In our highly digitized world of social media and insufficient content controls, many social media platforms have become breeding grounds for hate speech and extremist content, often fueled by a lack of media literacy leading to widespread disinformation. By equipping individuals with the necessary digital critical thinking skills, media literacy can curb susceptibility by informing viewers of potential sources of online disinformation that attempt to indoctrinate them into extremist narratives.

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The online landscape is an integral tool for extremist groups, completely transforming the means and methods of recruitment processes. Before the digital landscape of social media platforms, extremist groups were confined to local spaces, relying solely on word of mouth and printed media to grow in numbers. However, where a curious extremist actor was previously isolated to local gatherings, he may now reach thousands of extremists online in mere seconds.

 

Extremists use the infinite online resources to spread information and recruit members through  disseminating disinformation. Disinformation, defined as the intentional diffusion of incorrect information, is one of the most prolific challenges in the digital world (Fallis, 2015). In fact, researchers at New York University found that fake news posts received six times as much engagement as factual news stories on Facebook in 2020 (Place 1). A big reason for the pervasiveness of disinformation online is its function as “click-bait”, in which social media algorithms promote posts that generate high levels of engagement (Mosseri, 2023). Even dissidents commenting on the inaccuracy of disinformation posts contribute to these echo chambers of false posts. In 2019, researchers examined hundreds of sensationalist Facebook posts about the Zika virus and found that “that user engagement increased significantly as the level of fear-arousing sensationalism increased from low levels” (Ali et al., 2021). 

 

Extremists therefore employ disinformation to reach higher levels of engagement, as the controversy feeds on itself, growing to exponential heights of online visibility. The pervasiveness of disinformation has allowed false content to circulate surrounding almost any topic online, from election results to COVID-19 “cures” to international politics, quietly manipulating viewers to engage with extremist content. For example, some far-right extremist accounts “disinform its readers and viewers by disseminating stereotypes that often distort realities” (Zamhari, 2017).

 

One chilling example is the Buffalo, New York shooting in 2022. A gunman, inspired by Camus’ anti-Semitic Great Replacement theory, stormed a grocery store in defense of his ethno-nationalist beliefs and murdered 10 people, injuring 3 others - the majority of whom were African American. Following the shooting, investigators found he had visited disinformation-fueled website The Daily Stormer on a regular basis since 2020 until the shooting, where he likely learned of the extremist conspiracy theory that the white race is under threat of extinction by the hands of Jewish people and other races (Bauder, 2022). Other popular far-right conspiracy theories, such as the rejection of the 2020 Presidential Election results, reached such astronomical heights that thousands of believers stormed the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021 in one of the most violent displays of disinformation in modern history.

 

Despite some attempts at content moderation, many social media platforms are still lacking the infrastructure to adequately identify and censor such accounts or posts. In 2024, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) identified 20 ISIS-affiliated Instagram accounts and reported them to the Meta-owned platform. Instagram, however, only disabled 4 of the 20 accounts, with one account having more than 4,000 followers (Counter Extremism Project, 2024). As such, the responsibility to protect ourselves from extremist content falls on our own shoulders.

 

Perhaps the most foolproof method to protect our beliefs from manipulation is to engage in digital media literacy. Digital media literacy, which is the ability to critically and responsibly engage with or create digital content, has been growing as a classroom tool since the Internet boom of the early-2000s. The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) digital media literacy toolkit involves being able to consider the source and author, by examining URLs and simple spelling mistakes to determine the probability of the source disseminating false information.

 

The DHS also encourages audiences to constantly search for alternative viewpoints on similar issues, to fact-check and gauge the level of potential bias, before re-posting or sharing any information online (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2022). Taking these simple steps before engaging in online content helps audiences be more informed, aware of sources of manipulation, and resilient against extremist agendas.

 

Digital media literacy, in addition, has been proven to be effective through empirical studies. A group of researchers in the US and India developed a simple media literacy program providing tips on how to spot false news, and found that the program increased discernment between false and factual news by 26.5% in the US group and by 17.5% in the Indian group (Guess et al., 2022).

 

Another experiment conducted on older Americans found similar results; older Americans (with an average age of 67.2 years) completed an online media literacy program, and subsequently identified both false and factual sample news pieces with greater accuracy than the control groups (Moore & Hancock, 2022). The trend towards media literacy has also found its way into politics.

 

Media Literacy Now found in its 2024 annual policy report that eighteen state governors have signed bills relating to K-12 media literacy or digital citizenship education, labelling this a “major advancement that will reverberate across the country” (Media Literacy Now, 2024). Finally, civil society groups have also begun experimenting with digital media literacy to curb extremist-spread disinformation. For example, LieDetectors in Europe or The Trust Project.

 

Until content moderation policies and laws can adequately curb the extremist presence online, individuals must arm themselves with tools to engage with online content safely. Digital media literacy has the potential to build up our resilience against manipulation and conspiracy theories created by extremist groups, reducing their recruitment ability online and creating a society of educated and informed online audiences.

 

References

 

Ali, K. I., Murtaza, G., Akhtar, P., Hayat, Z., & Asmi, F. (2019). Viruses going viral: Impact of fear-arousing sensationalist social media messages on user engagement. Science Communication, 41(3), 314–338. 

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Bauder, D. (2022, May 20). Explainer: White 'replacement theory’ fuels racist attacks. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/great-white-replacement-theory-explainer-c86f309f02cd14062f301ce6b9228e33

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Counter Extremism Project. (2024, April 22). Extremist content online: Instagram accounts use pro-ISIS content to encourage acts of terrorism. Counter Extremism Project. https://www.counterextremism.com/press/extremist-content-online-instagram-accounts-use-pro-isis-content-encourage-acts-terrorism

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Fallis, D. (2015, April 17). What is disinformation? Library Trends, 63(3), 401–426. Johns Hopkins University Press. https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/579342/summary

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Guess, A., Lerner, M., Lyons, B., Montgomery, J. M., Nyhan, B., Reifler, J., & Sircar, N. (2022, June 20). A digital media literacy intervention increases discernment between mainstream and false news in the United States and India. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(14). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1920498117

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U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (2022, September 13). Media literacy and critical thinking online. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. https://www.dhs.gov/publication/media-literacy-and-critical-thinking-online

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Media Literacy Now. (2024, March 5). Media literacy policy report. Media Literacy Now. https://medialiteracynow.org/policyreport/

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Moore, R. C., & Hancock, J. T. (2022, April 9). A digital media literacy intervention for older adults improves resilience to fake news. Scientific Reports, 12, 5347. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-08437-0

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Mosseri, A. (2023, May 31). Instagram ranking explained. Instagram Blog. https://about.instagram.com/blog/announcements/instagram-ranking-explained

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Place, N. (2021, September 5). Fake news got more engagement than real news on Facebook in 2020, study says. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/fake-news-facebook-misinformation-study-b1914650.html

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Zamhari, A. (2017). Disinformation and radicalisation in the online media. The 2nd International Conference on Media and Intercultural Dialog in Prague.