Community Voices Cut Back Support for Extremists

A new study shows that messages from local religious leaders can lower people’s backing of violent extremist groups. Researchers examined a massive Facebook campaign that reached almost 40 million users and ran an online survey with 7, 707 participants in Bangladesh. They compared three short videos: one that urged unity among all faiths, another that said every religion fights terrorism, and a third warning about the costs of violent acts. The video featuring religious leaders talking about communal harmony sparked more likes, shares and supportive emojis on Facebook than the other two. When survey participants were also shown a clip of an anti‑government protest organized by an extremist group, only the harmony message still pushed people to oppose extremism.

The videos didn’t change how likely folks were to join extremist events or spread their messages, but they did make people more willing to counter extremist influence by sharing anti‑extremist content or attending peaceful rallies. The findings suggest that community‑based appeals from trusted local figures are a powerful tool, and future programs should test messages across multiple platforms while measuring both support for and opposition to extremist groups.

Actions