Turning Hate Comments into a Platform for Young Refugees’ Voices
Summary
ToTheFullest partnered with Kindernothilfe, XENION and the Federal Association of Psychosocial Centers for Refugees and Victims of Torture (BAfF) to help create and produce #UnmuteRefugees – a social-first awareness campaign that strengthens the voices of young refugees in Germany.
Instead of telling stories about refugees, the campaign lets them respond directly to the hate and clichés that dominate today’s feeds. In a series of focused video portraits, young people who had to flee as children confront real hate comments, reclaim their narratives, and invite viewers to re-centre empathy in the migration debate.
Our work
As right‑wing narratives and online hate became louder in Germany, our partners wanted a campaign that pushed back – without falling into the usual NGO tropes of victimisation or shock imagery. The challenge: design a social media campaign that could cut through noisy, polarised feeds while staying radically respectful to the young people at its centre.
From the very beginning, we worked alongside Kindernothilfe, XENION, BAfF and creative lead Susanne Frericks to co-develop the core campaign concept and content formats. Together we arrived at a simple but powerful idea: in a world where hate comments dominate timelines, #UnmuteRefugees “takes back the feed”. Each protagonist is first hidden behind a real hate comment – then, as they start to speak, the comment fades and their voice takes over the screen.
Because the campaign had to be with refugees, not just about them, we built a participatory, multi-step interview process. Many of the protagonists had only recently arrived in Germany or spoke limited German, so we started with in‑depth pre‑interviews in a safe, conversational setting. From these sessions we developed individual storylines and then crafted tailored question sets that guided each interview towards a clear narrative arc, while still leaving enough space for spontaneous, authentic moments.
Strategically, the campaign also had to reach very different audience segments – from already supportive communities to more sceptical groups along the spectrum of attitudes toward migration and integration. To stress-test our ideas early, we used AI as a planning and testing tool: exploring how different message framings and core statements might resonate across our defined personas before production. AI never replaced human stories or creative judgment; it helped us validate which overarching narrative was most likely to land in a highly polarised environment.
On the production side, ToTheFullest led the film direction and cinematography for the campaign, shaping the visual language for both video and portrait photography used across the landing page, social channels and press materials. The team collaborated closely with editor Lukas Bille and the design and post-production team at MakeMamiProud to ensure a coherent, social-first look and feel.The result is an awareness campaign that lives primarily on the social channels and landing pages of Kindernothilfe and its partners. It connects deeply personal stories with clear calls to action – from contacting members of parliament about humane asylum policies to donating to refugee projects and debunking common myths about migration.
About Kindernothilfe & XENION
Kindernothilfe is one of Europe’s largest child rights organisations. For more than 65 years, the NGO has been supporting children and young people in difficult life situations around the world, working through local partners to promote education, protection and participation, and advocating for children’s rights at national and international levels.
XENION – psychosoziale Hilfen für politisch Verfolgte e. V. is a Berlin-based organisation that provides specialised psychosocial support and therapy for refugees and survivors of persecution and torture, helping them process trauma and rebuild their lives in Germany. Together with BAfF, the nationwide association of psychosocial centres for refugees and victims of torture, XENION and Kindernothilfe joined forces in #UnmuteRefugees to give young refugees a stronger voice in the public debate.
Turning Hate Comments into a Platform for Young Refugees’ Voices
Summary
ToTheFullest partnered with Kindernothilfe, XENION and the Federal Association of Psychosocial Centers for Refugees and Victims of Torture (BAfF) to help create and produce #UnmuteRefugees – a social-first awareness campaign that strengthens the voices of young refugees in Germany.
Instead of telling stories about refugees, the campaign lets them respond directly to the hate and clichés that dominate today’s feeds. In a series of focused video portraits, young people who had to flee as children confront real hate comments, reclaim their narratives, and invite viewers to re-centre empathy in the migration debate.
Our work
As right‑wing narratives and online hate became louder in Germany, our partners wanted a campaign that pushed back – without falling into the usual NGO tropes of victimisation or shock imagery. The challenge: design a social media campaign that could cut through noisy, polarised feeds while staying radically respectful to the young people at its centre.
From the very beginning, we worked alongside Kindernothilfe, XENION, BAfF and creative lead Susanne Frericks to co-develop the core campaign concept and content formats. Together we arrived at a simple but powerful idea: in a world where hate comments dominate timelines, #UnmuteRefugees “takes back the feed”. Each protagonist is first hidden behind a real hate comment – then, as they start to speak, the comment fades and their voice takes over the screen.
Because the campaign had to be with refugees, not just about them, we built a participatory, multi-step interview process. Many of the protagonists had only recently arrived in Germany or spoke limited German, so we started with in‑depth pre‑interviews in a safe, conversational setting. From these sessions we developed individual storylines and then crafted tailored question sets that guided each interview towards a clear narrative arc, while still leaving enough space for spontaneous, authentic moments.
Strategically, the campaign also had to reach very different audience segments – from already supportive communities to more sceptical groups along the spectrum of attitudes toward migration and integration. To stress-test our ideas early, we used AI as a planning and testing tool: exploring how different message framings and core statements might resonate across our defined personas before production. AI never replaced human stories or creative judgment; it helped us validate which overarching narrative was most likely to land in a highly polarised environment.
On the production side, ToTheFullest led the film direction and cinematography for the campaign, shaping the visual language for both video and portrait photography used across the landing page, social channels and press materials. The team collaborated closely with editor Lukas Bille and the design and post-production team at MakeMamiProud to ensure a coherent, social-first look and feel.The result is an awareness campaign that lives primarily on the social channels and landing pages of Kindernothilfe and its partners. It connects deeply personal stories with clear calls to action – from contacting members of parliament about humane asylum policies to donating to refugee projects and debunking common myths about migration.
About Kindernothilfe & XENION
Kindernothilfe is one of Europe’s largest child rights organisations. For more than 65 years, the NGO has been supporting children and young people in difficult life situations around the world, working through local partners to promote education, protection and participation, and advocating for children’s rights at national and international levels.
XENION – psychosoziale Hilfen für politisch Verfolgte e. V. is a Berlin-based organisation that provides specialised psychosocial support and therapy for refugees and survivors of persecution and torture, helping them process trauma and rebuild their lives in Germany. Together with BAfF, the nationwide association of psychosocial centres for refugees and victims of torture, XENION and Kindernothilfe joined forces in #UnmuteRefugees to give young refugees a stronger voice in the public debate.
Turning Hate Comments into a Platform for Young Refugees’ Voices
Summary
ToTheFullest partnered with Kindernothilfe, XENION and the Federal Association of Psychosocial Centers for Refugees and Victims of Torture (BAfF) to help create and produce #UnmuteRefugees – a social-first awareness campaign that strengthens the voices of young refugees in Germany.
Instead of telling stories about refugees, the campaign lets them respond directly to the hate and clichés that dominate today’s feeds. In a series of focused video portraits, young people who had to flee as children confront real hate comments, reclaim their narratives, and invite viewers to re-centre empathy in the migration debate.
Our work
As right‑wing narratives and online hate became louder in Germany, our partners wanted a campaign that pushed back – without falling into the usual NGO tropes of victimisation or shock imagery. The challenge: design a social media campaign that could cut through noisy, polarised feeds while staying radically respectful to the young people at its centre.
From the very beginning, we worked alongside Kindernothilfe, XENION, BAfF and creative lead Susanne Frericks to co-develop the core campaign concept and content formats. Together we arrived at a simple but powerful idea: in a world where hate comments dominate timelines, #UnmuteRefugees “takes back the feed”. Each protagonist is first hidden behind a real hate comment – then, as they start to speak, the comment fades and their voice takes over the screen.
Because the campaign had to be with refugees, not just about them, we built a participatory, multi-step interview process. Many of the protagonists had only recently arrived in Germany or spoke limited German, so we started with in‑depth pre‑interviews in a safe, conversational setting. From these sessions we developed individual storylines and then crafted tailored question sets that guided each interview towards a clear narrative arc, while still leaving enough space for spontaneous, authentic moments.
Strategically, the campaign also had to reach very different audience segments – from already supportive communities to more sceptical groups along the spectrum of attitudes toward migration and integration. To stress-test our ideas early, we used AI as a planning and testing tool: exploring how different message framings and core statements might resonate across our defined personas before production. AI never replaced human stories or creative judgment; it helped us validate which overarching narrative was most likely to land in a highly polarised environment.
On the production side, ToTheFullest led the film direction and cinematography for the campaign, shaping the visual language for both video and portrait photography used across the landing page, social channels and press materials. The team collaborated closely with editor Lukas Bille and the design and post-production team at MakeMamiProud to ensure a coherent, social-first look and feel.The result is an awareness campaign that lives primarily on the social channels and landing pages of Kindernothilfe and its partners. It connects deeply personal stories with clear calls to action – from contacting members of parliament about humane asylum policies to donating to refugee projects and debunking common myths about migration.
About Kindernothilfe & XENION
Kindernothilfe is one of Europe’s largest child rights organisations. For more than 65 years, the NGO has been supporting children and young people in difficult life situations around the world, working through local partners to promote education, protection and participation, and advocating for children’s rights at national and international levels.
XENION – psychosoziale Hilfen für politisch Verfolgte e. V. is a Berlin-based organisation that provides specialised psychosocial support and therapy for refugees and survivors of persecution and torture, helping them process trauma and rebuild their lives in Germany. Together with BAfF, the nationwide association of psychosocial centres for refugees and victims of torture, XENION and Kindernothilfe joined forces in #UnmuteRefugees to give young refugees a stronger voice in the public debate.
