To mitigate the risks of engaging with potential mass shooters, Let's Talk to Them will initially engage only in one-way communication. We will speak to potential mass shooters, provide them with information, options, and redirection, but there won't be a way for them to contact us directly. Instead, our initial goal will be to guide them to existing mental health organizations (like the 9-8-8 mental health/crisis hotline) that have the resources, liability protection, and legal aircover to engage in direct communication. Let's Talk To Them will stay out of this high-risk space until we have adequate resources to manage these risks.

To mitigate this risk, we focus on de-escalation and strictly follow a "first do no harm" philosophy. Our approach engages and confronts violent ideologies, but does not challenge, incite, plant ideas, or promote this violence. We follow an identical approach to that used in de-escalating individuals contemplating self harm. We have a team of psychologists, mental health experts, and neuroscientists who evaluate our content to ensure that everything is calming, de-escalating, and redirecting.

Let's Talk To Them is not a surveillance operation. Our approach is very different -- rather than trying to find potential mass shooters, our goal is to get them to find us. We do this by creating highly-visible content and then using marketing techniques to saturate the online experience of potential mass shooters with content that will deter and redirect them. Our methodology is targeted advertising based on demographics, web activity, and use of particular websites — similar to the best practices used in online product or service marketing.

If we come across actionable intelligence of a credible threat, we have an escalation/response plan to quickly notify the correct authorities and do our part to prevent an attack from occurring. However, since we are engaging in one-way communication with potential shooters, there's no mechanism for them to contact us and inform us of their plans. Instead, our initial goal will be to guide them to existing mental health organizations (like the 9-8-8 mental health/crisis hotline). These organizations all have established response procedures in case they are tipped off about a potential attack. We will employ the same best practices, but it is unlikely we'll need to.

No - entrapment is "inducing a person to commit a crime so that person can be arrested and charged." We are doing the opposite -- we're trying to convince potential shooters not to engage in a crime. Additionally, only government officials such as police officers may be guilty of entrapment -- it's not something a private citizen can be charged with. If a private citizen induces a person to commit an illegal act, it's considered aiding and/or abetting the crime. Since we won't be inducing anyone to commit an illegal act and will instead be actively persuading them NOT to commit an illegal act, we are legally in the clear.