Counter Narratives for Countering Violent Extremism Introduction - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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

• ffline,
• 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
• f 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

• uTube, 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
• vercome 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
• verwhelming 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
• rganisat 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.

Responses to Extremist Narratives -- contd

• Advanced digit al lit eracy is essent ial for young people and vulnerable

groups if t hey are t o be able t o effect ively resist effort s of ext remist s t o propagat e t heir narrat ives in an online environment . This includes:

• Teaching vulnerable audiences how t o spot t he use of propaganda

t echniques by ext remist s, t hus enhancing t heir resilience t o messaging and narrat ives t hat are unt rue.

• Building and enhancing basic source-verificat ion skills t o assess t he validit y,

reliabilit y and aut hent icit y of t he informat ion t hey consume, bot h online and offline.

• Underst anding of t he archit ect ure and funct ionalit y of t he Int ernet and how

t his impact s t he nat ure and qualit y of informat ion present ed t o users.

• It is essent ial t hat users become proact ive consumers of informat ion and

t hat t hey engage wit h t he cont ent and respond wit h messaging and narrat ive of t heir own which serve t o refut e t he inaccuracies put forward by ext remist s.

Concluding thoughts

Concluding thoughts

• The primary obj ective of counter narratives should be to sow

seeds of doubt among at risk communities who are exposed to VE influences, and to highlight viable alternative approaches and behaviours.

• Being clear about campaign obj ectives is essential. Each

campaign should be specific – there is no “ one-size-fits-all” .

• Counter narratives are a long term strategy – success is seldom

achieved overnight – sustained efforts is most effective.

• Campaigns should be as compelling and professionally produced

as possible. Quality is essential!

• It is important to think of Counter Narratives in terms of both
• nline and offline. Most successful campaigns are a j udicious

blend of the two.

Concluding thoughts - Contd

• When identifying key messengers for a campaign, ensure

they have necessary technical support to be able to fully exploit online and offline communications channels.

• Governments and communities engaged in counter

narrative campaigns should seek to work with private sector companies – both digital and traditional media.

• Remember that there are many resources, ideas and

strategies that have been produced and deployed elsewhere in The Commonwealth (and beyond) – do not hesitate to draw on the experience and content developed

• elsewhere. Also be prepared to share what has been

successful in your efforts.

END

Presented by: Patricia Crosby Email: p.crosby@ commonwealth.int Tel: +44 20 7747 6278 Presented by: Assan Ali Email: assan.ali@ commonwealth.int Tel: +44 20 7968 2611

Head of Unit: Mark Albon Email: m.albon@ commonwealth.int Tel: +44 20 7747 6540