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The Islamic State, also known as ISIS, has distinguished itself as a pioneer in the use of social media for recruitment. But, while ISIS continues to be one of the most influential terrorist groups in the material world, other extremists are closing the gap in the virtual realm. On Twitter, ISIS’s preferred social platform, American white nationalist movements have seen their followers grow by more than 600% since 2012. Today, they outperform ISIS in nearly every social metric, from follower counts to tweets per day. This study examines and compares the use of Twitter by white nationalists, Nazi sympathizers, and ISIS supporters respectively, providing some preliminary comparisons of how each movement uses the platform.

“Social Apocalypse: The role of communications technology in mediating apocalyptic communities”, originally published by Brookings Institution on 28 May 2015

VOX-Pol Blog post.

This report compares two large random samples of Twitter accounts that tweet in English: one taken just before Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October 2022, and one taken three months later, in January 2023. It also examines several related datasets collected during the period following the acquisition, a period in which, the study found, new accounts were created at a record-breaking pace. Some extremist and conspiracy networks created accounts faster than the baseline rate, probably because changes to Twitter’s trust and safety policies had been announced. In the context of these policy announcements, the study examines some reinstated accounts, with mixed results. Despite the loosening of several content policies, accounts that automated the sending of tweets (‘bots’) saw activity drop sharply during the period of the study, with many bot accounts being suspended or deactivated, while others voluntarily curtailed their activity in light of the API changes announced. Deactivated accounts were dominated by sex- related content and apparent financial spam or scams, often coupled with automated tweeting.

VOX-Pol Guest Lecture Series, Autumn 2023

Name: J.M. Berger

Title: The Conceptualisation of Extremism Online

Outline: The rise of the online environment has been a game changer in enabling extremist movements to destabilize civil societies around the globe. This presentation explores the interface between extremism and the internet and presents contemporary approaches to understanding violent extremism online.

VOX-Pol Guest Lecture Series, Autumn 2022

Speaker: J.M. Berger

Title: The Conceptualisation of Extremism Online