Political Extremism Research Articles

YouTube's recommendation algorithm is left-leaning in the United States.

With over two billion monthly active users, YouTube currently shapes the landscape of online political video consumption, with 25% of adults in the United States regularly consuming political content via the platform. Considering that nearly three-quarters of the videos watched on YouTube are delivered via its recommendation algorithm, the propensity of this algorithm to create echo chambers and deliver extremist content has been an active area of research. However, it is unclear whether the algorithm may exhibit political leanings toward either the Left or Right. To fill this gap, we constructed archetypal users across six personas in the US political context, ranging from Far Left to Far Right. Utilizing these users, we performed a controlled experiment in which they consumed over eight months worth of videos and were recommended over 120,000 unique videos. We find that while the algorithm pulls users away from political extremes, this pull is asymmetric, with users being pulled away from Far Right content stronger than from Far Left. Furthermore, we show that the recommendations made by the algorithm skew left even when the user does not have a watch history. Our results raise questions on whether the recommendation algorithms of social media platforms in general, and YouTube, in particular, should exhibit political biases, and the wide-reaching societal and political implications that such biases could entail.

СOUNTERPROPAGANDA AS A SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL TOOL FOR COUNTERING THE IDEOLOGY OF EXTREMISM AND TERRORISM

The article analyses the socio-psychological contradictions of modern information policy in Russia, affecting the effectiveness of the counterpropaganda of the ideology of political extremism. The author considers the requirements to the external and internal components of the information environment necessary for the formation of anti-extremist consciousness

Between alternative and traditional social platforms: the case of gab in exploring the narratives on the pandemic and vaccines.

The phenomenon of deplatforming intended as the removal of social media accounts because of breaking rules on mainstream platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram recently increased due to new terms and conditions of use of digital media, and new alternative social media platforms emerged and presented themselves as protectors of freedom expression. In this way, it becomes interesting to understand better the context of these platforms' so-called web suburbs that consist in those digital places that ≪host what we can generally call "subcultures," including fandoms, religious sects, political extremists, and subcultures≫. Since April 2020, Gab can be considered the most widespread alternative platform in Western countries, with twenty million users daily, born as Twitter and Facebook alternative social media. The alternative social media platforms are intended as other connection services between users, which is halfway between a social media and a discussion forum born to boycott the censorship actions of the main social media platforms (Meta Group, Twitter, etc.) and celebrate free speech even on controversial positions. How are sensitive topics, such as the one that concerns the skepticism related to the approvals of vaccines during the pandemic, addressed on the alternative social media platform compared to how they are dealt with on the mainstream social media platforms? This explorative work wonders about the users' points of view on vaccine concerns and the relevant differences between Gab and Facebook in addressing this topic. The empirical part of this work has been set starting from the dataset composed of Gab and Facebook content posted between March 2020 and July 2021. The posts were extracted with web scraping techniques (for Gab) and proprietary data tools (for Facebook), querying the keywords: vaccine, vaccines, anti-vax (no-vax), Covid, Covid-19, coronavirus. The collection procedure considered the different platforms' structure and their different organization of the interaction spaces. The population consisted of 8000 English writers' posts, from which 2000 posts with the highest interaction value were extracted. The dataset was analyzed using Topic Modeling, Factor, and Classification Analysis techniques. Our work's methodological output deals with comparing these social media platforms, bearing in mind their ontological objects and their algorithms' role. From the analysis emerged the differences and similarities of the social media platforms in terms of the type of content published, rates of involvement, sources of information, and directions of the considered speech. These differences have been duly highlighted by three clusters related to discourse orientation and communication approach: Conflict of views, Emotional externalization, Recommendation and practices. In addition to the type of communication and information circulating on a powerful platform such as Gab, the results help us understand the different narratives promoted on the two social media platforms and their role in the possible promotion of the same sentiment, opinions, and ideological polarization.

Recent violent political extremist events in Brazil and epidemic modeling: The role of a SIS-like model on the understanding of spreading and control of radicalism

In this work, we study a simple mathematical model to analyze the emergence and control of radicalization phenomena, motivated by the recent far-right extremist events in Brazil, occurred in 8 January 2023. For this purpose, we considered a compartmental SIS-like model that takes into account only the right electors, for simplicity. The model considers radical and moderated right electors, and the transitions between the two compartments are ruled by probabilities, taking into account pairwise social interactions and the important influence of social media through the dissemination of fake news. The role of the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court on the control of such violent activities is also considered in a simple way. The analytical and numerical results show that the influence of social media is essential for the spreading and prevalence of radicalism in the population. In the presence of such social media, we show that radicalism can be controlled, but not extincted, by an external influence, that models the acting of the Federal Supreme Court over the violent activities of radicals. If the social media effect is absent, the radicalism can disappear of the population, and this phenomenon is associated with an active-absorbing nonequilibrium phase transition, like the one that occurs in the standard SIS model.

Political Extremism of Buddhists: A Case Study for Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar

Political Extremism of Buddhists: A Case Study for Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar

Historical roots of political extremism: The effects of Nazi occupation of Italy

We study the impact of the Italian Civil War and Nazi occupation of Italy in 1943–45 on postwar political outcomes. The Communist Party, which was more active in the resistance movement, gained votes in areas where the Nazi occupation was both longer and harsher, mainly at the expense of centrist parties. This effect persists until the late 1980s. These results suggest that civil war and widespread political violence reshape political identities in favor of the political groups that emerge as winners. This benefits extremist groups and hurts moderates since the former have a comparative advantage in organizing violent conflict.

“You are either with us, or against us”: The association between dichotomous thinking and political extremism among Israeli voters

Purpose of the study: people prone to political extremism often exhibit a rather simplistic black-and-white view of social reality. This is a consequence of the psychological tendency to perceive and interpret the world in a certain way. The hypothesis underlying this study is that this tendency manifests in a style of thinking defined as “dichotomous thinking”. That is, a tendency to perceive and interpret the world in terms of binary options (i.e., “black or white”, “good or bad”, or “all or nothing”). The study was conducted in Israel during the 2019 election campaign, which initiated a prolonged political crisis leading to deep polarisation between the two main political camps in Israel. Participants (N = 312) completed an online survey, which included a demographic questionnaire and measures of political identification and dichotomous thinking style. The study found both linear and quadratic associations between dichotomous thinking and political identification. Thus, dichotomous thinking was associated with both right-wing political orientation and an overall propensity for political extremism, both right-wing and left-wing. These results provide empirical support for theoretical models suggesting that there is a U-shaped relationship between cognitive rigidity and political identification, but this relationship is stronger at the right end of the political spectrum

“You’re either with us or against us”: The association between dichotomous thinking style and political extremism among Israeli voters

Purpose of the study: People who tend towards political extremism are often characterized by a rather simplistic black-and-white worldview of their social reality. It results from a psychological tendency to perceive and interpret the world in a certain way. The hypothesis underlies the current study is that this tendency is manifested in a thinking style defined as “dichotomous thinking”. That is, the propensity to perceive and interpret the world in terms of binary options (i.e., “black or white”, “good or bad”, or “all or nothing”). Methodology: The study was conducted in Israel, during the 2019 election campaign, which began an ongoing political crisis that led to deep polarization between the two main political camps in Israel. Participants (N=312) completed online survey which included a demographic questionnaire, and measures of political identification and dichotomous thinking style. Results: The study’s results indicated both linear and quadradic associations between dichotomous thinking and political identification. That is, dichotomous thinking style was associated both to a political tendency to the right, and in general, to a tendency to political extremism, on the right or on the left. Conclusion: These results provide empirical support for theoretical models who suggested that a U-shaped pattern of association exists between cognitive rigidity and political identification, but that the association is stronger at the right end of the political spectrum

Political Extremism in a Global Perspective

Examining data from the World Value Survey about left-right political orientation, the paper explores political extremism among common people worldwide. Our analysis reveals (i) a positive correlation between left-wing and right-wing extremism across countries, (ii) an average rise in political extremism globally in the last decade, (iii) greater political extremism in less developed countries, (iv) and a surge, during the last decade, in political extremism for less developed countries and for countries where development has not met expectations. Besides offering a picture of how successful political extremism is globally, our investigation provides insight into the driving forces behind this phenomenon.

Review: City of Dignity: Christianity, Liberalism, and the Making of Global Los Angeles, by Sean T. Dempsey

Book Review| May 01 2023 Review: City of Dignity: Christianity, Liberalism, and the Making of Global Los Angeles, by Sean T. Dempsey City of Dignity: Christianity, Liberalism, and the Making of Global Los Angeles. By Sean T. Dempsey. ( University of Chicago Press, 2023. 224 pp.) Darren Dochuk Darren Dochuk University of Notre Dame Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Pacific Historical Review (2023) 92 (2): 311–312. https://doi.org/10.1525/phr.2023.92.2.311 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Darren Dochuk; Review: City of Dignity: Christianity, Liberalism, and the Making of Global Los Angeles, by Sean T. Dempsey. Pacific Historical Review 1 May 2023; 92 (2): 311–312. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/phr.2023.92.2.311 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentPacific Historical Review Search Los Angeles has always been a hothouse of religious and political extremes, one that historians have painted in every hue. While cognizant of this, Sean Dempsey prompts readers to recognize its generous side as well, particularly the regenerative Christian spirit that has long inspired its citizenry. Accordingly, he opens his book with the Los Angeles uprising of May 1992, not just as an illustration of a broken city, but as testament to the dynamic ecumenism of a life-giving place. In the wake of the ruling that acquitted four LAPD officers of beating Rodney King, a multiracial phalanx of parishioners gathered in pews to “call for the recognition of the essential human dignity of all Los Angeles’ denizens” (p. 1). In six chapters that unfold chronologically from World War II to the new millennium, Dempsey surveys the work of liberal Protestant and Catholic leaders who sought to transform Los Angeles according... You do not currently have access to this content.

Debating (in) echo chambers: How culture shapes communication in conspiracy theory networks on YouTube

The ubiquity of social media platforms fuels heated discussions about algorithms and selection biases leading people into online “echo chambers.” Scholars argue that social media deepen societal polarization and fuel political extremism. However, studies often focus on media effects, disregarding individual agency and (sub)cultural values that shape communication. As a strategic case study, this article, based on a mixed-methods analysis, including a social network and qualitative analysis of 1199 comments under four conspiracy theory comment sections on YouTube, questions how insular these spaces are? And how people in these networks communicate? We find that the discussions in our strategically sampled comments sections lie between homogeneous closed debates and open debates. In other words, the networks in our sample vary in their “echo chamberness.” Based on our findings, we contend that variations in the echo chamberness of the various comment sections can be explained via the lens of conspiratorial (sub)cultures.

Surfing to the political extremes: Digital media, social media, and policy attitude polarization

AbstractBackgroundCable news makes it possible for consumers to avoid information that challenges their predispositions, and the Internet makes it even easier. Cable news consumption is related to attitude extremity, but the extant literature is absent empirical examination of how the two may work together.ObjectivesThis study aims to contribute to our understanding of the relationship between media consumption and policy attitude extremity. In particular,, it asks how digital media consumption may combine with cable or traditional mass media to drive higher levels of polarization and attitude extremity.MethodsWe use American National Election Studies and data reduction methods to model and measure the gathering of political information to compare the relationship between different forms of media consumption and policy attitude extremity.ResultsOur results indicate that, independently, the consumption of both “partisan” cable news and “non‐partisan” political digital information have the same positive relationship to attitude extremity across four major issue domains (economy, federal spending, social issues, and foreign affairs) and that when combined into a single index, the relationship is stronger than their independent relationships. Finally, the results suggest that the combined effect is strongest among those who consume more liberal cable news.ConclusionOur high choice media environment contributes to the polarized climate in the United States today.

Classroom as Neo‐National Microcosm: Teachers Learning to Disrupt Linguistic Microaggressions

AbstractNeo‐national ideologies are often associated with despots and political extremists. Yet, we argue that neo‐nationalist discourses also manifest in everyday TESOL classroom interactions. In English‐dominant contexts, teachers send potent messages about who does or does not “belong” in classrooms, largely based on racialized notions of English proficiency. These dynamics create a classroom microcosm where students are apprenticed into linguistic normativity and anti‐immigrant sentiments, ultimately sustaining future generations of neo‐nationalist rhetoric. In light of these dynamics, we believe that teachers can play a key role in disrupting normative, monolingual language ideologies in classrooms, but that they often feel underprepared to do so. In this brief research report, we present findings from our ongoing examination of TESOL licensure endorsement candidates responding to deficit‐oriented microaggressions about multilingual learners in a simulated environment. Our results suggest teacher candidates have the desire to promote asset‐based orientations around multilingualism, but are often unable to do so in real time. These findings have important implications for teacher education and the underutilized potential of teachers for disrupting deficit‐oriented monolingual discourses that too easily turn into neo‐nationalist ideologies.

“No Reason[.] [I]t /Should/ Happen here”: Analyzing Flynn’s Retroactive Doublespeak During a QAnon Event

ABSTRACT As digitally organized, conspiratorial extremist groups gain more attention in the United States, researchers face increasing calls to better understand their in-group and out-group communication strategies. Using the QAnon conspiracy community as a case study, we use data from news coverage, social media, and ethnographic field work surrounding a prominent QAnon conference to analyze the uptake and aftermath of a controversial comment made by a public figure at the event. Our mixed methods analysis finds that QAnon’s efforts to use retroactive doublespeak produced mixed results, persuading some members to re-interpret the comment; however, there was a limit to its effectiveness. Our findings contribute to the literature on political extremism and digital media by elucidating how anti-publics within the QAnon movement reconstruct events and thread the rhetorical needle to reconcile contradictory messages. In particular, we highlight the factors that precede anti-publics’ use of retroactive doublespeak and discuss its use to negotiate the tension between in-group and out-group interpretations of events.

Group threat, political extremity, and collective dynamics in online discussions

Collectives adapt their network structure to the challenges they face. It has been hypothesized that collectives experiencing a real or imagined threat from an outgroup tend to consolidate behind a few group members, and that network structures in which a few members attract most of the attention are more likely in politically extreme groups. These hypotheses have not been tested in large-scale real-world settings. We reconstruct networks of tens of thousands of commenters participating in comment sections of high-profile U.S. political news websites spanning the political spectrum from left to right, including Mother Jones, The Atlantic, The Hill, and Breitbart. We investigate the relationship between different indices of inequality of attention in commenters’ networks and perceived group threat associated with significant societal events, from elections and political rallies to mass shootings. Our findings support the hypotheses that groups facing a real or imagined outgroup threat and groups that are more politically extreme are more likely to attend to a few high-profile members. These results provide an extensive real-world test of theoretical accounts of collective adaptation to outgroup threats.

Alaska’s New Electoral System: Countering Polarization or “Crooked as Hell”?

In November 2020, Alaska introduced a new electoral system, combining a “top four” all-party primary with ranked choice voting (RCV) general elections. Supporters of this reform claimed it would reduce the partisan polarization and minority victories generated by closed primaries and plurality elections. But critics suggest that it could make polarization worse by weakening political parties—an important check on political extremism. These are high-stakes issues that go well beyond Alaska, given the problem of political polarization and the search for institutional reforms in America today. Placing the Alaskan reforms in this broader national context, this paper presents an initial assessment of Alaska’s new system at the 2022 primary and mid-term elections. We find the reform was both consequential and largely beneficial, promoting greater choice for voters, more accommodative campaigning, and generally more moderate outcomes than likely under the old rules.

What is generated through rupture?

Our commentary explores the contested possibilities of rupture, disaster, and emergency, and reflects on growing fears around political extremism. Rupture as theorised by Mahanty et al. captures the generative potential that arises through the conditions of the Anthropocene. We emphasise the political ambiguity of these processes and their potential to spur progressive possibility as well as political change that leans towards oppression and violence. We discuss how rupture can be purposefully catalysed or co-opted as a political tool by actors with starkly different aims, underscoring the importance of understanding the types of ruptures being generated and for whom these processes of change serve.

“Health Dictatorship” and “Civil Disobedience”: Political Extremists and French Debates on Democracy during Covid-19

This paper explores a polemical debate that took place in France during the Covid-19 crisis, around two formulas: “health dictatorship” (dictature sanitaire) and “civil disobedience.” It first analyses the arguments that justify their use; it then explores the verbal confrontation where Proponents and Opponents attack each other’s stance, thus shedding light on important issues that underlie the discussion on the anti-Corona health measures: the nature and limits of democracy, the question of authority and obedience in a democratic regime. In the third step, the paper examines the actors behind the roles of Proponent and Opponent, namely, political figures and movements. A difference is drawn between the extremists and the candidates for the 2022 Presidential elections who supported the protest but did not adopt the formulas for fear of compromising themselves. However, the fact that the extremist voices and the voices of ordinary citizens merged in the same protest threatens to whitewash trends that used to be outside the Republican consensus and to bring the French closer to them. This risk calls for a better training in rhetorical analysis allowing the citizens to protect themselves from the manipulation of the authoritarian politicians who pose as the champions of Liberty.

Mapping a Dark Space: Challenges in Sampling and Classifying Non- Institutionalized Actors on Telegram

Crafted as an open communication platform characterized by high anonymity and minimal moderation, Telegram has garnered increasing popularity among activists operating within repressive political contexts, as well as among political extremists and conspiracy theorists. While Telegram offers valuable data access to research non-institutionalized activism, scholars studying the latter on Telegram face unique theoretical and methodological challenges in systematically defining, selecting, sampling, and classifying relevant actors and content. This literature review addresses these issues by considering a wide range of recent research. In particular, it discusses the methodological challenges of sampling and classifying heterogeneous groups of (often non-institutionalized) actors. Drawing on social movement research, we first identify challenges specific to the characteristics of non-institutionalized actors and how they become interlaced with Telegram’s platform infrastructure and requirements. We then discuss strategies from previous Telegram research for the identification and sampling of a study population through multistage sampling procedures and the classification of actors. Finally, we derive challenges and potential strategies for future research and discuss ethical challenges.

Проблемы противодействия преступлениям, связанным с религиозным и политическим экстремизмом

Проблемы противодействия преступлениям, связанным с религиозным и политическим экстремизмом