European UnionDeadline PassedNon-profit, Private Business, Research Institution, Public Institution, Other
Countering and preventing radicalisation, extremism, hate speech and polarisation
Innovative Research on Democracy and Governance (HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-05)
Funding Amount
€3.0M - €3.5M
Deadline
16/09/2025
Eligible Organization Types
Non-profit, Private Business, Research Institution, Public Institution, Other
Trusted by
What is the Countering and preventing radicalisation, extremism, hate speech and polarisation Call?
Grant Description
This call funds research to understand and counter radicalisation, extremism, hate speech and polarisation by examining their social and economic drivers, online and offline media ecosystems, and developing innovative tools, narratives, methodologies and training for policymakers, educators, media organisations and civil society to prevent and mitigate these threats to democracy and social cohesion.
Required Results for Successful Funding
Expected Outcomes
Projects must collectively contribute to all three of the following core outcomes:
1. Equip EU and national decision makers, researchers (including SSH), practitioners, educators and media organisations with a comprehensive understanding of the linkages between social/economic inequality, polarisation, radicalisation and hatred, and provide them with actionable recommendations, tools, narratives and methodologies.
2. Enable EU institutions and national policymakers to gain deeper insights into radicalisation, extremism and hate speech, particularly their impact on young people and youth engagement with these phenomena online and offline.
3. Provide EU institutions, national decision makers and civil society organisations with a thorough understanding of the mechanisms driving successful extremist, radical and hate campaigns, including diverse political environments and communication modes beyond online platforms.
In addition, each project must achieve at least one of the following:
• Improved methodologies (qualitative and quantitative) to map online hate ecosystems, supporting enforcement of laws against racist, xenophobic and misogynistic hate speech and protection of potential victims.
• Enhanced understanding of the interplay between disinformation (including Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference) and hate speech, radicalisation and extremism, and how such campaigns foster social divisions.
• New insights into individuals’ media consumption patterns (traditional vs social media), effects of a polarised public sphere on the media landscape, the role of journalists, and developments in citizen-led media content.
• Deeper knowledge of how traditional media, online media, social media and artificial intelligence can counter mis/disinformation, hatred and extremist narratives.
• Advanced tools and methods to assess source reliability and meta-tag viewpoints, alongside proven journalistic practices (forums, citizen engagement, editorial communication) that improve media debate quality.
• Increased availability and dissemination of training tools, educational materials and methods enabling educators to engage students in awareness-raising and counter-hate/extremism/polarisation activities.
1. Equip EU and national decision makers, researchers (including SSH), practitioners, educators and media organisations with a comprehensive understanding of the linkages between social/economic inequality, polarisation, radicalisation and hatred, and provide them with actionable recommendations, tools, narratives and methodologies.
2. Enable EU institutions and national policymakers to gain deeper insights into radicalisation, extremism and hate speech, particularly their impact on young people and youth engagement with these phenomena online and offline.
3. Provide EU institutions, national decision makers and civil society organisations with a thorough understanding of the mechanisms driving successful extremist, radical and hate campaigns, including diverse political environments and communication modes beyond online platforms.
In addition, each project must achieve at least one of the following:
• Improved methodologies (qualitative and quantitative) to map online hate ecosystems, supporting enforcement of laws against racist, xenophobic and misogynistic hate speech and protection of potential victims.
• Enhanced understanding of the interplay between disinformation (including Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference) and hate speech, radicalisation and extremism, and how such campaigns foster social divisions.
• New insights into individuals’ media consumption patterns (traditional vs social media), effects of a polarised public sphere on the media landscape, the role of journalists, and developments in citizen-led media content.
• Deeper knowledge of how traditional media, online media, social media and artificial intelligence can counter mis/disinformation, hatred and extremist narratives.
• Advanced tools and methods to assess source reliability and meta-tag viewpoints, alongside proven journalistic practices (forums, citizen engagement, editorial communication) that improve media debate quality.
• Increased availability and dissemination of training tools, educational materials and methods enabling educators to engage students in awareness-raising and counter-hate/extremism/polarisation activities.
Funded areas
Scope Requirements
Proposals must:
• Address the growing threats of radicalisation, extremism, incitement to hatred and polarisation to democracy and social cohesion.
• Consider both online (social media, algorithmic personalisation) and offline (friendships, kinships, shared-interest networks) pathways of radicalisation and polarisation.
• Involve one or more non-academic stakeholder categories (public bodies, media, journalists, platforms, NGOs, civil society, policymakers, educators) to test, implement and replicate research results.
• Engage providers of intermediary services under the Digital Services Act to secure access to necessary disinformation and platform data.
• Explore at least one of the following themes: stereotypes (gender, religion, ethnic minorities), impact of new technologies on extremist content, social cohesion and democratic participation, linkages between social/economic inequality and radicalisation, extremism, hatred and polarisation.
• Incorporate historical and comparative analysis of hate speech and extremist narrative evolution.
• Collaborate with the RAN Knowledge Hub to align priorities and share outcomes, and cluster with relevant previous EU-funded projects.
• Leverage European Research Infrastructures federated under the European Open Science Cloud and relevant Data Spaces; ensure produced data are FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Re-usable).
• Select and integrate the description of one of the three relevant Horizon Europe 2025 destinations (Democracy, Heritage, Social and Economic Transformations) as per the Work Programme.
• Address the growing threats of radicalisation, extremism, incitement to hatred and polarisation to democracy and social cohesion.
• Consider both online (social media, algorithmic personalisation) and offline (friendships, kinships, shared-interest networks) pathways of radicalisation and polarisation.
• Involve one or more non-academic stakeholder categories (public bodies, media, journalists, platforms, NGOs, civil society, policymakers, educators) to test, implement and replicate research results.
• Engage providers of intermediary services under the Digital Services Act to secure access to necessary disinformation and platform data.
• Explore at least one of the following themes: stereotypes (gender, religion, ethnic minorities), impact of new technologies on extremist content, social cohesion and democratic participation, linkages between social/economic inequality and radicalisation, extremism, hatred and polarisation.
• Incorporate historical and comparative analysis of hate speech and extremist narrative evolution.
• Collaborate with the RAN Knowledge Hub to align priorities and share outcomes, and cluster with relevant previous EU-funded projects.
• Leverage European Research Infrastructures federated under the European Open Science Cloud and relevant Data Spaces; ensure produced data are FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Re-usable).
• Select and integrate the description of one of the three relevant Horizon Europe 2025 destinations (Democracy, Heritage, Social and Economic Transformations) as per the Work Programme.
Additional Conditions for Applicants
Special Conditions
- Funding under a lump sum grant model (HORIZON-AG-LS) with a 50-page limit for Part B and mandatory submission of a detailed budget table using the provided template.
• Admissibility and eligibility governed by Horizon Europe General Annexes: country eligibility (Annex B), financial/operational capacity (Annex C), evaluation criteria and processes (Annexes D and F).
• Single-stage submission between 15 May 2025 and 16 September 2025, 17:00 Brussels time.
• Proposals need not cover all topic areas but must clearly justify chosen focus and alignment with overarching objectives.
• Direct contact with the RAN hub is not allowed during proposal preparation; collaboration should be described but engagement begins post-award.
• Non-EU/associated country participants must follow specific provisions in the Programme Guide.
• Data generated must comply with EU data protection rules and FAIR principles.
• Must consider synergies with other EU programmes for uptake (Digital Europe, CERV, Erasmus+, ESF+, Global Europe, Technical Support Instrument).
• Proposals should not alter the Destination’s description and must reference it as published in the Work Programme.
• Admissibility and eligibility governed by Horizon Europe General Annexes: country eligibility (Annex B), financial/operational capacity (Annex C), evaluation criteria and processes (Annexes D and F).
• Single-stage submission between 15 May 2025 and 16 September 2025, 17:00 Brussels time.
• Proposals need not cover all topic areas but must clearly justify chosen focus and alignment with overarching objectives.
• Direct contact with the RAN hub is not allowed during proposal preparation; collaboration should be described but engagement begins post-award.
• Non-EU/associated country participants must follow specific provisions in the Programme Guide.
• Data generated must comply with EU data protection rules and FAIR principles.
• Must consider synergies with other EU programmes for uptake (Digital Europe, CERV, Erasmus+, ESF+, Global Europe, Technical Support Instrument).
• Proposals should not alter the Destination’s description and must reference it as published in the Work Programme.
Important dates
Open from: 15/05/2025
Deadline:16/09/2025
Application period has ended
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