Felix Haass
@felixhaass.bsky.social
Assistant Professor for Comparative Politics @ Humboldt University | political violence & democracy | the inner workings of dictatorships
https://felixhaass.de/
https://felixhaass.de/
The implication is clear: 📰 The media doesn’t just report violence — it shapes its political consequences.
When journalists and public figures highlight the ideological roots of right-wing terror, voters distance themselves from the far right — even if only temporarily.
👉 doi.org/10.1017/S000...
When journalists and public figures highlight the ideological roots of right-wing terror, voters distance themselves from the far right — even if only temporarily.
👉 doi.org/10.1017/S000...
Right-Wing Terror, Media Backlash, and Voting Preferences for the Far Right | British Journal of Political Science | Cambridge Core
Right-Wing Terror, Media Backlash, and Voting Preferences for the Far Right - Volume 55
doi.org
October 22, 2025 at 3:14 PM
The implication is clear: 📰 The media doesn’t just report violence — it shapes its political consequences.
When journalists and public figures highlight the ideological roots of right-wing terror, voters distance themselves from the far right — even if only temporarily.
👉 doi.org/10.1017/S000...
When journalists and public figures highlight the ideological roots of right-wing terror, voters distance themselves from the far right — even if only temporarily.
👉 doi.org/10.1017/S000...
Our main takeaway:
Right-wing terror can reduce support for radical right parties—but only when
1️⃣ The attack’s motives and targets mirror the party’s ideology &
2️⃣ The media explicitly connects the dots between violence and that ideology.
Otherwise, attacks may have no effect or even boost support.
Right-wing terror can reduce support for radical right parties—but only when
1️⃣ The attack’s motives and targets mirror the party’s ideology &
2️⃣ The media explicitly connects the dots between violence and that ideology.
Otherwise, attacks may have no effect or even boost support.
October 22, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Our main takeaway:
Right-wing terror can reduce support for radical right parties—but only when
1️⃣ The attack’s motives and targets mirror the party’s ideology &
2️⃣ The media explicitly connects the dots between violence and that ideology.
Otherwise, attacks may have no effect or even boost support.
Right-wing terror can reduce support for radical right parties—but only when
1️⃣ The attack’s motives and targets mirror the party’s ideology &
2️⃣ The media explicitly connects the dots between violence and that ideology.
Otherwise, attacks may have no effect or even boost support.
Extending the analysis to 98 fatal right-wing attacks (1990–2020), we find: only high-intensity, nativist-motivated attacks — those targeting minorities — sparked strong media backlash, and only those cases reduced far-right support.
October 22, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Extending the analysis to 98 fatal right-wing attacks (1990–2020), we find: only high-intensity, nativist-motivated attacks — those targeting minorities — sparked strong media backlash, and only those cases reduced far-right support.
We replicated these findings in a survey experiment.
Respondents shown media coverage framing the attack as rooted in far-right ideology were less willing to vote for the AfD than respondents who were shown a non-political attack.
Respondents shown media coverage framing the attack as rooted in far-right ideology were less willing to vote for the AfD than respondents who were shown a non-political attack.
October 22, 2025 at 3:14 PM
We replicated these findings in a survey experiment.
Respondents shown media coverage framing the attack as rooted in far-right ideology were less willing to vote for the AfD than respondents who were shown a non-political attack.
Respondents shown media coverage framing the attack as rooted in far-right ideology were less willing to vote for the AfD than respondents who were shown a non-political attack.
Social media data tell a similar story: In the days after Hanau, thousands of users unfollowed AfD Facebook pages — which we interpret as a clear behavioral sign of distancing from the party independent of survey answers.
October 22, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Social media data tell a similar story: In the days after Hanau, thousands of users unfollowed AfD Facebook pages — which we interpret as a clear behavioral sign of distancing from the party independent of survey answers.
Our main empirical case: the 2020 Hanau attack in 🇩🇪, when a far-right extremist killed nine people of migrant background.
Media coverage linked the attack to the AfD’s rhetoric.
Afterwards, we find that AfD support fell by about 2 percentage points — roughly one-sixth of its voter base at the time.
Media coverage linked the attack to the AfD’s rhetoric.
Afterwards, we find that AfD support fell by about 2 percentage points — roughly one-sixth of its voter base at the time.
October 22, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Our main empirical case: the 2020 Hanau attack in 🇩🇪, when a far-right extremist killed nine people of migrant background.
Media coverage linked the attack to the AfD’s rhetoric.
Afterwards, we find that AfD support fell by about 2 percentage points — roughly one-sixth of its voter base at the time.
Media coverage linked the attack to the AfD’s rhetoric.
Afterwards, we find that AfD support fell by about 2 percentage points — roughly one-sixth of its voter base at the time.
📚Past studies disagree on electoral effects of right-wing terror— some find violence hurts far-right parties, others find it helps them.
We argue that it depends on media framing: when attacks are intense and clearly nativist, they can trigger a media backlash that turns voters away.
We argue that it depends on media framing: when attacks are intense and clearly nativist, they can trigger a media backlash that turns voters away.
October 22, 2025 at 3:14 PM
📚Past studies disagree on electoral effects of right-wing terror— some find violence hurts far-right parties, others find it helps them.
We argue that it depends on media framing: when attacks are intense and clearly nativist, they can trigger a media backlash that turns voters away.
We argue that it depends on media framing: when attacks are intense and clearly nativist, they can trigger a media backlash that turns voters away.
Wow that def looks less cloudy than last year!
September 3, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Wow that def looks less cloudy than last year!