by Merve Busra Ozturk, Inclusive Europe.
In today’s digital age, extremist narratives, conspiracy theories and misinformation permeate online spaces, posing challenges to societal resilience. While media literacy efforts often focus on youth, the SMIDGE Project (Social Media Narratives: Addressing Extremism in Middle Age) is the first initiative of its kind to turn its attention to middle-aged individuals. Funded under the Horizon Europe program, this project emphasises the pivotal role of the 45-65 age group in influencing societal dynamics.
Why focus on middle-aged users?
While media literacy efforts often target younger generations, middle-aged individuals represent a demographic with distinctive societal responsibilities and characteristics. Often holding decision-making positions in politics, business and community leadership, they have a profound impact on shaping policies, family interactions and broader societal narratives. Despite these influential roles, middle-aged individuals are not digital natives and may lack the tools to critically evaluate online content, leaving them susceptible to digital manipulation tactics.
SMIDGE recognises the importance of equipping this group with the skills needed to navigate the digital information ecosystem. By doing so, the project aims to create a ripple effect, fostering informed decision-making and enhancing societal resilience across generations. This approach reflects the project’s commitment to addressing the specific needs of an under-researched demographic in the fight against online extremism.
What drives SMIDGE: mission and approach
The SMIDGE Project brings together a multidisciplinary consortium of eight European institutions, including psychologists, media researchers, political scientists and counter-extremism professionals. The project’s overarching goals are:
- Understanding extremist narratives: investigating how harmful content spreads on social media platforms and resonates with middle-aged users. SMIDGE employs a combination of horizon scanning, social network analysis, surveys and focus groups to analyse these phenomena.
- Developing practical tools: creating resources to counter online extremism, such as counter-narrative materials, educational courses and a detailed database platform.
As a core principle, responsible research and innovation (RRI) is employed throughout the project to ensure that ethics and good practices are embedded into SMIDGE’s activities. In this way, the SMIDGE project is inclusive and outward looking, through engagement with stakeholders from the outset and throughout the project. Central to the project research is the concept of Hybridized Prefatory Extremism (HYPE), which the SMIDGE team developed to capture a contemporary trend of ideological fragmentation and narrative convergence in online settings. HYPE reflects a form of hybridisation across content, technology and practices: blending humour-based and ambigous displays of ideology with algorithmic infrastructures, multimodal content formats (images, videos and text) and collective digital engagement. Operating on the cusp of extremism, the concept of HYPE helps us bring attention to the blurred boundaries between mainstream and extremist content.
By using HYPE as a guiding framework for textual and content analyses, the SMIDGE project sheds light on these hybridised environments, advancing the understanding of online extremism and informing prevention strategies.
Turning research into results
While delivering a range of outputs designed to support educators, policymakers, journalists and security professionals, SMIDGE aims to promote first and second order reflexivity in both those vulnerable to extremist material and those tasked to address the issues by involving them in a co-creative approach.
- Counter-Narrative Content: Engaging materials, including videos, memes, gifs and a documentary, aimed at disrupting extremist narratives and fostering critical engagement.
- Educational E-Courses: Specialised training modules, such as Active Journalism for Counter-Extremist Narratives and Lateral Reading for Security Analysts, to enhance professional capacities in identifying and addressing misinformation.
- Database Platform: The project’s core tool provides insights into extremist narratives across platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X. This database categorises video content promoting far-right, religious, anti-vax and conspiracy narratives, offering researchers and policymakers data for evidence-based decision-making.
- Policy Briefs: Tailored recommendations for governments, NGOs and other stakeholders to address the challenges posed by online extremism effectively. These briefs draw on SMIDGE’s comprehensive analyses and emphasise actionable solutions.
Engaging communities and stakeholders
A key focus of SMIDGE’s efforts is its commitment to collaboration with diverse stakeholders. The project engages stakeholders through roundtables with journalists, security professionals and educators, facilitating dialogue and shared learning. Additionally, the SMIDGE team actively connects with the public through its bi-monthly SmidgeCast podcast series, which features expert discussions on topics such as digital literacy and disinformation. The project also organises a series of webinars where experts discuss issues surrounding online extremism, particularly in the context of current global events. The final conference, scheduled for February 2026 in Brussels, will bring together policymakers, researchers and practitioners to showcase the tools and knowledge developed over three years. Updates are shared via SMIDGE’s active presence on X, LinkedIn, and YouTube (@SmidgeProject).
As the SMIDGE Project progresses, its findings will lay the groundwork for future studies on extremism and media literacy, particularly within the middle-aged demographic. By highlighting the critical role this group plays in shaping societal resilience, SMIDGE addresses immediate challenges while contributing to democratic stability.
For more information and to become a stakeholder in the project, visit www.smidgeproject.eu or contact info@smidgeproject.eu.
Author
Merve Busra Ozturk, Project Manager at Inclusive Europe
