In the past few years, propaganda from radical groups has accompanied an increasingly fragmented political and security landscape in Europe. The rise of the extreme far-right with xenophobic and hate speech has fuelled a surge in support of far-left groups, further contributing to the potential weakening of democratic institutions due to political and social polarisation. Jihadist propaganda, in particular from the so-called Islamic State (ISIS), has sparked concerns about public safety in many countries.

Despite their divergent narratives and targets, propaganda by radical groups, be it from the far-right, far-left or Islamist groups, has proved to be an effective instrument of zealous proselytism, especially on social media platforms. Domestic problems are often aggravated by international challenges such as the progressive dismantling of ISIS’s strong territorial network. Virtual spaces are becoming increasingly popular for disseminating information either secretly to target individuals to recruit into jihad or publicly by extremist groups to enhance public outreach and political clout.

Speakers included: Amanda Paul, Senior Policy Analyst, European Policy Centre, Milo Comerford, Senior Analyst, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Laurence Bindner, Founder, JOS Project, Chris Holmsted Larsen, Post-doctoral researcher, Danish Centre for Prevention of Extremism and C-REX, Oslo University.