Have you ever heard people saying things like: “Migrants live of social benefits”, “Migrants don’t pay taxes”, “Migrants get favourable treatment from official bodies”, “Migrants overcrowd medical services”, “Migrants lower educational standards” or “Migrants are not willing to integrate”? Such ideas are generally not backed up by facts and data – they are rumours. Rumours target specific groups as “problematic” and generate mistrust and social conflict, including discrimination, racism and xenophobia.

The Communication for Integration (C4i) project of the Council of Europe and the European Union has engaged 11 European cities to counter widespread urban myths about diversity using viral communication campaigns and participatory initiatives.

This guide is designed for city leaders and policy makers wishing to learn how to build, implement and monitor anti-rumour strategies in their cities. It offers innovative responses to real-life challenges related to international migration and illustrates them with suggestions and practical examples from European cities. The guide relies on the understanding, which is at the core of the Council of Europe’s Intercultural Cities programme, that diversity can be an asset to the social, cultural and economic development of urban settings, if managed positively.