RADICALISATION | ‘We’re not neo-Nazis anymore’: Radicalisation strategies in online far-right propaganda and disinformation campaigns

Summary
The European Union (EU) is facing a high-level security threat by the re-emergence of the far right, indicated by a recent significant increase in far-right violence, often underreported to the police and by the media. The timeliness of this project is indicated by the alarming rate of radicalisation in the EU: the use of the internet for the fast-paced dissemination of far-right ideology and mobilisation of radicalised individuals from white supremacist movements pose an enhanced security threat to the EU and an ‘existential threat’ to fundamental European values such as ‘non-discrimination, tolerance, and equality’ as per Article 2 of the Treaty of EU. The primary goal of this project is to identify radicalisation strategies in online far-right propaganda, in order to gain a deep understanding of its linguistic repertoire and contribute to its prevention. Specifically, the main research question of is how radicalisation strategies of European far-right narratives deploy a wide range of nuanced semiotic, linguistic and visual meaning-making resources in order to recruit potential new members. Understanding the appeal of the European far right is therefore an urgent priority: the increasing normalisation of populist radical rhetoric is evidenced by 1) these voices gaining traction in recent elections and referenda and 2) increased incidents of hate speech and hate crime. By investigating extremist online propaganda, the ultimate goal of this interdisciplinary project is twofold: 1) to contribute new knowledge relevant to a range of disciplines, and 2) to lay the foundations for the creation of educational and deradicalisation programmes. This focus on far-right radicalisation strategies is consistent with the policy objective of ‘develop[ing] joint programmes on countering violent extremism and radicalisation’, set out in the European Commission’s document 'A Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy'.
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More information & hyperlinks
Web resources: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/845643
Start date: 15-04-2020
End date: 14-04-2023
Total budget - Public funding: 235 191,81 Euro - 235 191,00 Euro
Cordis data

Original description

The European Union (EU) is facing a high-level security threat by the re-emergence of the far right, indicated by a recent significant increase in far-right violence, often underreported to the police and by the media. The timeliness of this project is indicated by the alarming rate of radicalisation in the EU: the use of the internet for the fast-paced dissemination of far-right ideology and mobilisation of radicalised individuals from white supremacist movements pose an enhanced security threat to the EU and an ‘existential threat’ to fundamental European values such as ‘non-discrimination, tolerance, and equality’ as per Article 2 of the Treaty of EU. The primary goal of this project is to identify radicalisation strategies in online far-right propaganda, in order to gain a deep understanding of its linguistic repertoire and contribute to its prevention. Specifically, the main research question of is how radicalisation strategies of European far-right narratives deploy a wide range of nuanced semiotic, linguistic and visual meaning-making resources in order to recruit potential new members. Understanding the appeal of the European far right is therefore an urgent priority: the increasing normalisation of populist radical rhetoric is evidenced by 1) these voices gaining traction in recent elections and referenda and 2) increased incidents of hate speech and hate crime. By investigating extremist online propaganda, the ultimate goal of this interdisciplinary project is twofold: 1) to contribute new knowledge relevant to a range of disciplines, and 2) to lay the foundations for the creation of educational and deradicalisation programmes. This focus on far-right radicalisation strategies is consistent with the policy objective of ‘develop[ing] joint programmes on countering violent extremism and radicalisation’, set out in the European Commission’s document 'A Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy'.

Status

CLOSED

Call topic

MSCA-IF-2018

Update Date

28-04-2024
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Horizon 2020
H2020-EU.1. EXCELLENT SCIENCE
H2020-EU.1.3. EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
H2020-EU.1.3.2. Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
H2020-MSCA-IF-2018
MSCA-IF-2018