The Newspaper Association of America has armed newspapers to fight back on Twitter with '20 Tweetable truths'.

And while many are US-specific, publishers around the world will be able to make use of others. The list includes facts and figures about the state of print and digital newspapers and examples of the many positive developments taking place in the industry.

Ready to Tweet and all 140 characters or less, the messages are grouped into four categories - audience, social media, advertising and miscellaneous. Some link back to the NAA website and resources, and use the discovery-themed #KnowYourNews hashtag.

NAA communications manager Lindsey Loving says that through the hashtag, it hopes to contribute positively to discussions about newspapers on social media, for those interested in learning more about news media topics.

It urges members to download the PDF of the '20 Tweetable truths' document, and click the button on the right of each fact to Tweet it. The post will automatically populate, complete with links, and just needs to be sent.

Loving suggests that while they can be used any time, they will have the greatest impact when posted by multiple groups and individuals, perhaps as a 'mini-campaign' during a day or week, or on the same day of the week for a longer period.

Posts can be planned in advance by using the scheduling function in social media aggregator tools.

NAA plans updates with more facts about newspaper media to share with followers.