that results from UNA Chapters working in tandem with the National Office.

In a very short time-span, the readership of the Davis Enterprise went from reading myths about ITU, to getting the truth about what the organization is all about, and more importantly, what it's not about.

UNA-USA Staff is here to help Chapters make the most of their communications and advocacy efforts – if you spot an article that doesn't accurately portray the UN or its work, alert the National Office by sending an email to membership@unausa.org. The team is here to lend support in providing talking points, drafting communications, and helping place written pieces that let the public know the real story about what actions the UN is and is not taking on the world stage.