Grounds for Cooperation in the Radicalisation Governance Milieu? A Qualitative Exploration of Stakeholder Issue Frames of Online Radicalisation
November 7, 2024
In the study of online radicalisation, little attention has been paid to the way local stakeholders within the broader online radicalisation milieu define, frame, and problematise online radicalisation. As these conceptions and problematisations are crucial to the possibility of cooperation and coordination between them, this lacuna represents a curious oversight. Drawing on a cross-national and ...
Belonging is just a click away: Extremism, radicalisation, and the role of online communities
October 30, 2024
As the field of terrorism studies evolves, there continues to be increasing interest in how the Internet and social media platforms are impacting extremist groups, militant movements, and individual radicalisation to violence. Especially with the rise of the Islamic State, and the migration of tens of thousands of foreign fighters to Syria and Iraq, there ...
Sex Sells Terrorism: How Sexual Appeals in Fringe Online Communities Contribute to Self-Radicalization
October 30, 2024
The past several years have seen rising hate crimes, terrorist attacks, and broader extremist movements, with news reports often noting that these movements can be traced back to fringe online communities. Yet the question remains why such online groups appear more likely to foster radicalization than those in other contexts. This netnographic case study demonstrates ...
Gaming and Extremism: The Radicalization of Digital Playgrounds
October 30, 2024
Charting the increase in the use of games for the dissemination of extremist propaganda, radicalization, recruitment, and mobilization, this book examines the “gamification of extremism.” Editors Linda Schlegel and Rachel Kowert bring together a range of insights from world-leading experts in the field to provide the first comprehensive overview of gaming and extremism. The potential ...
A Graph-Based Approach to Studying the Spread of Radical Online Sentiment
October 29, 2024
The spread of radicalization through the Internet is a growing problem. We are witnessing a rise in online hate groups, inspiring the impressionable and vulnerable population towards extreme actions in the real world. In this paper, we study the spread of hate sentiments in online forums by collecting 1,973 long comment threads (30+ comments per ...
“We Want You!” Applying Social Network Analysis to Online Extremist Communities
October 29, 2024
Current literature on online criminal and deviant groups recognizes the role of online forums in the transfer of knowledge and socialization of members, but debates on the role of the Internet in the socialization and radicalization processes in the context of online extremist groups. This study contributes to the discussion by examining online radicalization process ...
Online Radicalization and Ways to Counteract its Impact
October 25, 2024
The literature shows that there are two fields that can feed radicalization, online and offline domains. However, the arbitrary separation has been challenged since radicalised individuals use both domains for their activities and they seamlessly move across the two (Pauwels & Schils, 2016; Gill et al., 2017; Whittaker, 2022). Furthermore, most scholars today agree that ...
Distinct patterns of incidental exposure to and active selection of radicalizing information indicate varying levels of support for violent extremism
October 24, 2024
Exposure to radicalizing information has been associated with support for violent extremism. It is, however, unclear whether specific information use behavior, namely, a distinct pattern of incidental exposure (IE) to and active selection (AS) of radicalizing content, indicates stronger violent extremist attitudes and radical action intentions. Drawing on a representative general population sample (N = 1509) ...
From antisemitism to terrorism: Robert Taylor and the Goyim Defense League (GDL)
October 24, 2024
At Manchester Crown Court on 18 October 2024, Robert Taylor was sentenced to four years in prison with a one year extended license period for nine offences relating to racial hatred, two terror offences, two offences related to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation and one case of support for a proscribed organisation. This ...