Decoding Influence Narratives: Identifying Persuasion and Propaganda Techniques in Twitter Discourse on Violent Extremism

Abstract

Identifying persuasion and propaganda techniques is crucial for understanding message agendas and designing culturally resonant counter-messages, yet their overlapping nature complicates both qualitative annotation and automated detection efforts. Previous research often examined persuasion and propaganda separately, overlooking their frequent convergence in everyday communication and in digital contexts. To address this gap, our study developed a codebook of 20 unique influence techniques by integrating operationalisations from prior analyses of radical Islamic publications with insights from tweets discussing the 2020 Charlie Hebdo–related terror incidents. As techniques often co-occur, we clustered them to uncover underlying intent and context, distilling the 20 techniques into seven overarching strategies, four of which centred on authority and fallacy-based invocations. A cross-cultural analysis of tweets from five Asian Islamic subgroups then examined differences in susceptibility to these strategies, moving beyond the supply of extremist messaging to reveal the demand-side dynamics of what resonated with audiences. Results revealed significant variation: the Arabic subgroup, for instance, was more susceptible to religious appeals and misinformation-related fallacies than other subgroups. These findings demonstrate that influence strategies are not universally applicable, underscoring the importance of tailoring counter-propaganda messaging to the cultural values of specific audiences.