From early Bulletin Board Systems adopted by neo-Nazis to the Islamic State’s more recent prolific use of social media platforms, an aspect of terrorism studies that is generally agreed upon is that violent extremists are often early adopters of emerging technologies. These groups, organisations, and networks have demonstrated innovative uses of these digital spaces, harnessed ...

The key findings of this report are as follows: Boko Haram, ISWAP and Ansaru previously leveraged popular social media platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Telegram and Instagram. These platforms were used to promote propaganda and create awareness regarding upcoming attacks. However, all three groups have now had their use of these platforms restricted or banned. ISWAP ...

The purpose of this study is to synthesize the literature relating to radicalization on social media, a space with enhanced concerns about nurturing propaganda and conspiracies for violent extremism. Through the systematic review of 82 peer-reviewed studies related to radicalization through social media published in scholarly journals, this paper evidence the growth of robust studies ...

This article is an empirical study of the visual mobilization strategies implemented by terrorist organizations seeking recruits or fighters. Drawing on the interdisciplinary theoretical approach of social movement studies and international relations and security studies, the author focuses on the propaganda narratives used by the Daesh organization from its inception to the COVID-19 pandemic. Between ...

This report reviews propaganda and social media activities of jihadists and right-wing extremist (RWE) groups and assesses the impact of the fall of Kabul on their narratives. ...

Recognizing the correlation between the growing spread of violent extremist and terrorist content on the internet and online platforms and the significant increase in attacks inspired by these posts prompted governments, security agencies, and private companies to launch various countermeasures to reduce the spread and impact of such material. Struggling to adjust to these countermeasures ...

In Europe and North America, an increasing proportion of individuals who are referred to de-radicalization programmes, arrested for terrorism offences, or involved in politically motivated violence, present a ‘mixed, unclear, and unstable’ (MUU) ideological profile instead of holding a single, clear and coherent extremist belief system. Where do these composite and often inconsistent ideological constructs ...

In this report, we have sought to understand how violent extremists behave across an increasingly complex online ecosystem and consider the implications for how online violent extremism (VE) activity can be countered. We interrogated the variety of measures, behaviours and technology platforms that are being used by violent extremists internationally. In so doing, we identified ...

Canadian right-wing extremism is now recognized as a serious problem and their use of social media to circulate hate, violence, and racism is a growing concern. However, not until circa 2016 did Canadian academics, police agencies, and intelligence agencies view the threat of right-wing extremism as a national security issue within Canada. My dissertation examines ...

This paper argues that companies’ efforts to deal with TVEC have been hampered at the outset by a tendency to define TVEC extremely narrowly. Still, only a tiny proportion of content that could reasonably be categorized as TVEC is included in most definitions. An outsized focus on pre-identified Islamic extremists and terrorist groups means that ...