Far-right movements in the Western world: How media exposure relates to normative beliefs and attitudes toward the far-right

Hema Preya Selvanathan; Bernhard Leidner; Stylianos Syropoulos; Winnifred Louis; Levi Adelman; Aphrodite Baka; Christina Bauer; Martijn Blikmans; Maja Becker; Eszter Beran; Michał Bilewicz; Peggy Chekroun; Tobias Greitemeyer; Bettina Hannover; Inga Jasinskaja-Lahti; Peter Kardos; Mengyao Li; Torun Lindholm; Steve Loughnan; Theresa Mros; Maria Paola Paladino; Marina Papadopoulou; Daniel R. Rovenpor; Kathrin Sadus; Jeroen Vaes; Alain Van Hiel; Martijn van Zomeren

doi:10.1177/13684302241309554

Far-right movements in the Western world: How media exposure relates to normative beliefs and attitudes toward the far-right

Hema Preya Selvanathan^*, Bernhard Leidner, Stylianos Syropoulos, Winnifred Louis, Levi Adelman, Aphrodite Baka, Christina Bauer, Martijn Blikmans, Maja Becker, Eszter Beran, Michał Bilewicz, Peggy Chekroun, Tobias Greitemeyer, Bettina Hannover, Inga Jasinskaja-Lahti, Peter Kardos, Mengyao Li, Torun Lindholm, Steve Loughnan, Theresa MrosMaria Paola Paladino, Marina Papadopoulou, Daniel R. Rovenpor, Kathrin Sadus, Jeroen Vaes, Alain Van Hiel, Martijn van Zomeren

^*Corresponding author for this work

Chair Lubbers

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Abstract

Considering the rise of far-right groups in Western countries, we examined whether exposure to media coverage on the far-right is associated with attitudes toward it, using surveys in 15 Western democratic countries (total N = 2,576). We hypothesized that greater media exposure to the far-right will be associated with greater perceived prevalence and acceptability of it, which will in turn be associated with divergent attitudes. On the one hand, greater perceived prevalence may be associated with more unfavorable attitudes toward the far-right (a threat response). On the other hand, greater perceived acceptability may be associated with more favorable attitudes toward the far-right (a normalization response). Overall, there was more evidence for a threat response than a normalization response: media exposure was consistently related to greater perceived prevalence (but not acceptability) of the far-right. This research underscores the importance of studying the consequences of the rise of the far-right.

Original language	English
Journal	Group Processes and Intergroup Relations
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/13684302241309554
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 12 Feb 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.

Keywords

far-right
media effects
normalization
polarization
social movements
social norms

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10.1177/13684302241309554Licence: CC BY

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Selvanathan, H. P., Leidner, B., Syropoulos, S., Louis, W., Adelman, L., Baka, A., Bauer, C., Blikmans, M., Becker, M., Beran, E., Bilewicz, M., Chekroun, P., Greitemeyer, T., Hannover, B., Jasinskaja-Lahti, I., Kardos, P., Li, M., Lindholm, T., Loughnan, S., ... van Zomeren, M. (2025). Far-right movements in the Western world: How media exposure relates to normative beliefs and attitudes toward the far-right. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684302241309554

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title = "Far-right movements in the Western world: How media exposure relates to normative beliefs and attitudes toward the far-right",

abstract = "Considering the rise of far-right groups in Western countries, we examined whether exposure to media coverage on the far-right is associated with attitudes toward it, using surveys in 15 Western democratic countries (total N = 2,576). We hypothesized that greater media exposure to the far-right will be associated with greater perceived prevalence and acceptability of it, which will in turn be associated with divergent attitudes. On the one hand, greater perceived prevalence may be associated with more unfavorable attitudes toward the far-right (a threat response). On the other hand, greater perceived acceptability may be associated with more favorable attitudes toward the far-right (a normalization response). Overall, there was more evidence for a threat response than a normalization response: media exposure was consistently related to greater perceived prevalence (but not acceptability) of the far-right. This research underscores the importance of studying the consequences of the rise of the far-right.",

keywords = "far-right, media effects, normalization, polarization, social movements, social norms",

author = "Selvanathan, {Hema Preya} and Bernhard Leidner and Stylianos Syropoulos and Winnifred Louis and Levi Adelman and Aphrodite Baka and Christina Bauer and Martijn Blikmans and Maja Becker and Eszter Beran and Micha{\l} Bilewicz and Peggy Chekroun and Tobias Greitemeyer and Bettina Hannover and Inga Jasinskaja-Lahti and Peter Kardos and Mengyao Li and Torun Lindholm and Steve Loughnan and Theresa Mros and Paladino, {Maria Paola} and Marina Papadopoulou and Rovenpor, {Daniel R.} and Kathrin Sadus and Jeroen Vaes and {Van Hiel}, Alain and {van Zomeren}, Martijn",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2025.",

year = "2025",

month = feb,

day = "12",

doi = "10.1177/13684302241309554",

language = "English",

journal = "Group Processes and Intergroup Relations",

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Selvanathan, HP, Leidner, B, Syropoulos, S, Louis, W, Adelman, L, Baka, A, Bauer, C, Blikmans, M, Becker, M, Beran, E, Bilewicz, M, Chekroun, P, Greitemeyer, T, Hannover, B, Jasinskaja-Lahti, I, Kardos, P, Li, M, Lindholm, T, Loughnan, S, Mros, T, Paladino, MP, Papadopoulou, M, Rovenpor, DR, Sadus, K, Vaes, J, Van Hiel, A & van Zomeren, M 2025, 'Far-right movements in the Western world: How media exposure relates to normative beliefs and attitudes toward the far-right', Group Processes and Intergroup Relations. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684302241309554

TY - JOUR

T1 - Far-right movements in the Western world

T2 - How media exposure relates to normative beliefs and attitudes toward the far-right

AU - Selvanathan, Hema Preya

AU - Leidner, Bernhard

AU - Syropoulos, Stylianos

AU - Louis, Winnifred

AU - Adelman, Levi

AU - Baka, Aphrodite

AU - Bauer, Christina

AU - Blikmans, Martijn

AU - Becker, Maja

AU - Beran, Eszter

AU - Bilewicz, Michał

AU - Chekroun, Peggy

AU - Greitemeyer, Tobias

AU - Hannover, Bettina

AU - Jasinskaja-Lahti, Inga

AU - Kardos, Peter

AU - Li, Mengyao

AU - Lindholm, Torun

AU - Loughnan, Steve

AU - Mros, Theresa

AU - Paladino, Maria Paola

AU - Papadopoulou, Marina

AU - Rovenpor, Daniel R.

AU - Sadus, Kathrin

AU - Vaes, Jeroen

AU - Van Hiel, Alain

AU - van Zomeren, Martijn

PY - 2025/2/12

Y1 - 2025/2/12

N2 - Considering the rise of far-right groups in Western countries, we examined whether exposure to media coverage on the far-right is associated with attitudes toward it, using surveys in 15 Western democratic countries (total N = 2,576). We hypothesized that greater media exposure to the far-right will be associated with greater perceived prevalence and acceptability of it, which will in turn be associated with divergent attitudes. On the one hand, greater perceived prevalence may be associated with more unfavorable attitudes toward the far-right (a threat response). On the other hand, greater perceived acceptability may be associated with more favorable attitudes toward the far-right (a normalization response). Overall, there was more evidence for a threat response than a normalization response: media exposure was consistently related to greater perceived prevalence (but not acceptability) of the far-right. This research underscores the importance of studying the consequences of the rise of the far-right.

AB - Considering the rise of far-right groups in Western countries, we examined whether exposure to media coverage on the far-right is associated with attitudes toward it, using surveys in 15 Western democratic countries (total N = 2,576). We hypothesized that greater media exposure to the far-right will be associated with greater perceived prevalence and acceptability of it, which will in turn be associated with divergent attitudes. On the one hand, greater perceived prevalence may be associated with more unfavorable attitudes toward the far-right (a threat response). On the other hand, greater perceived acceptability may be associated with more favorable attitudes toward the far-right (a normalization response). Overall, there was more evidence for a threat response than a normalization response: media exposure was consistently related to greater perceived prevalence (but not acceptability) of the far-right. This research underscores the importance of studying the consequences of the rise of the far-right.

KW - far-right

KW - media effects

KW - normalization

KW - polarization

KW - social movements

KW - social norms

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85219579108&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1177/13684302241309554

DO - 10.1177/13684302241309554

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85219579108

SN - 1368-4302

JO - Group Processes and Intergroup Relations

JF - Group Processes and Intergroup Relations

ER -

Far-right movements in the Western world: How media exposure relates to normative beliefs and attitudes toward the far-right

Abstract

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Keywords

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