Countering Violent Extremism in Indonesia: using an Online Panel Survey to Assess a Social Media Counter-Messaging Campaign
This RAND evaluation tested whether a CVE social media campaign in Indonesia—built by Search for Common Ground around the hashtags #AkuTemanmu ("I am your friend") and #CapekGakSih ("Aren't you tired?")—actually shifted attitudes among the youth audiences it reached. Researchers recruited 1,570 Indonesian participants via Facebook ads and randomly assigned them to view either the CVE content or placebo ads. Audiences recognized the content and liked it at levels comparable to mainstream advertising, though #CapekGakSih left some viewers unsure of its meaning.
The attitudinal results were murkier. A significant positive effect on "promoting inclusivity online" came from an unexplained drop in the control group rather than any gain in the treatment group, and there was a strong, unexpected negative effect on attitudes toward living in separated communities. The authors recommend tighter sample controls, randomized delivery directly into Facebook feeds, and pre/post surveys paired with linguistic analysis to get cleaner signal on whether CVE content actually moves audiences.