Terror, Terror Everywhere? How Terrorism News Shape Support for Anti‐Muslim Policies as a Function of Perceived Threat Severity and Controllability

Abstract

Terrorist attacks committed by the so‐called Islamic State are rising in Western countries. How the news media portray these attacks may crucially influence emotional responses and support for anti‐Muslim policies such as immigration bans. Based on the Extended parallel response model (EPRM, Witte, 1992), we theorize that specific features of terrorism news such as threat severity (e.g., high vs. low number of potential terrorist offenders) and threat controllability (e.g., nondiffuse, controllable threat vs. diffuse, uncontrollable threat) influence individuals’ emotional reactions and policy support. A quota‐based online experiment (N = 501) reveals that news articles featuring a high number of offenders increase individuals’ fear of terror irrespective of whether the threat is portrayed as controllable or not. News articles featuring a low number of offenders only evoke fear of terror if the threat is portrayed as diffuse. Additionally, news articles emphasizing a high number of offenders combined with a controllable terrorism threat elicit anger on the government. Both anger and fear of terror subsequently increase anti‐Muslim policy support.

Drifting Further Apart? How Exposure to Media Portrayals of Muslims Affects Attitude Polarization

“…Furthermore, our findings also contribute to the discussion of how the media should report about Muslims (e.g., Matthes, Schmuck, & von Sikorski, 2019; von Sikorski, Matthes, & Schmuck, 2018; von Sikorski, Schmuck, Matthes, & Binder, 2017). Journalists should be aware of what exactly causes attitude polarization over an issue (van Klingeren, Boomgaarden, & de Vreese, 2017).…”

Attitudinal and Emotional Consequences of Islamist Terrorism. Evidence from the Berlin Attack

“…The wider audience is thus not directly affected by a terrorist attack but experiences terrorism through news, social media, and private conversations. Previous research has shown that exposure to news impacts the effects of terrorism on attitudes, including attitudes about immigration (Boomgaarden & de Vreese, 2007) and Muslims (Matthes, Schmuck, & von Sikorski, 2019; Saleem, Prot, Anderson, & Lemieux, 2017). In the case of the Berlin Christmas attack, the German population can be seen as the wider audience.…”

Student Perspectives on Teaching and the Prevent Policy

“…Given the commonplace connection between Islam and terrorism in the media and social attitudes (Matthes, Schmuck, & von Sikorski, 2019), it is not surprising that Quartermaine found 'there is a genuine interest from pupils in discussing the relationship between terrorism and religion' (2016, p. 25). When they were given the opportunity to engage in such discussions, students were indeed grateful for the opportunity to critically explore the relationship between religion and terrorism.…”