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Noon Briefing by Stephanie Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary General

In the recent past, the numbers of religiously- and politically-motivated terrorist attacks have increased, inevitably raising the question of effective measures to prevent further terrorist attacks. Empirical studies related to school shootings have shown that school shooters reliably (directly and indirectly) disclosed their intentions or plans prior to the attack, a phenomenon termed leaking or leakage. Leaking has been used for preventive purposes in this area of research. Recent research has indicated that leaking was also present prior to politically and religiously motivated terrorist attacks. In order to determine the current state of knowledge about leaking related to these offenses, we conducted a review of the international literature on religiously and politically motivated terrorist attacks. Up to 90% of the offenders showed some type of leaking prior to the attacks. A range of different forms of leaking could be observed. Leaking often occurred in the form of verbal communication with family and friends and/or via communication over the Internet. Terrorist offenders apparently tend to show leaking more often than other groups of mass murderers. Findings regarding similarities and dissimilarities in leaking between religiously motivated, jihadist and politically-motivated, far-right terrorist attacks were contradictory. We discuss the implications of these findings for practice and research as well as the strengths and possible weaknesses of the leaking concept.

Currently, a gap in the literature exists on the link between radicalization processes and
the social psychology of the Internet. While radicalization processes are increasingly
becoming subject to empirical studies, only a subset of these studies have taken into
account online dynamics, and even fewer have approached this issue from a social psychological
perspective. However, the literature on radicalization to violent extremism clearly establishes
the central role of social psychology. It also suggests that the Internet is increasingly salient for
understanding processes of radicalization. It follows then, that understanding radicalization processes
requires an explanation of how the Internet may influence beliefs and behaviours; that is,
of the social psychology of the Internet.
This report outlines the link between the social psychology of the Internet and violent extremism.
It is divided into two parts. The first part, provides a review of the literature on the
social psychology of the Internet, including its potential applications to the understanding of
violent extremism. This section examines both the individual and collective dimensions involved
when individuals reach out and interact online with like-minded virtual peers, and their effects
on individual and collective behaviours. Concepts defined in the literature review are then applied
to analyze fifteen case studies of individuals whose involvement in violent extremist acts
has been confirmed, and where the Internet played a role, small or large, in their radicalization
trajectory. These fifteen cases aim to achieve maximum variance in regard to the role the Internet
played in radicalization processes across individuals. All cases are from open sources, all are
relevant to Canada although some cases selected include individuals active in (or coming from)
other countries. The aim is to provide a clear assessment of the aspects of the literature from the
research field of the social psychology of the Internet that has been shown most relevant to violent
extremism.

The second part of the report builds off the literature review and case study analysis, looking
at programs that aim to counter violent extremism online. This section can be broken down
into two sub-sections. First a review of the literature on countering violent extremism online is

Titre complet : Le « jihad 2.0 » ? : Discours, mythes et réalité(s) autour du rôle des espaces numériques dans les trajectoires jihadistes contemporaines.

The advent of social media platforms has created an online environment that transcends geographic and political boundaries as well as traditional mechanisms of state-based authority. The decentralised nature of social media and its ability to disseminate content anonymously and to reach wide audiences has afforded violent extremist groups opportunities to further propaganda, recruitment, radicalisation, fundraising and operational planning. This paper examines three violent extremist-related groups operating in Asia Pacific: one ‘classic’ terrorist – Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines; one a dissident political party – Jamaat-e-Islami in Bangladesh; and one a broad ethno-religious separatist movement – the Uyghurs in China. Each study highlights how the adoption of proactive social media strategies affords the group numerous opportunities to maximise their reach, impact and effect. However, the same technological specificities that generate these possibilities also expose the groups to new vulnerabilities and risks.