An Attack against Us All? Perceived Similarity and Compassion for the Victims Mediate the Effects of News Coverage about Right-Wing Terrorism

Abstract Right-wing terrorism (RWT) poses an increasing threat to Western societies, with perpetrators targeting diverse members of society. We investigated the affective and attitudinal outcomes of exposure to news about RWT, depending on the victims’ religious affiliation (Christian vs. Muslim). Results of a quota-based experiment in [Austria; predominantly non-Muslim] (N = 315) revealed no direct effects of the victims’ religious affiliation on affective and attitudinal outcomes. However, mediation analyses suggest that, compared to Muslim victims, Christian victims elicit higher perceived similarity, which in turn, impacts compassion. Similarity and compassion then significantly predict affective and attitudinal outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.