Fighting fire with fire
Research Report
Fighting fire with fire: Target audience responses to online anti-violence campaigns
Roslyn Richardson
Copyright Date: Dec. 1, 2013
Published by: Australian Strategic Policy Institute
Pages: 82
OPEN ACCESS
https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep04206
Table of Contents
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  1. Front Matter
    Front Matter (pp. [i]-[ii])
  2. Table of Contents
    Table of Contents (pp. [iii]-[iii])
  3. Executive summary
    Executive summary (pp. 1-2)
  4. Key findings and recommendations
    Key findings and recommendations (pp. 3-6)
  5. Introduction
    Introduction (pp. 7-8)

    The internet provides an important means through which violent extremist⁴ groups disseminate their ideologies and fundraise for their activities as well as radicalise, recruit and train potential operatives⁵. Governments across the world have invested in a range of strategies to combat these groups’ activities in the online space, including developing a variety of online communication campaigns to challenge violent propaganda⁶.

    While governments support such strategies to undermine the appeal of violent narratives, there is very little understanding of how target audiences interpret these campaigns. As noted within existing literature on this topic,

    ‘the counter narrative issue has been the subject...

  6. Methods
    Methods (pp. 8-9)

    The respondents of this study included young Muslim Sydneysiders, Muslim community workers and leaders. Fifty-one of this study’s 55 respondents provided demographic information to the research team. Forty-three respondents were male and at least 37 interviewees were aged between 18 and 30. Eleven were community and social workers who had experience in working with Muslim youth. Some of these community and social workers were themselves young Muslims under the age of 30. In addition, the research team interviewed three religious leaders (sheikhs).

    The research team did not seek a sample of respondents that was representative of Sydney’s Muslim youth. We...

  7. Websites and internet-based materials examined
    Websites and internet-based materials examined (pp. 10-45)

    The research team included the Silence is Betrayal video26 in this study not only because it promotes a non-violent form of political protest but because of its rumoured popularity. In November 2013 the video had over 175,000 ‘views’ on YouTube. Significantly more people have watched this video than have viewed the others examined. At the same time, for example, the Community Relations Commission’s My Muslim Mates Are YouTube video had received around 5,000 views. The most popular video on the Islamate website (sponsored under the Building Community Resilience grants program) had around 900 views and the interview with Sheikh Feiz...

  8. Notes
    Notes (pp. 46-51)
  9. Appendix 1: The respondents’ impressions of the Australian Federal Police
    Appendix 1: The respondents’ impressions of the Australian Federal Police (pp. 52-55)
  10. Appendix 2: International approaches to countering violent narratives online
    Appendix 2: International approaches to countering violent narratives online (pp. 56-68)
    Kristy Bryden
  11. Appendix 2 notes
    Appendix 2 notes (pp. 69-77)
  12. About ASPI
    About ASPI (pp. 77-78)