PERIL’s preventative framework aims to build social cohesion and democratic resilience while centering the needs of targeted groups, victims, and survivors. In partnership with community groups, local governments, educators, counselors, and other civil society actors, we create effective prevention tools and resources including toolkits and guides, education and media literacy interventions, short-form videos, and training programs. Our interventions are developed based on holistic research and rigorous testing.
We advocate for a public health approach to preventing violent extremism and creating resilient democracies. Public health approaches require four integrated components.
rooted in communities’ needs
holistic, whole-of-society, and whole of government
evidence-based
focused on creating resilient systems, not just resilient individuals
Our approach assumes that no one is immune to harmful online content and the persuasive strategies used to spread them. Strategies to address extremist violence and its precursors need to be rooted in mainstream resilience across all sectors of society.
All PERIL interventions include deep listening and analysis of online and offline spaces prior to intervention development. This includes focus groups, listening sessions, ethnographic fieldwork, and mapping of online propaganda, memes, and persuasive rhetoric. Using those insights, we design intervention strategies– which include short-form videos (video-based inoculation), community-based trainings and advising, and a variety of toolkits and guides to help people build the protective factors that buffer against harm and violence. Our tools are written and tested for broad online populations and for on-the-ground communities of parents and caregivers, educators, coaches, mental health counselors, faith leaders, youth mentors, small business owners, local government officials, and more. We are committed to providing evidence of what works and sharing it, along with our methodologies and tools.
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