Section outline
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The term ‘counter-messaging’ has come to be used in relation to a wide range of communication activities. This can include everything from public diplomacy and strategic communications by governments to targeted campaigns to discredit the ideologies and actions of violent extremists by civil society. For the purpose of this module, we are going to look at government strategic narratives, alternative narratives and counter narratives.
- Government Strategic Communications are led by government employees and exist to present government policy and strategy in a positive light; this may take the form of a public awareness campaign.
- Alternative Narratives, which are undertaken by either government or civil society, aim to present a new narrative, rather than engaging on the same terms as the extremist content. This may include stories relating to diversity, or tolerance, or social values.
- Counter Narratives, which are best used by civil society, directly tackle an extremist narrative in an attempt to discredit violent extremists’ messages.
Lets dig deeper:
Alternative Narratives are used to undercut violent extremist narratives by focusing on what we as society are “for” rather than “against.” By using this type of messaging, you are not directly challenging extremist messaging, rather influencing those who might be sympathetic towards a cause or increase social cohesion through emphasizing commonality and inclusion.
For example, the Extremely EUnited campaign targets the critical thinking skills of young people through videos, podcasts, art and other tools. ‘I am a Full-Right Human Being,’ video produced for the campaign encourages youth to change their perspective and see how viewing things differently can change their outlook on life. The video showcases different perspectives of youth in Hungary about acceptance, diversity and inclusivity. Watch the video here:
Source: Extremely EUnited. ‘’I Am a Full-Right Human Being.’’ June 16, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmRxzsrmLSo.
Notice! This campaign does not say anything about violent extremism - but it does help youth to enhance their critical thinking skills to foster social cohesion and ultimately, prevent hate speech and even radicalization.
Counter Narratives, on the other hand, are used to directly deconstruct, discredit and demystify violent extremist messaging. This can include utilizing messaging that challenges through ideology, logic, fact or humor. By using this messaging, you are creating doubt amongst at-risk audiences who are seeking out or viewing extremist content online.
As shared by Hedayah and the International Center for Counter-Terrorism, narratives can challenge the beliefs and actions in a variety of ways:
Strategic Counter Narratives
Strategic counter narratives for broad audiences may be useful for governments or large, multilateral organizations wishing to condemn violent extremists and their efforts. However, participants also noted that, while strategic counter narratives are often a necessary response to a crisis or an attack, these narratives are not necessarily intended on reaching the individuals that are already supporting Al-Qaeda and similar organizations.
Ethical Counter Narratives
These types of narratives point out that violent action is not a moral way of achieving aims. They may be useful if the messenger has ethical or moral influence over the target audience. These arguments may not be religious in nature, but rather point out the commonalities between all humans, and call for a better cooperation between all nations and peoples
Ideological and Religious Counter Narratives
This type of counter narratives may be useful if the messenger has religious authority in the target community. In the case of Al-Qaeda, this includes Islamic scholars, imams and community-based religious leaders. Participants noted that governments making religious arguments, especially Western governments, can be counter-productive, and the (credibility of the) messenger is especially important in this case.
Tactical Counter Narratives
Tactical counter narratives are those that emphasize that violence in the long run is often less effective when compared to more peaceful methods, and not useful to an organizations’ overall reputation and objectives. This type of narrative can be used by a variety of messengers, including governments and community-based organizations. The main obstacle to success for this type of narratives is in providing an alternative that still allows for the individual, group or organization to potentially achieve their goals in a non-violent way.
Humor and Sarcasm
Humor and sarcasm may be useful in de-legitimizing the narrative of violent extremists in certain instances. Participants gave the example of the film Four Lions as a pop-culture way of delegitimizing the violent extremist narrative through humor. However, it was also mentioned that there had been little work done in terms of assessing the impact of that film or how it was received by the public through a CVE lens. It was also suggested that using humor may not reach the intended target audience, and only reinforce the absurdity of terrorism to the general public that already does not support Al-Qaeda and similar organizations.
Other uses of counter narrative campaigns could include:
- Highlighting how extremist activities negatively impact the people they claim to represent - including women, youth and other vulnerable communities.
- Demonstrating the hypocrisy of extremist groups and how their actions are often inconsistent with their own stated beliefs.
- Identifying factual inaccuracies used in extremist propaganda and countering the misinformation with accurate information.
Let's look at an example of a counter narrative campaign.
‘Operation Trojan T-Shirt’ The 'Operation Trojan T-Shirt' campaign in Germany sought to eliminate peer influence and encourage engagement with another narrative. In 2011, members of EXIT Deutschland, an anti-Nazi organization in Germany devoted to helping Germans “get out of the scene,’’ went undercover at a far-right music festival run by Germany’s right-wing National Democratic Party. Members of EXIT Deutschland dressed to blend in and handed out 250 of what appeared to be hardcore T-shirts that read, “Hardcore Rebels. National and Free.” However, once the shirts were washed, the message changed to read, “If your T-Shirt can do it, so can you. We will help you break with right-wing extremism,” and included a contact number for EXIT Deutschland. Find out more about the campaign here:
Source: EXIT-Deutschland. ‘’OPS // Trojan T-Shirt.’’ March 30, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSIbsHKEP-8.
