Alt Tech and the public sphere: Exploring Bitchute as a political media infrastructure
January 23, 2025
The article explores Bitchute, a video-hosting platform associated with the Far/Alt Right, with the aim of understanding how it reconfigures political communication and the digital public sphere. Methodologically, the article employs the walkthrough method and non-participant observation to identify the main features and functionalities offered to users. These include a set of values that prioritise ...
Women and the Spread of Global Extremism Narratives of ISIS
January 23, 2025
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is a radicalized group that has the goal of building an Islamic caliphate globally. ISIS recruits its members globally and spreads the extremism narrative widely. ISIS recruits more men to fulfill their roles as fighters and martyrs, but the role of women is also needed in ISIS ...
Crowdsourcing geographic information for terrorism-related disaster awareness and mitigation: perspectives and challenges
January 23, 2025
This systematic review explores the utilization of crowdsourcing for geoinformation in enhancing awareness and mitigating terrorism-related disasters. Out of 519 studies identified in the database search, 108 were deemed eligible for analysis. We focused on articles employing various forms of crowdsourcing platforms, such as Twitter (now known as X), Facebook, and Telegram, across three distinct ...
Examining the Online Posting Behaviors and Trajectories of Incel Forum Members
January 23, 2025
Involuntary celibates, or incels, have been of heightened interest to scholars and practitioners due to their ongoing engagement in misogynistic and violent discourse. The incel subculture is complex, requiring unique strategies to develop effective interventions. The present study investigates patterns in incels’ online posting behaviors and whether acceptance of subcultural beliefs is reflected in variations of ...
Evaluating ‘Transnationalism’ as an Analytical Lens for Understanding REMVE Terrorism
January 23, 2025
This article explores the extent to which ‘transnationalism’ offers analysts a meaningful prism through which to analyze racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist (REMVE) terrorism or whether the term obscures more than it illuminates. The ‘transnational’ dimension of REMVE terrorism is often ill-defined and misunderstood, leading to misconceptions about the nature of such networks that ...
Vicarious Trauma via the Observation of Extremist Atrocities: A Rapid Evidence Assessment
January 23, 2025
Researchers are increasingly conducting research using primary source data involving observation of, and exposure to, violent extremist individuals, their acts, their online content, and the ideologies that they act in support of. Of concern is that this increased use of primary source material has not occurred alongside a serious investigation of the traumatic outcomes that ...
Radicalisation through Gaming: The Role of Gendered Social Identity
January 23, 2025
This project aims to understand, through a gender and intersectional lens, how socialisation processes coupled with exposure to harassment, hate-based discrimination and extreme content can potentially lower resilience to radicalisation in gaming. ...
Digital Communication Strategy to Counteract the Use of Social Media as a Propaganda Tool for Terrorist Groups
January 23, 2025
Social media has become a critical tool for terrorist groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda, leveraging these platforms to disseminate ideology, recruit members, and mobilize support. This study aims to identify the patterns of terrorist propaganda on social media and develop effective digital communication strategies to counteract these activities. The research employs a qualitative approach through ...
Visual Methods for Sensitive Images: Ethics and Reflexivity in Criminology On/Offline
January 23, 2025
This chapter addresses the impact and discomfort of researching extremist digital subcultures. It provides reflections about the visual and personal dimension from two researchers investigating online extremist far-right and incel content, using memes as a case study. Through visually stimulating images, humor, and narratives, memes can normalize and desensitize extremism and violence, not only for ...
The overlap between viewing child sexual abuse material and fringe or radical content online
January 23, 2025
Drawing on a survey of 13,302 online Australians, this study examines the characteristics and behaviours of respondents who viewed child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and fringe or radical content online, or both. In the past 12 months, 40.6 percent of respondents had viewed fringe or radical content and 4.5 percent had viewed CSAM. Among respondents ...