A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Perceived Societal Fear and Cyberhate after the November 2015 Paris Terrorist Attacks




AuthorsOksanen Atte, Kaakinen Markus, Minkkinen Jaana, Räsänen Pekka, Enjolras Bernard, Steen-Johnsen Kari

PublisherRoutledge

Publication year2020

JournalTerrorism and Political Violence

Journal name in sourceTerrorism and Political Violence

Volume32

Issue5

First page 1047

Last page1066

Number of pages20

ISSN0954-6553

eISSN1556-1836

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2018.1442329

Web address https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2018.1442329

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/31573931


Abstract

Fear is one of the negative outcomes of terrorist attacks. Currently, there is a need to understand how societal fear and fear of terrorism might be shaped and induced by social-media discussions. This study analyzed how exposure to cyberhate was associated with perceived societal fear after the November 2015 Paris terrorist attacks. Demographically balanced data sets were collected from France, Spain, Finland, Norway, and the United States four weeks after the attacks. Cyberhate exposure was associated with higher perceived societal fear in all countries studied even when adjusting for confounding factors. This was particularly evident in the case of cyberhate related to terrorism. Hateful online communication after disruptive events may contribute to a social climate of fear and escalate societal uncertainty. There are, however, indications that social trust may bolster against perceived societal fear, hence enhancing resilience.


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Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 14:38