The Research, Information and Communications Unit (Ricu) is a British government organisation that produces strategic communications on behalf of the
Home Office.
Created as part of the controversial counter-radicalisation strategy known as
Prevent
Prevention may refer to:
Health and medicine
* Preventive healthcare, measures to prevent diseases or injuries rather than curing them or treating their symptoms
General safety
* Crime prevention, the attempt to reduce deter crime and crimin ...
, is based in the
Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism
Homeland Security Group is an executive directorate of the UK government Home Office, created in 2007, responsible for leading the work on counter-terrorism in the UK, working closely with the police and security services. The office reports to t ...
(OSCT), in the Home Office's Westminster HQ.
Background and aims
Ricu was created in 2007 by
Charles Farr. Farr, a former
MI6
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...
officer and head of the OSCT. Ricu was modelled on the
Information Research Department
The Information Research Department (IRD) was a secret Cold War propaganda department of the British Foreign Office, created to publish anti-communist propaganda, including black propaganda, provide support and information to anti-communist pol ...
(IRD), a clandestine
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
propaganda programme run by the Home Office from 1948 until it was shut down in 1977.
Counter-terrorism officials at the Home Office became aware of the work of the IRD after reading
Frances Stonor Saunders
Frances Hélène Jeanne Stonor Saunders FRSL (born 14 April 1966) is a British journalist and historian.
Early life
Frances Stonor Saunders is the daughter of Julia Camoys Stonor and Donald Robin Slomnicki Saunders. Her father, who died in 199 ...
' Cold War history book, ''
Who Paid the Piper?
'' Who Paid the Piper? The CIA and the Cultural Cold War'' (U.S. title ''The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters'') is a 1999 book by Frances Stonor Saunders. The book discusses the mid-20th century Central Intelligence Ag ...
'' (1999).
The target of Ricu's work are British Muslims, especially males, aged 15 to 39. The aim of Ricu’s work is to bring about "attitudinal and behavioural change" among young British Muslims as part of a counter-radicalisation programme. It is part of the government’s Strategic Communications which is described as "the systematic and coordinated use of all means of communication to deliver UK national security objectives by influencing the attitudes and behaviours of individuals, groups and states".
Programmes
Ricu employs social psychologists and anthropologists as well as counter-terrorism officials and marketing strategists.
Help for Syria is a Ricu programme which aims to "influence conversations among young British Muslims" and reduce the desire to travel to the region. The programme describes itself as providing advice on how to fundraise for Syrian refugees. It spoke to thousands of new university student and distributed leaflets to 760,000 homes without disclosing its government connection.
Piers Robinson described this as an example of black propaganda "whereby greater persuasiveness is sought by disguising the source of a message which, if known, may damage its credibility".
Ricu staff also monitor online conversations and forums to "track shifting narratives".
Much of Ricu's work is outsourced to a London communications company, Breakthrough Media Network. As part of its Ricu contract, Breakthrough organises events at schools and universities and works closely with a number of grassroots Muslim organisations to disseminate information challenging extremism. Breakthrough helped form a PR company that promoted the work of the grassroots organisations to journalists. Ricu says it retains editorial control over material distributed by Breakthrough and grassroots organisations as part of Ricu’s programmes.
In April 2022, Ricu signed a £1.07 million deal with the Media Monitoring and Associated Services framework.
See also
*
Information Research Department
The Information Research Department (IRD) was a secret Cold War propaganda department of the British Foreign Office, created to publish anti-communist propaganda, including black propaganda, provide support and information to anti-communist pol ...
*
Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism
Homeland Security Group is an executive directorate of the UK government Home Office, created in 2007, responsible for leading the work on counter-terrorism in the UK, working closely with the police and security services. The office reports to t ...
*
Black propaganda
Black propaganda is a form of propaganda intended to create the impression that it was created by those it is supposed to discredit. Black propaganda contrasts with gray propaganda, which does not identify its source, as well as white propaganda ...
References
{{Reflist
Home Office (United Kingdom)
British propaganda organisations