Summary
Highlights
Noreen Choudry Fink from the Soufan Center welcomes attendees and introduces the topic: countering terrorist narratives and strategic communications. She notes the historical focus on groups like Al-Qaeda and ISIS, their sophisticated use of media for recruitment and terror, and highlights the emerging, increasingly transnational threat from violent far-right extremist movements. Despite ideological differences, these groups share commonalities in seeking community based on purity, using violence, exhibiting anti-government sentiment, and promoting misogynistic narratives. The UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy emphasizes countering all forms of terrorism without compromising human rights and free speech, urging member states to address racially, ethnically, and ideologically motivated groups.
Bernad Heinz from Germany discusses how extreme political views flourish through ideological narratives that convey values and emotions, offering identification and defining socio-political problems. Right-wing extremist narratives, in particular, fuel exclusion and violence, evidenced by attacks on refugee accommodations in Germany. He notes the common thematic narratives between right-wing extremists and extremist Islamists (e.g., against modernity, universalism, Jews, feminism), often rejecting progress and enlightenment. Heinz emphasizes the critical need for governments, the international community, and civil society to develop effective counter-narratives to combat these anti-democratic and radicalizing messages, especially as narratives unrelated to rationality are used to curtail opinion-forming and promote radical viewpoints.
Miss Marcus Doll from Norway shares insights on the evolving terrorist threat, recalling the 2011 right-wing extremist attacks and recent arrests for planned terror. Norway has observed a negative development from both right-wing and Islamic extremism. The pandemic has worsened radicalization through isolation, frustration, and the rise of hate speech online. Norway's 'whole-of-society' approach focuses on early prevention and cross-sectoral cooperation across all forms of violent extremism. She highlights dilemmas, including the online challenge of digital subcultures, hatred, conspiracy theories, and balancing illegal content removal with freedom of speech. Norway prohibits hate speech but protects political statements, acknowledging the difficulty in strategically communicating this distinction. She emphasizes the need for broad international exchange to identify best measures.
Colin Clark, Senior Research Fellow at the Soufan Center, provides an overview of Al-Qaeda and ISIS strategic communications. Al-Qaeda's narratives were sophisticated, targeting multiple audiences (Muslim world, West) and focusing on policy change. Texts like 'The Management of Savagery' guided followers to exploit Western vulnerabilities. Bin Laden was particularly adept at shaping Al-Qaeda's ideology as the defender of Muslims. ISIS narratives were broad, despite media portrayals, and built-in flexibility for the post-caliphate phase. Their propaganda focused on restoring the caliphate, attracting 40,000 foreign fighters. The 'ISIS nostalgia narrative' maintains that the caliphate's creation was a historic, repeatable achievement. Clark expresses concern over potential resurgence in regions like Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, urging close attention to their adapted playbooks.
Vidya Ramalingam, co-founder of Moonshot CVE, shares findings on countering violent far-right extremism. She recounts her personal journey into studying white nationalism and the increased need for international cooperation on right-wing extremism since the 2011 Norway attacks. Extremist movements thrive during crises, leveraging fear and anxiety. She details how right-wing extremists adapt narratives to current events, seeding conspiracy theories on fringe platforms, then pushing them to the mainstream. The pandemic led to a significant increase in engagement with white supremacist content online (e.g., 140% higher in the US). Moonshot's research shows that extremist audiences are more receptive to non-ideological interventions (e.g., mental health, self-help content) than explicit counter-narratives. For armed groups, calmness messages and positive American identity messages were effective. She emphasizes data-driven approaches to understand audience receptivity, noting different groups respond to different messaging types.
Matthias Sundholm from the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate highlights that the pandemic has reinforced existing trends of opportunistic terrorist groups exploiting vulnerabilities. He notes the blurring lines between terrorist narratives, misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories, making the online space a battleground. He provides examples of paradoxical narratives from various groups, such as some jihadist groups calling COVID-19 a divine plan, while extreme right-wing groups link 5G and vaccines to control. The UN's 18-month project on countering terrorist narratives emphasizes extensive partnerships, clearinghouses for experts, and systematic monitoring and evaluation. Sundholm stresses the human rights implications, warning that emergency measures can fuel grievances. He questions the effectiveness of content removal alone in combating ideologies, and notes that in some countries, private sector platforms bear significant responsibility for countering online disinformation.
Mr. Carl Dane from Belgium focuses on conspiracy theories as a common fuel for Al-Qaeda, Daesh, and far-right propaganda. He explains the motivations behind adhering to such theories (epistemic, existential, social), which often mirror root causes of radicalization. Belgium's threat analysis unit (OCAD) observes the emergence of protest movements (e.g., against COVID-19 measures) that, while lacking political affiliation, serve as reservoirs for extremist ideologies. In times of crisis, people become more receptive to fake news and misinformation. Possible responses include clear communication from authorities, removal of hateful content (while respecting freedoms), and effective counter-narratives, including non-ideological psychosocial interventions. He concludes by emphasizing the importance of international cooperation to address these challenges.
Miss Nesrin Ilmansuri from Tunisia underscores the increasing and deeply worrying challenges posed by extreme right-wing terrorism, which is becoming transnational in financing, communication, recruitment, and radicalization, especially catalyzed by the pandemic and technology. She discusses how this form of extremism feeds on supremacist and xenophobic ideas, yet also mimics the tactics and propaganda of ISIS and Al-Qaeda. Tunisia believes in exploiting past counter-terrorism lessons to address right-wing terrorism. She emphasizes a human rights-based approach rooted in prevention, tackling underlying drivers, and involving a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, including civil society, the private sector, women, and youth. Ilmansuri highlights the timeliness of this discussion for reviewing the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and working multilaterally to define adequate terminology and strategies for prevention and eradication.
Noreen Choudry Fink offers three parting thoughts. First, the 'propaganda of the deed' should not be underestimated; violent groups' actions communicate their intent, power, and strategic objectives. Second, the enabling environment is critical. Multiple crises, normalized rhetoric, or legitimate extremist narratives can allow violent groups to prosper. Third, human rights are not just a 'box-ticking exercise.' Violations serve as a mobilizing narrative for extremist groups, creating distrust in the state. Integrating human rights into counter-terrorism measures is itself a crucial alternative narrative, as extremist groups observe and exploit governmental actions.