Kategorie: Propaganda/Narratives
RAN Spotlight on COVID-19, Violent Extremism and Anti-Government Movements
October 2022
A psychological perspective on ‚Conspiracy narratives fostering anti-government sentiment‘. (Page 11)
Alexander Ritzmann is a senior adviser with the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) and the RAN
People who believe in conspiracy narratives are often trying to fix a problem. In many cases, they are in some kind of personal crisis (e.g. financial debt, reputation loss, job loss, partner loss) when they subscribe to stories claiming for example that a small “hidden (Jewish) elite” is running the world, that “white people” are being systematically replaced or that Bill Gates is using the COVID 19 pandemic to put microchips in peoples´ bodies to control them. Most conspiracy narratives also promise a caring community, belonging, safety, a status upgrade, adventure and often even heroism. Simply put: People believe in conspiracy narratives to feel better. They promise an essential upgrade to the (subjective) status quo to the “believer”. And they put the blame of what went wrong in one´s lives on someone else, which can be quite liberating.
Conspiracy narratives that are of particular relevance for P/CVE practitioners and policy makers are those that call for the degrading of others or are proclaiming an existential, apocalyptic threat that justifies or even mandates violence. The “Great Replacement”, “QAnon”, the “War against Islam” and “protect the children/vaccines kill children” fall in this category.
Possible Indicators for potential violence are:
“Upgrading by downgrading”: The promised status upgrade of the “believer” is based on the degradation or dehumanization of “the others” (out-group)
“The end is near”: The “believers” are facing supposedly existential, apocalyptic threats by out-groups
-“Moral outrage”: Unbearable crimes are supposedly being committed by out-groups, e.g. the abuse or killing of children.
Conspiracy narratives are mostly not about IQ´s or information deficits. Many “believers” claim to be well informed critical thinkers who spend a lot of time investigating “the truth”. Research suggests that the more intelligent “believers” are, the better they are at defending their narrative. Why? Because believing their truth makes them feel better than the realistic alternative. This indicates that the main issue here is not “the truth” as an end point of scientific research (which is more of process than an end point anyway), but the lack of “trust” in established mainstream governments, universities and civil society organizations. In that sense, we are not in a post- truth, but a post-trust era.
Conspiracy narratives are probably as old as human language since they promise the above mentioned feel-better functionality. Having said this, pervious “gatekeepers” of information, like established newspapers and TV stations, have partially been replaced as moral and factual universal authorities. Partisan cable TV stations since the 1990s, and algorithmically amplified polarization as part of the business models of social media companies since 2014, have been triggering basic human instincts like fear, outrage and moral grandstanding in a suggestive 24 hours-7 days a week on-demand way.
It is difficult, if not near impossible, to change someone´s mind if their current belief and in-group makes them feel safe and relevant. Some Anthropologists suggest that historically, homo sapiens who stayed in tight groups to fight threats spread their DNA more successfully than those who wandered into the forest by themselves, leading to a widely shared biological „need“ for community. Until today, this can make humans pick the “truth” of their in-group over otherwise available information, especially if the “out-group” information challenges sacred values or the group identity. Neuroscientific research suggests that the „threat perception-centre“ of the human brain, the amygdala, which reacts when we encounter a physical threat like a bear in the forest, also takes charge of our behaviours when our most valued/sacred beliefs are challenged. This indicates that confrontational approaches when addressing conspiracy narratives will not work or even backfire, particularly if the “believer” is in a state of “fused identity”, meaning the individual and the group identity have merged.
The good news is that conspiracy believers at some point will have doubts about their life choices again. Maybe the hopes and projections of the promised life-upgrade did not realise. Maybe the leadership of the new community is corrupt, unjust or even dangerous. This can make people reevaluate their choice and then they might be looking for support to leave. This is the opportunity for a successful P/CVE intervention, very similar to deradicalization/exit work. In a private context, when family or friends are conspiracy believers, staying in contact, avoiding dividing topics and looking for common ground can help facilitating an exit from the world of “hidden elites” and conspiracies.
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Foreign Fighters in the 2022 Russia-Ukraine War (UPDATE 1) – An Assessment of Extremist Volunteers (Video/Policy Brief)
CEP- Webinar Video, April 5
CEP – Policy Brief, April 5
Articles on far-right extremism/Azov in Ukraine (EURONEWS and CNN)
April 12, 2022
The myth far-right zealots run Ukraine is Russian propaganda
Alexander Ritzmann
March 30, 2022
A far-right battalion has a key role in Ukraine’s resistance. Its neo-Nazi history has been exploited by Putin (CNN)
Analysis by Tara John and Tim Lister, including some assessments from me
Interview zum Thema „Radikalisierung hin zu gewaltorientiertem Extremismus“ (Video/Bayrisches Staatsministerium/Alexander Ritzmann)
Radikalisierung hat kein Geschlecht
Politische und religiös begründete Radikalisierung gibt es in vielen Ausprägungen. Wir neigen dazu, überwiegend die Radikalisierung junger Männer wahrzunehmen, mit der Gefahr, dass unsere Vorstellung die Wirklichkeit verzerrt. Denn ist Radikalisierung überhaupt geschlechtsspezifisch?
CEP-Studie: „Wo Wölfe Kreide fressen – Die rechtsextreme Infrastruktur auf Facebook, Instagram, YouTube und Twitter“
Alexander Ritzmann, November 2021
Im Rahmen dieses CEP Recherche- und Analyseprojektes wurde eine Bestandausnahme der relevantesten Akteur:innen des Rechtsextremismus in Deutschland durchgeführt. Anhand von Kriterien wie der Anzahl und Relevanz von Aktivitäten wurden insgesamt 100 Personen, Organisationen, Musiklabels, Bands, Modemarken und Unternehmen als rechtsextreme Schlüsselakteur:innen identifiziert.
ACCELERATIONISM AND VRWE NARRATIVES (RAN Spotlight )
Accelerationists (who want to instigate a race war to bring down liberal democracies), saw the COVID-19 pandemic, the different health related measures and restrictions, and the surrounding fear, confusion and criticism as an opportunity to benefit from the resulting societal polarisation. Fortunately, their apocalyptic narratives seem to have found
little to no relevant support beyond already affected RWE milieus.
September 2021
Alexander Ritzmann
Linkt to RAN Spotlight Magazine (P. 14)
Reporting about Violent Extremism and P/CVE Challenges for Journalists – Recommendations from Practitioners, August 2021 (RAN Paper)
Authored by Alexander Ritzmann and Fabian Wichmann
Reporting about extremism and terrorism poses major challenges for journalists on different levels. This paper will address some of the most relevant challenges by introducing key insights and recommendations on how to follow a “do no harm” approach when informing the public, and particularly when reporting about violence.
The role of civil society organisations working on P/CVE will also be highlighted. According to EU law, terrorist offences are acts committed with the aim of:
- seriously intimidating a population;
- unduly compelling a government or international organisation to perform or abstain from performing any act;
- seriously destabilising or destroying the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country or an international organisation.
Terrorism is the most extreme form of communication. It could be described as a deadly performance that aims at drawing attention to the political messages of the perpetrators by violently and publicly harming their victims. Terrorism is therefore even more about propaganda and manipulation than it is about the violent act itself. Put differently, without detailed media coverage about a terrorist attack, there might be no international terrorism, just local violence.
Podcast: Social media?! Why is their content moderation so bad? How come big tech are not liable for the harm they are doing? And can the EU DSA fix this?
In today’s podcast, Lucinda Creighton was joined by CEP Senior Adviser Alexander Ritzmann to discuss internet regulation and extremist content online while particularly focussing on the DSA. Alexander Ritzmann advises the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Berlin on internet regulation, including the NetzDG, Artificial Intelligence/Transparency, and the EU Digital Services Act as well as on the effective countering of extremist/terrorist actors and content online.
Weiterlesen »The Globalization of Far-Right Extremism: An Investigative Report (CTC Sentinal)
JULY/AUGUST 2021, VOLUME 14, ISSUE 6
Authors: YASSIN MUSHARBASH
Abstract: The fact that right-wing extremists are cooperating internationally more than ever today is a reality recognized by most researchers and government officials. This article describes some of the mechanisms that are fueling this development. The main finding is that right-wing extremists today, in many cases, no longer subscribe to the narrow concept of nationalism but instead imagine themselves as participants in a global struggle against a global enemy. Consequently, networking and cooperating across borders is seen as a necessity. This process is further supported by shared ideological writings, technological advancement, and the conflict in Ukraine, which has served as a powerful accelarator.
„In recent years, analysts and security institutions alike have pointed out that right-wing extremists are increasingly networking across borders and even continents. “Right-wing extremists maintain international links and mutual exchange and are influenced by key treatises and emblematic personalities worldwide,” Europol stated in its 2020 Terrorism Situation and Trend Report.1 The Counter Extremism Project (CEP), in a study funded by Germany’s foreign office, concluded in November 2020 that “the 21st century, and the period after 2014 in particular, saw the emergence of a new leaderless, transnational and apocalyptic violent extreme right-wing (XRW) movement.”2 „
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In the past, explains extremism expert Alexander Ritzmann, right-wing extremists were focused on the fight for their own country. Today, though, the focus has shifted to the defense of the “white race.”17 So whether it is American neo-Nazis concerned about the growth of the non-white share of the population or European right-wing extremists who believe in the theory of “the great replacement”g or Russian ultra-nationalists who feel that their traditional “white” culture is being threatened by Western multiculturalism, gay rights, and the like, many have come to the same conclusion: that they need to defend themselves, that it might be useful to cooperate in order to do so, and that the means by which this conflict will be resolved will be a civil war-like scenario just like the one Mason has been propagating, except that it is envisaged as a global, transnational conflict.
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Alexander Ritzmann 
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