"Recent studies suggest that empathy induced by narrative messages can effectively facilitate persuasion and reduce psychological reactance. Although limited, emerging research on the etiology of radical political behavior has begun to explore the role of narratives in shaping an individual’s beli
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efs, attitudes, and intentions that culminate in radicalization. The existing studies focus exclusively on the influence of narrative persuasion on an individual, but they overlook the necessity of empathy and that in the absence of empathy, persuasion is not salient. We argue that terrorist organizations are strategic in cultivating empathetic-persuasive messages using audiovisual materials, and disseminating their message within the digital medium. Therefore, in this paper we propose a theoretical model and analytical framework capable of helping us better understand the neurocognitive process of digital radicalization." (Abstract)
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"Der sogenannte Islamische Staat nutzt in seiner Kommunikationsstrategie vor allem eine Form von direkter Zielgruppenansprache über eigens produzierte Videos und Nachrichtenkanäle. Die Verwendung von massenmedialen Multiplikatoren ist zwar weiterhin ein wichtiger Bestandteil zur Verbreitung von An
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gst, die der Terrorismus evozieren will; allerdings eröffnet diese Möglichkeit der direkten Kommunikation eine völlig neue Ansprache der Rezipienten. Bei der Verbreitung über traditionelle Massenmedien muss seitens der Terroristen eine ausgleichende Berichterstattung in Kauf genommen werden – das klassische Medien-Framing. Dagegen können bei direkter Ansprache relevanter Publika strategische Kommunikator-Frames und Narrative gesetzt werden. Über die Wirkung von Propaganda wird nach wie vor debattiert. Daher stellt sich die Frage, ob diese Botschaften grundlegend anders auf Rezipienten wirken als Medienberichte, in denen ebenfalls ideologische Botschaften kommuniziert werden. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird in einem experimentellen Design die Wirkung terroristischer Kommunikationsinhalte auf die Emotionen der Rezipienten untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen unter anderem, dass strategische Kommunikator-Frames negative Emotionen verstärken können. Politisches Wissen und Themeninteresse können jedoch diese Reaktionen und damit die Hauptwirkungskomponente des Terrorismus – die Angst – reduzieren." (Abstract)
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"The report is split into three chapters: chapter one looks at over one hundred different campaigns, highlighting effective and successful campaigns, and the evaluations of them where possible. Those that are not evaluated can be used as inspiration. The categorisation of the different campaigns was
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difficult, therefore within the chapter itself the campaigns have been categorised into 12 different topics, however in the bibliography they are categorised by the country that they originated in. In order to visualise how many campaigns fell into two different categories, the campaign crossover table was created. It is important to note that some of the campaigns in the table may also have fallen into a third category as well, but this has not been displayed. Chapter two identifies training resources and articles that lay out the current state of thinking on the following six different topics: counter/alternative narratives, disinformation resources, good/best practices, current thinking, educational resources and toolkits, and finally, resources discussing online radicalisation. Chapter three provides summaries and key takeaways from the three round table discussions we conducted in Brussels, London and The Hague [...] Finally, as a result of the knowledge gathered in this report, the conclusion and recommendations lay out the necessary components for building a successful, effective, and impactful campaign, in the hopes that it will be informative and useful for future campaigners and trainers." (Introduction)
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"Conflict in Yemen plays out along various fault lines—regional, sectarian, class, political, tribal, and ethnic—which are reflected in the hateful language employed on and offline to incite violence. The sectarian aspect of conflict in Yemen is relatively new, as prior to 2011, “religious coe
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xistence and intermingling was taken for granted by most Yemenis and seen as a normal feature of everyday life.” But with the outbreak of conflict after the removal of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, “sectarian discourse has become more heated, reorganizing Yemeni society along sectarian lines and rearranging people’s relationships to one another on a non-nationalist basis.” Furthermore, the social and political dynamics in Yemen have fostered a permissive environment for hate speech. According to information gathered from a community meeting held in Sana’a in 2015, “many leaders have normalized and legitimized antagonistic, exclusionary rhetoric to consolidate their power and dehumanize their enemies.” In terms of access to online networks, despite a weak telecommunications sector relative to other Middle Eastern countries, an estimated 90 percent of the Yemeni population has access to the internet through mobile phones and, as of 2015, 93 percent of internet users are on Facebook and 92 percent utilize WhatsApp. The heavy saturation of these online communications networks highlights a growing need to understand and address the hate speech being spread within Yemen’s complex context. PeaceTech Lab’s work on hateful speech aims to identify and contextualize the particular terms and phrases that have the potential to lead to violence. This project identifies relevant terms through on-the-ground information gathering and examines their origins, context, and usages in a particular country environment. To successfully monitor and counter hateful speech, we must first identify specific terms and the social and political context that makes them offensive, inflammatory, and potentially dangerous. The research also seeks to identify alternative terms that might be used to mitigate or replace this language and thereby contribute to building peace. Finally, this report is intended as a resource for individuals and organizations involved in monitoring and combatting hateful speech as well as those involved in conflict prevention and mitigation so that their work can be more effective." (Introduction)
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"PeaceTech Lab’s work on hate speech aims to identify and contextualize the particular types of language that are likely to cause violence. This project identifies relevant terms through on-theground information gathering and examines their origins, background context, and use in a particular coun
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try environment. To successfully monitor and counter hateful speech, we must first identify specific terms and the social and political context that makes them offensive, inflammatory, or even potentially dangerous. The research also seeks to identify alternative terms that would mitigate or replace this language and thereby contribute to building peace. Finally, this report is intended as a resource for individuals and organizations involved in monitoring and combatting hateful speech so that their work can be more effective." (Introduction)
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"This report — Social Media and Conflict in South Sudan II: A Lexicon of Hate Speech Terms 2017-2018 — follows on its predecessor which was released in December 2016 after three years of civil war in South Sudan. It identifies key terms being used in the conflict, as well as new terms, context,
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and dynamics in South Sudan’s conflict over the period of 2017-2018." (Introduction)
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"South Africa’s upcoming general election marks 25 years of multi-racial democracy: a milestone which has us reflecting on how far the country has come - and how far it has to go. Despite real and lasting achievements, problems of massive economic inequalities, disparities in land ownership, and h
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igh unemployment persist and are exacerbated by issues like migration and the climate crisis. It’s within this context that hateful language has spiked; certain politicians and members of the public have pushed anti-immigrant rhetoric while others have called for the expropriation without compensation of white-owned land, leading to fears that the chasms between and among South Africa’s political, social, and economic classes will only grow larger. In response, PeaceTech Lab partnered with South Africa’s Media Monitoring Africa to examine the origins, context, and influence of hateful speech in the country. [This publication] pairs social media analysis with in-depth qualitative research to help everyone - from civil society activists to government officials - in their efforts to address the surging problem of hate speech." (Publisher description)
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"As the ‘big three’ social media platforms Facebook, YouTube and Twitter increasingly lose their relevance for young users, other social media, especially Instagram, step up to fill this space. Our research showed that hate groups and extremists wishing to influence minors or young adults with t
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heir ideologies follow their target group to those platforms. It is a welcome step that Instagram joined the Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech Online in 2018. Due to the increasing significance of this network and its relevance for children, future research on hate speech online should consider Instagram on a par with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. As the social media with the broadest audience strengthen their moderation and removal policies to tackle hate speech, extremists and hate groups are looking for alternative solutions. They find these in networks which do not enforce their community guidelines as strictly or advocate a far-reaching free speech approach specifically allowing hate speech on their platforms. Those platforms are very diverse and appeal to different audiences in different countries. In some countries, dedicated websites are set up in order to facilitate the use of networks operated abroad and to mediate possible language barriers." (Conclusion, page 11)
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"Digitale Kommunikation spielt in unserem Alltag eine immer größere Rolle. Vor allem Jugendliche nutzen insbesondere das Internet zum Austausch mit Freund*innen als Informationsquelle und zur Unterhaltung. Extremistische Akteure wissen das und nutzen Internet-Plattformen und -Dienste zur Kommunika
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tion, zur Rekrutierung neuer Mitglieder, zur Verbreitung von propagandistischem Material, zur Agitation und zur Vernetzung untereinander. Sie profitieren dabei von einer (größtenteils) unkontrollierten, schnellen und kostengünstigen Informationsvermittlung nahezu in Echtzeit und über Ländergrenzen hinweg sowie einer (vermeintlichen) Anonymität. Laut Verfassungsschutz nutzen extremistische Akteure das Internet um zu mobilisieren und potentielle Anhänger*innen hinzuzugewinnen." (Einführung)
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