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Incels – a term that stands for “involuntary celibates”—is a subculture of men connected by their inability to obtain romantic and sexual relationships. As a group known for real-world violent attacks, understanding the drivers of online membership offers valuable insight into these vulnerable men. The current study used inductive qualitative analysis of over 8,000 posts made by 703 unique posters in two online incel communities to explore common themes within the process of incel membership online. Qualitative analyses uncovered two higher-order concepts: perceptions of injustice and searching for esteem. Within these concepts several underlying themes emerged: victimization, perceived barriers to manhood, psychological responses, and black pill as liberation. The results posit that one avenue to incel membership comes from heightened perceptions of injustice among these users. In addition, the incel forum offers a strategy to increase self-esteem through online membership, which may be a vital draw for disenfranchised young people. Unfortunately, it seems that online incel membership, while a source of self-esteem, shapes incel perceptions, leading members to re-interpret instances in their lives through the lens of extremist ideology.

VOX-Pol Blog post.

As the global political barometer increasingly shifts towards insularity, protectionism and propaganda-driven populism across countries, the CVE community is faced with a varied set of challenges. Whether it is on the question of dealing with returning ISIS FTFs, and preventing their move to different geographical theatres; or combatting majoritarian groups that rally around grievances, race or religion and fuel extreme violence—we need to ask ourselves how much more vulnerable we are today, and identify where the fault lines lie. While addressing these challenges, it is equally necessary to ensure that the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms are balanced as governments address security priorities. It is with the desire to see more global conversation on the manifold ideologies that drive violence and the responsibility of governments, platforms and civil society engaged in CVE initiatives that the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) organised the second iteration of Tackling Insurgent Ideologies, with the theme “Implementing the Christchurch Call: Towards a Global CVE Agenda.” We brought together a diverse group of policymakers, researchers and practitioners involved in the process of developing strategies that deal with the proliferation of radicalism and violence to debate and discuss best practices, learnings and a way forward.

The OCCI Insight Reports equip NGO partners on an ongoing basis with the knowledge
needed to develop effective, targeted campaigns. Without access to in-depth, data-driven
insights into the fast-evolving landscape of extremist and terrorist propaganda, narratives
and networks, it is impossible to mount a proportional targeted response. Additionally, the
reports highlight recommendations for future counterspeech campaigning to address the
identified narratives. OCCI will work closely with any organisation who is interested in
piloting and implementing these recommendations.

This review presents the existing research on the role of the Internet in radicalization processes. Using a systematic literature search strategy, our paper yields 88 studies on the role of the Internet in a) right-wing extremism and b) radical jihadism. Available studies display a predominant interest in the characteristics of radical websites and a remarkable absence of a user-centred perspective. They show that extremist groups make use of the Internet to spread right wing or jihadist ideologies, connect like-minded others in echo chambers and cloaked websites, and address particularly marginalized individuals of a society, with specific strategies for recruitment. Existing studies have thus far not sufficiently examined the users of available sites, nor have they studied the causal mechanisms that unfold at the intersection between the Internet and its users. The present review suggests avenues for future research, drawing on media and violence research and research on social identity and deindividuation effects in computer-mediated communication.