Counter Narratives for Countering Violent Extremism
Introduction • Ext remist s and violent ext remist s have always sought t o use compelling messages and narrat ives as a means of at t ract ing followers t o t heir cause, • In t he modern age it follows t hat t he int ernet and social media represent a significant and easy t o use medium t o inspire, radicalise and recruit young people, • It is apparent t hat if Count ering Violent Ext remism (CVE) is t o be effect ive, t here must be great er focus and resources made available t o t he development of effect ive count er narrat ives, bot h online and offline, • It must be not ed t hat Count er Narrat ive Programmes are t ime and resource int ensive and require commit t ed act ion on t he part of all st akeholders if t hey are t o be successful
Recognising extremist narratives
Recognising extremist narratives • Ext remist s t end t o focus on a mix of ideological, polit ical, moral, religious and social narrat ives, based on a range of real or imagined grievances, • Delivery met hods may vary, however, t he main focus t oday is on a range of mult imedia t ools and t echniques (pict ures, video, music) in high volume and spread across a number of plat forms such as Facebook, Twit t er, Y ouTube, What s-app and Telegram t o name only a few. • Narrat ive are comprised of compelling st ories and argument s delivered by charismat ic individuals designed t o influence a generat ion of young people who use elect ronic devices as t heir main source of informat ion and int eract ion wit h ot hers, • The narrat ives provide a simplist ic, unifying ideological st ruct ure, which combines fact s wit h half-t rut hs and misinformat ion.
Recognising extremist narratives -- contd • Key messages and strategies may vary from group to group but there are a number of common messages and calls to action; • Duty -- to protect, avenge, stand up for, defend ones brothers and sisters, • Victimisation – you and your people are the victims of aggression and need to stand up to it, • Religious reward -- God rewards those who fulfil their obligation to defend their faith, • Personal Identity – real men / true believers are willing to use resistance and violence, • Belonging -- its important to be part of the group taking on the aggressor. • S ense of purpose – to give your life meaning it is necessary j oin the struggle, • Adventure – j oining the struggle is an heroic adventure and will bring you fame,
Recognising extremist narratives -- contd • To inspire and radicalise young people extremists draw on common propaganda techniques, including: • Bandwagon -- encouraging t heir t arget s t o fit in wit h t he crowd, • S capegoat ing -- blaming problems on a part icular group, • Offering a “ Choice” -- convincing t arget s t hat t he “ choice” being offered is t he only rat ional one, • Affirmat ion -- present ing informat ion as a fact when it is really open t o int erpret at ion • Transference -- applying feelings or views about one issue t o anot her issue • Omission – leaving out fact s t hat would ot herwise radically change t he meaning of t he message,
Effective Counter Narrative campaigns
Effective Counter Narrative campaigns • Count er-Narrat ive campaigns encompass a wide range of communicat ion act ivit ies, including: • public diplomacy, • strategic communications by governments and, • targeted campaigns • These act ivit ies are designed t o raise awareness in communit ies and fost er key relat ionships bet ween government and communit ies, discredit t he ideologies and act ions of violent ext remist s, offer alt ernat ive narrat ives focusing on posit ive engagement and t o direct ly count er violent ext remist messaging • Improving digit al lit eracy and crit ical consumpt ion among t arget audiences is crucial and Government s should support such programmes t hrough schools, as well as, yout h and communit y organisat ions, • S t rat egic count er narrat ive communicat ions need t o be cent ralised and coordinat ed wit hin government st ruct ures, eit her t hrough a dedicat ed unit or by assigning lead st at us t o a single unit or depart ment ,
Effective Counter Narrative campaigns - Contd • It is essential to identify credible Community Service Organisations (CSO’s) and NGO’s as key partners in the campaign and to make adequate skills, capacity and funding investments in such partners, • Effective counter narrative campaigns rely on accurate and clear information. Centralised information gathering and ensuring scalability will ensure that partners have the information, analytics, audience profiling needed, • Sharing of good practice, resources and capacity is critical for success and this can be facilitated by government stakeholders, • Government must demonstrate political will to address VE and overcome challenges of resources (human and financial), bureaucracy and follow through on commitments made to communities.
Responses to Extremist Narratives
Responses to Extremist Narratives • Many government s have been slow t o respond t o t he use of t he Int ernet and social media by violent ext remist s t o inspire, radicalise and recruit young people t o t heir causes, • Most response programmes have focussed on react ive law enforcement measures designed t o reduce t he supply of ext remist cont ent t hrough; • Removal by put t ing pressure on privat e sect or indust ry ‘ t ake down’ user- generat ed cont ent or websit es usually t hrough legal means • Filt ering by blacklist ing key words or web addresses t hat are int ent ionally dropped from search result s, • Hiding informat ion by manipulat ing t he choice-archit ecture of users by influencing search engine result s t o make cont ent more difficult t o find • These measures are of limit ed effect iveness because of t he overwhelming quant it y of mat erial available on t he int ernet , limit ed human and financial capacit y for such programmes, t he lack of int ernat ional t ransferabilit y from a pract ical and legal st andpoint ,
Responses to Extremist Narratives -- contd • More effect ive responses t end t o focus on reducing t he demand for such cont ent by undermining it s appeal among t arget audiences, • It is bet t er t o help people t o see t hrough t he propaganda and disinformat ion t echniques by; • Enhancing t heir digit al lit eracy and helping t hem t o be crit ical of what t hey see and read bot h online and offline • Enable t he design and disseminat ion of online and offline informat ion product s t hat challenge extremist narrat ives via forums and social media plat forms and promot e credible alt ernat ives, • Building t he capacit y of credible messengers by assist ing civil societ y organisat ions and credible individuals t o provide believable alt ernat ives t o violent ext remism online • Government s are generally not effect ive as count er-narrat ive messengers because t hey t end t o lack credibilit y among t he t arget audiences, and are oft en slow t o respond due t o bureaucrat ic const raint s, • The key role for government s is in managing t heir st rat egic communicat ions effect ively, and providing support , facilit at ion and resource t o NGO’s / CS O’s who have t he necessary credibilit y,
Responses to Extremist Narratives -- contd • Violent ext remist messaging oft en finds t ract ion in communit ies because t arget audiences have a t endency t o accept informat ion provided online and in ot her media as t rue, • S t rong count er narrat ive campaigns are underscored by t he development of key skills wit hin vulnerable communit ies, • Critical consumption skills t hat help vulnerable communit ies t o recognise and underst and t he use of propaganda t echniques online, • Digital literacy skills t hat help vulnerable communit ies t o underst and how t he Int ernet works, how search engine result s are generat ed, and how t o use various online t ools t o refine t heir searches, • Interpretation of extremist narratives t o help t hose most at risk t o underst and t he narrat ive t echniques used by ext remist s and how t o see t hrough t hem, • By empowering people t o become proact ive and crit ical consumers of informat ion communit ies are able t o limit t he impact t hat violent ext remist narrat ive can have and t hus limit t he capacit y of violent ext remist s t o recruit effect ively from wit hin t he communit y.
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