News Release

ISIS online propaganda makes people feel nauseous but also provokes curiosity

Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Kent

Research shows that ISIS atrocity videos provoke a morbid curiosity among viewers, as well as disgust, discomfort and fear.

Researchers Dr Simon Cottee and Dr Jack Cunliffe at the University of Kent found that those given access to jihadist online propaganda (JOP) often experienced a 'morbid buzz' which made many want to watch the explicit videos.

Fifty-seven per cent of those who participated in the research said they had watched an ISIS video before, beyond clips shown on TV news and in online news material.

The study, entitled Watching ISIS: How Young Adults Engage with Official English-Language ISIS Videos, involved an online survey testing audience response to clips from English-language Islamic State of Iraq and Syria videos.

Previous research on JOP has focussed on the production, content and dissemination of jihadist messages, and this research is thought to be among the first to consider the target of JOP: the audience.

Three thousand young adults of all faith backgrounds, located in Britain and North America, took part in the survey. It launched with its own dedicated Web-domain in September 2016 and remained online until the end of March 2017.

Ninety-three per cent of respondents reported a negative attitude toward ISIS. Only 34 people (just over 1 per cent) reported a positive view of the group, with a further 177 (6 per cent) reporting a neutral view.

Of the 34 who reported a positive attitude toward ISIS, five were Muslims. Although this Muslim group -135 in total - had a higher inclination to report a positive or neutral opinion of ISIS (13 per cent compared to 7 per cent of non-Muslims) the vast majority - 113 (87 per cent) - professed a negative opinion of the group.

The online survey contained clips from four English-language ISIS videos, including the infamous Although the Disbelievers Dislike it (al-Furqān Media; released 16 November 2014) which featured the British citizen Mohammed Emwazi, known as 'Jihadi John'.

The researchers found that although 58 per cent of respondents reported being scared by the violence in the video - with 76 per cent saying it made them feel uncomfortable and 67 per cent sick - only 11 per cent said it bored them.

When asked if they wanted to view the video to its grisly completion, 33 per cent said yes, with 23 per cent reporting feelings of ambivalence about wanting to see this. Less than half -44 per cent - said they did not want to see the video to the end, the researchers found.

The researchers conclude that 'for the majority of respondents, while staged beheadings may be uncomfortable, scary, and sickening to watch, they nevertheless make for compelling viewing'.

Watching ISIS: How Young Adults Engage with Official English-Language ISIS Videos (Simon Cottee and Jack Cunliffe, both School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent) is published in the journal Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. See: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1057610X.2018.1444955

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For more information or interview requests contact Martin Herrema at the University of Kent Press Office.
Tel: 01227 816768
Email: M.J.Herrema@kent.ac.uk
News releases can also be found at http://www.kent.ac.uk/news
University of Kent on Twitter: http://twitter.com/UniKent

Notes to Editors

1. Of the 3,000 respondents, 64 per cent were male, with 5 per cent either not stating their gender or choosing 'Other'. Thirty-six per cent identified as having no religion; 17 percent identified as Christian; and 4 per cent (135 respondents) identified as Muslim.

2. Established in 1965, the University of Kent - the UK's European university - now has almost 20,000 students across campuses or study centres at Canterbury, Medway, Tonbridge, Brussels, Paris, Athens and Rome.

It has been ranked 22nd in the Guardian University Guide 2018 and in June 2017 was awarded a gold rating, the highest, in the UK Government's Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).In the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2015-16, it is in the top 10% of the world's leading universities for international outlook and 66th in its table of the most international universities in the world. The THE also ranked the University as 20th in its 'Table of Tables' 2016.

Kent is ranked 17th in the UK for research intensity (REF 2014). It has world-leading research in all subjects and 97% of its research is deemed by the REF to be of international quality.

In the National Student Survey 2016, Kent achieved the fourth highest score for overall student satisfaction, out of all publicly funded, multi-faculty universities. Along with the universities of East Anglia and Essex, Kent is a member of the Eastern Arc Research Consortium (http://www.kent.ac.uk/about/partnerships/eastern-arc.html).

The University is worth £0.7 billion to the economy of the south east and supports more than 7,800 jobs in the region. Student off-campus spend contributes £293.3m and 2,532 full-time-equivalent jobs to those totals.

Kent has received two Queen's Anniversary prizes for Higher and Further Education.


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