Be clear about when you are going off the record and when you go back on. By encouraging accurate reporting about family planning, a strong public information program helps contain rumors before they spread. Once rumors have appeared in the news media, it is difficult to counter them, but it is important to try. When journalists receive credible, authoritative information about family planning, they become more aware of contraceptive technology, the advantages and disadvantages of contraceptive methods, and their correct use. Such information helps them report accurately on family planning issues.
Family planning rumors often build to fantastic proportions.
For example, a Bangladeshi woman was said to have given birth to a snake after taking oral contraceptives. When this rumor reached a newspaper reporter, he set out to find the woman to interview her but was disappointed that he could not locate her never thinking that she did not exist. Help journalists also to counter rumors by reporting the facts. Such activities as preparing fact sheets and background reports on family planning methods and programs, arranging interviews with service providers and clients, and making family planning programs more accessible to journalists will help the news media see rumors for what they are. When rumors are widespread in society, they often appear in the news media despite the best efforts of family planning programs.