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This study analysed three social media movements linked with extreme right‑wing activities online. Such activities were carried out by right‑wing extremists and those who support their philosophy of nationalism and religious conservatism, whether actively or passively. This study also investigated how themes and narratives from across the globe, such as US political discourse, Russian disinformation and conspiracy theories, are combined with real‑life local grievances in order to appeal to similarly aligned followers to help to disseminate and legitimise reactionary speech.

The Internet is harnessed as an ideal means for
organization and promotion of protest ideology, which does not
require special institutional facilities for maintenance and
development. Radical right-wing extremism is reckoned to be among
the public sentiments employing this global network. Consequently,
Russia is experiencing the tightening of Internet controls. The
objective of our study is identification of the audience of Russian
radical right-wing extremist online groups registered in the largest
Russian social network Vkontakte and analysis of their properties
under conditions of the state-sanctioned censorship of extremist
content. The methodological frame of the study is the conception of
modernization, which describes both the process of transformation of
traditionalism into modernity and the forces of counteraction to this
process. The methods of linguistic markers and social network
analysis are employed as the main tools for the furtherance of our
objective.

This book examines the circulation and effects of radical discourse by analysing the role of mass media coverage in promoting or hindering radicalisation and acts of political violence.

A summary of the current understanding of the role of the Internet in relation to extremist and terrorist networks. The paper was prepared by the ISD and the Policy Planners’ Network on Countering Radicalisation and Polarisation (PPN) – Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

This study explores how the internet is used by individuals in the process of their radicalisation. It is based on primary data drawn from a variety of sources: evidence presented at trial, computer registries of convicted terrorists, interviews with convicted terrorists and extremists, as well as police senior investigative officers responsible for terrorist investigations.

September 11th was a turning point in the understanding of terrorism and radicalization. The Internet has provided an instrumental change regarding how terrorists communicate and spread their propaganda, proving a cause of concern for counterterrorism units. The increased use of social networking platforms has provided a significant change in the process of self-radicalization, with younger generations at greater risk. The aim of the project was to study the relationship between social media and self-radicalization among college and university students. A sample of 499 participants was recruited throughout Amazon Mechanical Turk and social media platforms. Measures on emotional intelligence, psychological involvement on social media, attitudes toward terrorism, and political violence, and loneliness were gathered. Results showed that individuals holding a university degree—especially young men—were more at risk of endorzing positive attitudes toward political violence and terrorism, and, therefore, more at risk of being radicalized.