Journal Article
To Train Terrorists Onsite or Motivate via the Internet…That is the Question
September 18, 2023This paper investigates an agency model of a terrorist organization in which the training and motivation of recruits can occur onsite, in physical training camps, or at arm’s length through the Internet. In so doing, we develop measures of the effectiveness and efficacy of these recruit training methods. A dividing line for choosing between the ...
Livestreaming the ‘wretched of the Earth’: The Christchurch massacre and the ‘death-bound subject’
September 18, 2023The livestreaming of terror, its co-production through live consumption and the massacre of lives as ‘entertainment’ propelled us into another long abyss of ethical challenges in the case of the xenophobic terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019. Livestreaming, as part of the convergence of technologies, enables narration in ‘real’ time, dragging us into ...
Using Internet search data to examine the relationship between anti-Muslim and pro-ISIS sentiment in U.S. counties
September 18, 2023Recent terrorist attacks by first- and second-generation immigrants in the United States and Europe indicate that radicalization may result from the failure of ethnic integration—or the rise of intergroup prejudice in communities where “home-grown” extremists are raised. Yet, these community-level drivers are notoriously difficult to study because public opinion surveys provide biased measures of both ...
Mobilizing extremism online: comparing Australian and Canadian right-wing extremist groups on Facebook
September 18, 2023Right-wing extremist groups harness popular social media platforms to accrue and mobilize followers. In recent years, researchers have examined the various themes and narratives espoused by extremist groups in the United States and Europe, and how these themes and narratives are employed to mobilize their followings on social media. Little, however, is comparatively known about ...
Race, Religion, or Culture? Framing Islam between Racism and Neo-Racism in the Online Network of the French Far Right
September 18, 2023When debates about Islam acquire importance in the public sphere, does the far right adhere to traditional racist arguments, risking marginalization, or does it conform to mainstream values to attain legitimacy in the political system? Focusing on the aftermath of the 2015 terrorist attacks in France, I explore the framing of Islam, discussing how the ...
An Intelligence Reserve Corps to Counter Terrorist Use of the Internet
September 18, 2023“Never before in history have terrorists had such easy access to the minds and eyeballs of millions,” declared one journalistic account of the Islamic State’s propaganda machine and proficient use of Twitter, Facebook, bots, and other modern means of getting its message out. Such views that the group’s “mastery of modern digital tools” has transformed ...
Exposure to Extremist Online Content Could Lead to Violent Radicalization:A Systematic Review of Empirical Evidence
September 18, 2023The main objective of this systematic review is to synthesize the empirical evidence on how the Internet and social media may, or may not, constitute spaces for exchange that can be favorable to violent extremism. Of the 5,182 studies generated from the searches, 11 studies were eligible for inclusion in this review. We considered empirical ...
Countering Hate Speech on Facebook: The Case of the Roma Minority in Slovakia
September 18, 2023This article explores hate speech against the Roma in Slovakia on Facebook between April 2016 and January 2017 and the impact of fact-checking and personal experience strategies in countering hate speech through a quasi-experimental research design. It examines how the Roma were constructed and how discussion participants reacted to our pro-Roma interventions. The research sample ...
Abu Musab al-Suri Goes Online: Conditions for the Success of Jihadist Online Strategies
September 18, 2023This paper utilizes Social Movement Theory to analyze the online strategies of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Applying Social Movement Theory, this paper argues that the relative online successes of each group can be explained through this theory of radicalization through social engagement. This paper looks at the writings of al-Qaeda strategist, Abu Musab al-Suri, ...
Immigrant, Nationalist And Proud: A Twitter Analysis Of Indian Diaspora Supporters For Brexit And Trump
September 18, 2023The Brexit referendum to leave the EU and Trump’s success in the US general election in 2016 sparked new waves of discussion on nativism, nationalism, and the far right. Within these analyses, however, very little attention has been devoted towards exploring the transnational ideological circulation of Islamophobia and anti-establishment sentiment, especially amongst diaspora and migrant ...