On February 26th 2025, Professor Kesi Mahendran (OppAttune Scientific Co-lead) and Dr. Anthony English (OppAttune Postdoctoral Researcher) delivered a guest lecture at Lancaster University on ” Before the Hostility? Exploring the concept of Everyday Extremism”. Their lecture introduced the idea of everyday extremism and examined how extreme narratives gently shape daily political debates both online and in person.
Key research from the Horizon-Europe and Innovate UK-funded OppAttune project, which tracks (researching), attunes (understands), and limits (mitigating the spread of Everyday Extremism), was emphasised in the talk. Unlike radicalism, which is sometimes connected to violence or radicalisation, everyday extremism describes symbolically violent rhetoric that restricts democratic dialogue. Unlike hate speech, this kind of extremism is more difficult to identify and deal with since it is not always motivated by prejudice or intention to damage.
Everyday Extremism shows up as habitual exposure to extreme stories, rejection of different points of view, and the acceptance of divisive language. The discussion focused on how reinforced binary “us vs. them” viewpoints in social media and siloed news consumption help to create this perspective.
The OppAttune project presents several strategies to counter Everyday Extremism, including the Public Dialogue Psychology Collaboratory (PDPC), which promotes democratic discourse, and the I-Attune Self-Test Platform, which invites people to consider their own interaction with extreme narratives.
The I-Attune Self-Test Platform will be launched in September 2025.
