RAN small-scale expert meeting: How to deal with alternative media that fosters polarisation on the local level, 30 November 2022

In the past few years, conspiracy narratives and anti-authorities sentiments have grown significantly across the EU and beyond. The COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst and accelerator of the fragmentation of ideologies, actors and pathways to radicalisation, while the post-pandemic period has demonstrated that conspiracy narratives and disinformation adapt to — and thrive — in new crises such as the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the resulting refugee situation, the energy and food crisis, and rising inflation.

Alternative media plays a significant role in polarisation under these circumstances. For this purpose, a recent small scale expert workshop brought together practitioner experts and researchers to share their knowledge, experiences, and the tools they developed or use, and to discuss the role of alternative media in polarisation, its effects and tackling options, focusing on the local sphere.

These insights will feed into an overarching specialised paper on the topic in more depth and with additional contextualisation. The following text aims to briefly summarise and highlight the key points of discussion and insights from the expert workshop itself.