‘Sometimes You Just Have to Try Something’: A Critical Analysis of Danish State-Led Initiatives Countering Online Radicalisation
September 18, 2023
This research paper argues that Danish online radicalisation policies are driven by logics of urgency (the threat is imminent) within a limited realm of discursive possibilities (the threat is securitised) which blur the lines between state and civil society as well as state and private sector interactions. Potential political implications bring into play questions about ...
Terror in the Dark: How Terrorists Use Encryption, the Darknet, and Cryptocurrencies
September 18, 2023
This report demonstrates how terrorists and extremists have utilised the Darknet to mask their communication and propaganda efforts, to recruit and radicalise, and to gain material benefits such as illicit goods, including, but not limited to, weapons and fraudulent documents. In addition, this report notes the growing tendency of these individuals to utilise cryptocurrencies for ...
Jihad Cool/Jihad Chic: The Roles of the Internet and Imagined Relations in the Self-Radicalization of Colleen LaRose
September 18, 2023
The internet provides the means through which a “self-activating terrorist” may first self-radicalize through some imaginary or sympathetic connection with an organized terrorist network. Additionally, the internet allows such a self-activating terrorist to move into the stage of radical violent action. The internet serves both functions by providing the lone wolf with not only a ...
Studying Jihadists on Social Media: A Critique of Data Collection Methodologies
September 18, 2023
In this article, we propose a general model of data collection from social media, in the context of terrorism research, focusing on recent studies of jihadists. By analyzing Twitter data collection methods in the existing research, we show that the methods used are prone to sampling biases, and that the sampled datasets are not sufficiently ...
Representing the West and “Non-Believers” in the Online Jihadist Magazines Dabiq and Inspire
September 18, 2023
This article analyses how jihadist ideology groups discursively represent “the West” and “non-believers” in their online propagandamagazines. In doing so, it contributes to the field of Critical Terrorism Studies conceptually, by considering the voices of violent actors, and methodologically, by illustrating how linguistic tools of enquiry can advance current knowledge of jihadist ideology groups. Our ...
Inception Impact Assessment: Measures to Further Improve the Effectiveness of the Fight against Illegal Content Online
September 18, 2023
This Comment addresses issues unique to potentially terrorist content targeted by Internet platforms’ Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) efforts. It focuses in particular on Islamist extremism, though some of the analysis may be generalized to other contexts. ...
Fool me Once: How Terrorists Like and Rely Upon the “See no Evil, Hear no Evil” Business Model of Google Facebook and Instagram
September 18, 2023
The latest Digital Citizens Alliance investigation exposes the fallacy that much, if anything, has changed. Partnering with the Global Intellectual Property Enforcement Center (GIPEC), Digital Citizens has reviewed dozens of examples of how terrorist organizations continue to rely on digital platforms such as Google, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram to promote hate speech and recruit. What ...
The British Hacker Who Became the Islamic State’s Chief Terror CyberCoach: A Profile of Junaid Hussain
September 18, 2023
Until his death in a U.S. drone strike in August 2015, Junaid Hussain was the Islamic State’s most prolific Englishlanguage social media propagandist, working to incite and guide sympathizers in the United Kingdom, United States, and beyond to launch terrorist attacks. Before joining the jihad in Syria, Hussain was part of a hacking collective in ...
‘Beyond Anything We Have Ever Seen’: Beheading Videos and the Visibility of Violence in the War against ISIS.
September 18, 2023
This article examines the role of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS’s) beheading videos in the United Kingdom and the United States. These videos are highly illustrative demonstrations of the importance of visual imagery and visual media in contemporary warfare. By functioning as evidence in a political discourse constituting ISIS as an imminent, ...
An Empirical Study on Collective Online Behaviors of Extremist Supporters
September 18, 2023
Online social media platforms such as Twitter have been found to be misused by extremist groups, including Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), who attract and recruit social media users. To prevent their influence from expanding in the online social media platforms, it is required to understand the online behaviors of these extremist group ...