A media-psychological investigation to analyze the effects of "counter-narratives" to prevent right-wing and Islamic extremist propaganda
Comissioned by: the German Federal Police (BKA) and founded by the German Ministry of the Interior (BMI)
Funding: 292.454,40 €, 1.5 x 13-TV-L
Duration: 09.2014-08.2016 (24 month
Applicants: Prof. Dr. Gary Bente, Dr. Diana Rieger and Dipl.-Psych. Lena Frischlich
Summary: The frequency of extremist propaganda videos online is constantly increasing (Glaser, 2010; Torres-Soriano, 2010). Particularly right-wing extremist and Islamic extremist propagators pursue professional media strategies aimed at recruiting new followers and try to "advertise" extremist ideologies. The probability that young recipients are confronted with such extremist ideologies online is accordingly high (Rieger, Frischlich, & Bente, 2013). In consequence, examining the potential effectiveness of counter messages and preventive approaches deserves empirical attention. Counter-narratives, (messages designed to counter the extremist narrative), aim at countering extremist ideologies directly online and shall take the function of an "antidote" (Neumann, 2013). However, experimental research on the dissemination, effect, and effectiveness of such "counter-narratives" is seldom. The current project aims at filling in this void via three consecutive modules: Module 1 aims at collecting and describing current counter-narrative videos. The project thereby focusses on videos against right-wing extremist and Islamist ideologies. Via a large content-analysis the argumentative structure and formal staging of the messages will be described. The subsequent Module 2 examines the empirical effects of these videos combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Module 3 will experimentally test the effectiveness of different counter-narratives in combination with extremist propaganda and examine boundary conditions for "counter-narratives" to envelope an effect.
Keywords: Media effects, Counter-Narratives, Prevention, Propaganda, Right-wing extremism, Islamism