USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO COMMUNICATE AGAINST VIOLENT EXTREMISM

Introduction The online environment plays a crucial role in enabling people to express their views freely on globally-connected platforms. Further, the growing use of social media has changed the way that we communicate and interact with each other. Violent extremists have used the online world to spread misinformation and hateful messages in an effort to radicalise others. However, social media can be harnessed to challenge extremist propaganda and promote positive values such as inclusion, diversity and respect. Why we created this booklet Our goal is to provide individuals and organisations with the knowledge and tools to effectively use social media to communicate against violent extremism. This booklet outlines how to create an effective social media campaign and identifies ten supporting case studies to illustrate successful techniques. 3

Campaign process 2. Creating a strategy Relate the things you want to communicate with what you know about your audience Outline why your audience cares and why they should share Create an exchange of value 1. Understanding the issue Understand the nature of the problem and the role of social media Understand the needs, wants and fears of your audience Set clear objectives 5. Find out if you are having the effect you want Evaluate your activity using a mix of data and individual case studies Track performance against targets Evolve your campaign in response to your performance to improve your results 4

3. Developing content simplicity is key Create content and conversations that people care about and want to share Communicate what is in it for them why they should listen Logic and theory do not always work look to generate a genuine emotional reaction 4. Implementing your campaign For your message to be effective, the messenger matters use voices that are credible and genuine Launch campaigns using supporters or paid media to help spread the word Target channels where your audience are active 5

Social media strategy AUDIENCE INSIGHT What is the problem they have in their life? What are the needs, wants and fears of your target audience? ORGANISATION INSIGHT What are the beliefs and goals of your organisation? What objective are you trying to achieve? 6

CONVERSATION INSIGHT What is the behaviour of this audience that can help solve the problem / opportunity you can use? SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY Connect what people need with what you want to communicate. Create an exchange of value. 7

Popular social media channels in APAC (Asia-Pacific) Facebook allows us to reach and engage with the masses. Twitter allows us to engage in conversations in real time. YouTube allows the sharing of video content. Instagram conveys a message with visually stimulating content. 31% of APAC internet users 19% of APAC internet users 7% of APAC internet users 18% of APAC internet users 8

11% of APAC internet users 32% of APAC internet users 27% of APAC internet users 34% of APAC internet users WhatsApp enables texting, sharing photos/ videos with a group or individual and free calling. Sina Weibo is the most important social media platform / microblogging service in China. Tencent Weibo a microblogging service second to Sina Weibo. WeChat the mobile chat app of choice in China. Tumblr conveys a message with visually stimulating content amongst a mostly teenage audience. 5% of APAC internet users Snapchat mobile chat app of choice amongst teenagers. Line mobile chat app of choice in Japan. 2% of APAC internet users 7% of APAC internet users Skype enables calling and video chatting with individuals and groups. 12% of APAC internet users Source: Global Web Index: March 2015 9

Challenging propaganda online Social media is one of the tools being used by terrorists to promote violent extremism and radicalisation online. Social media campaigns such as #NotInMyName from the UK are leading the way in helping to promote positive messages and counter violent extremist messages. Campaigns such as this demonstrate the huge potential of social media in communicating against violent extremism. 11

Social media campaign tips 1. Use authentic and genuine voices to educate and engage 2. Understand your audience and build experiences around them 3. Create influential role models 4. Get others involved to crowdsource ideas 5. Challenge negative views in positive ways 6. Foster grassroots campaigns to respond to events 7. Create fun experiences to bring people together 8. Amplify real stories from those affected by violent extremism 12

1 Use authentic and genuine voices to educate and engage When communicating against violent extremism, the messenger matters. Messengers need to be genuine and authentic to resonate. Credible voices can bring about emotional engagement and sympathetic understanding from the audience, creating a connection of trust. This trust allows the audience to be open to the message and place greater weight on its value. Abdullah X In 2012, an anonymous former British extremist created Abdullah X, a cartoon character existing to bring positive and meaningful change in the lives of young Muslims. Abdullah X stars in short, thoughtprovoking YouTube videos that dispel myths and stereotypes about Islam. Abdullah X exists purely online, challenging the space used by extremists. He presents an alternative viewpoint and a positive identity for young Muslims to relate to. Impact Abdullah X has a fanbase of 800+ YouTube subscribers, with the 16 YouTube videos created so far viewed over 115,500 times. Online commentary suggests an overwhelmingly positive reception by the audience. Insight For the message to be credible, the messenger matters. 14

1 No Guts, No Heart, No Glory No Guts, No Heart, No Glory is an immersive play produced by the Common Wealth Theatre, inspired by former UK champion Ambreen Sadiq. Working closely with Sadiq and five Muslim women aged 16-25 years old, the play explores being young, fearless and doing the unexpected. The show aims to make young people feel braver, to live a life of their choosing and be confident to make their own decisions. Impact The play won the Scotsman Fringe First award in 2014 and created a unique dialogue about the role of Muslim women. Insight Everyone has a story. Portraying an unexpected viewpoint can make your message pack a punch. 16

2 Understand audience needs and build experiences around them Vulnerable individuals may be drawn to extremist ideology because they are seeking purpose and belonging. By understanding these needs, and using them to create the proper framework, these individuals could be given alternative pathways that enable them to find purpose and belonging without resorting to violent extremism. By building experiences around the needs of these individuals, they can be utilised to create a real and positive impact. Don t lecture them from your point of view invite a conversation. P2PCE Peer 2 Peer: Challenging Extremism is an international university competition, run by EdVenture Partners and supported by the U.S. Department of State. Teams of students research new ways of countering violent extremism online. The campaigns and products they create are then launched and tested on their peers. Impact Campaigns include 52Jumaa (52 Fridays), which encourages users to achieve positive personal goals, and Yoummah, a social platform that enables Muslim activists and social entrepreneurs to organise their own campaigns. All entries add to the existing body of knowledge about CVE. Insight Spread awareness by using techniques that harness the creativity of your audience. 18

3 Create influential role models Promoting positive messages and supporting role models is an important element of engaging with vulnerable young people. Positive role models either in the community or fictional characters can create positive influence and prevent individuals from being drawn to violent extremism. People don t want to be told what not to do, think or believe. They don t want to be told that they are wrong. But they can be receptive to positive role models. Superheroes Against Extremism Superheroes Against Extremism is a futuristic sci-fi graphic novel created by Jordanian artist Suleiman Bakhit. The comics feature superheroes that fight to spread tolerance, empower women and counter extremist narratives. The idea of superhero characters came about from comments made by Jordanian children, who said they didn t have any heroes but had Heard a lot about someone called Bin Laden. Impact With more than 1.2 million comics sold, many Jordanian kids have been positively influenced by the characters, which have become role models and topics of discussion. Insight Create content in a format that is appropriate to the age and interests of your audience. 20

4 Get others involved to crowdsource ideas Community-driven ideas are powerful forces for change. By harnessing the creative energy of a community, campaigns can be developed that help bring people together and promote unity. By encouraging community-driven ideas and creating environments where these ideas flourish, platforms can be developed that become key tools for countering violent extremism. #OpenYourEyes The Open Your Eyes campaign is a short film competition run by Quilliam designed to encourage young people to challenge violent extremist views. Film entries have to explore one or more of the topics below: Extreme obsession Pressure to fit in Why a multi-faith environment is positive Can Internet take over your life? What is terror? Religion. Creative entries using songs, cartoons and comedy sketches are encouraged. Impact Open Your Eyes counters violent extremism amongst the vulnerable target age group (16-25 year olds) by engaging them in a fun, creative and shareable experience. The videos have attracted over 23k fans and nearly 1m views on YouTube. Insight Provide a platform and let your audience create the message. 22

5 Challenge negative views in positive ways Positive messages counter-balance offensive content and present an alternative case to the authors and followers of prejudiced views. This includes arguments debated with reason, patience, politeness or tolerance. #NotInMyName In 2014, young Muslims at the Active Change foundation, based in East London, launched a local community campaign encouraging people to share their reasons why ISIS does not represent their Islam. #NotInMyName began with a short YouTube video and quickly became a worldwide movement, with more than 85,000 people contributing their voice so far. The campaign has attracted international political attention and praise and continues to build momentum. Impact Thousands of people have joined the campaign, including non-muslims, making it one of the most successful anti-extremist online campaigns. Insight Putting the message in the voice of the individual - I, Mine - personalises the call to action and encourages people to join in. 24

6 Foster grassroots campaigns in response to events Campaigns that start within communities and grow and develop organically can become great forces for change. Grassroots campaigns often attract all different kinds of people, spreading a message much further and wider than originally intended or expected. By fostering these campaigns and helping to provide the channels for them to flourish, they can help engender narratives that counter messages of violent extremism. #illridewithyou In the wake of the Sydney Lindt café siege in December 2014, Rachael Jacobs wrote on Facebook about offering to walk with a woman she d seen quietly removing her hijab on the train because she was scared of anti-islamic extremism. A Twitter user started the hashtag #illridewithyou, which quickly became one of the fastest trending hashtags on Twitter, gathering momentum with posts of support against anti- Muslim sentiment. Impact Moving quickly beyond a way for people in religious attire to find someone to accompany them on public transport, #illridewithyou became a show of solidarity amongst Australians against intolerance and hate. Insight Positive movements can move people to tears, to action, to stand up and be counted. 26

7 Create fun experiences to bring people together Violent extremism intends to create tension and divide communities. Humour, wit and fun can be used to counter this division and tension, offering communities a chance to come together and demonstrate their opposition without engaging in an argument or debate. This approach can be very effective in turning the tables of a negative movement, deflating a situation of hate and transforming it into one of celebration and fun. English Disco Lovers The English Disco Lovers is a UK movement that uses humour to challenge and ridicule the English Defence League, a far-right extremist group. English Disco Lovers describe themselves as a Google and social media bombing campaign. Using search engine optimisation and online campaigning they aim for their website to be the top result when EDL is Googled, and to gain more social media followers than the extremist group. Their slogan, Don t hate! gyrate! has gained widespread support and appeal. Impact EDL have a strong social media presence. For a time they were the number one Google search result for the term EDL. Insight Used properly, wit and humour can be an effective way to oppose hate speech. 28

7 #NazisAgainstNazis In 2014, residents of a small German town turned an annual neo-nazi march into a fundraiser, unbeknownst to the rally participants. Residents and business owners promised to donate 10 euros for every metre walked by the group during their march. The people of Wunsiedel raised 10,000 euros for EXIT, a rehabilitation organisation that helps people leave extremist groups. When the unsuspecting neo-nazis were faced with huge congratulatory signs at the end of the march they realised their event had been hijacked. Impact A video of the event has been viewed over 2.9 million times on YouTube. It is not yet known whether the neo-nazis will return to Wunsiedel. Insight Existing negative events can provide great opportunities to highlight counter narratives. 30

8 Amplify real stories from those affected by violent extremism Real stories from real people have real power to evoke sympathy, empathy and understanding a truly human response. True stories can demonstrate the depths of suffering experienced by those affected first-hand by violent extremism, using believable voices and people with whom the audience can identity. Showing the devastating effect of extremism on specific individuals can help hone a large, multi-faceted and sometimes distant concept down to a very personal, powerful story. This encourages action. Extreme Dialogue The Extreme Dialogue website features documentary films in which Canadians profoundly affected by violent extremism share their stories. The first-person experiences create a powerful viewing experience, helping the audience to relate and sympathise. The website also provides educational resources for young people to build resilience against extremism through active discussion and enhanced critical thinking. Impact The videos have been watched more than 50,000 times. Commentary on YouTube has been positive, generating counter extremist discussions amongst viewers. Insight Real people telling real stories engages hearts and minds. 32

Where to go for more information Contact the Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Unit in the Attorney-General s Department or visit the Living Safe Together website. Email CounteringViolentExtremism@ag.gov.au Web www.livingsafetogether.gov.au 34

TOGETHER WE CAN BUILD COMMUNITY RESILIENCE TO VIOLENT EXTREMIST IDEOLOGIES TO MAKE AUSTRALIA AN EVEN SAFER, BETTER PLACE TO LIVE. The Australian Government is working with communities to reject violent extremist ideologies and protect those most vulnerable to these influences. Violent extremism is the beliefs and actions of people who support or use violence to achieve ideological, religious or political goals. This includes terrorism and other forms of politically motivated and communal violence. The Australian Government is committed to challenging all forms of violent extremism that pose a threat to our community, whether they are politically, religiously or ideologically motivated. For more information on what the Government is doing, what the community is doing and what you can do to help someone you think might be vulnerable to violent extremist ideologies, visit: www.livingsafetogether.gov.au