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This chapter addresses the impact and discomfort of researching extremist digital subcultures. It provides reflections about the visual and personal dimension from two researchers investigating online extremist far-right and incel content, using memes as a case study. Through visually stimulating images, humor, and narratives, memes can normalize and desensitize extremism and violence, not only for the consumers but also for the researchers. We compare our research experiences to help prepare others who plan to study extremist content online by identifying themes of dehumanization and provocation, internalization and enabling harmful humor, and hyperawareness in everyday life. We give specific suggestions for handling these challenges and conclude by discussing the importance of adopting a reflexive approach for orienting our positionality in the research process.

Social media has become a critical tool for terrorist groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda, leveraging these platforms to disseminate ideology, recruit members, and mobilize support. This study aims to identify the patterns of terrorist propaganda on social media and develop effective digital communication strategies to counteract these activities. The research employs a qualitative approach through literature review and content analysis, grounded in digital communication, strategy, and propaganda theories. The findings reveal that terrorist groups utilize emotional narratives to disseminate ideology, personalized approaches for recruitment, and social media to organize collective actions. Successful digital communication strategies include AI-based early detection, culturally relevant counter-narratives, digital literacy to raise public awareness, cross-sector collaboration, and robust law enforcement. The study’s holistic approach is essential to counter terrorist propaganda, emphasizing close collaboration among governments, technology companies, and society. Further research is recommended to explore emerging technologies and innovative strategies to address the evolving threat.

This project aims to understand, through a gender and intersectional lens, how socialisation processes coupled with exposure to harassment, hate-based discrimination and extreme content can potentially lower resilience to radicalisation in gaming.

Researchers are increasingly conducting research using primary source data involving observation of, and exposure to, violent extremist individuals, their acts, their online content, and the ideologies that they act in support of. Of concern is that this increased use of primary source material has not occurred alongside a serious investigation of the traumatic outcomes that may result from constant exposure to such materials within the process of conducting academic research. As such, the goal of this review is to conduct a rapid evidence assessment to identify (a) What theories currently exist that conceptualize trauma stemming from vicarious observation of extremist atrocities? (b) In what similar domains (if any) have researchers conceptualized the trauma that stems from vicarious observation of extremist atrocities? (c) What is the current evidence base for these theories? And (d) What are the immediate research needs to extend this research and support the research workforce? Articles were identified using search strings related to types of trauma, and relevant domains of work (e.g., criminal justice, healthcare, national security, content moderation). In total 34 articles were screened and assessed in full. The work domains of these articles ranged from drone warfare to digital forensics and interrogation interpreters. Overall, exposure to traumatic images, videos, and events is associated with burnout, secondary traumatic stress, turnover intentions, and a host of wider negative psychosocial outcomes. Furthermore, this process is impacted by several factors including the nature of the content, the wider organizational culture, and individual differences.

This article explores the extent to which ‘transnationalism’ offers analysts a meaningful prism through which to analyze racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist (REMVE) terrorism or whether the term obscures more than it illuminates. The ‘transnational’ dimension of REMVE terrorism is often ill-defined and misunderstood, leading to misconceptions about the nature of such networks that in turn exaggerate their ‘global’ reach and distort our understanding of how they operate in practice. The digital revolution has internationalized far-right extremist networks, but many of these remain regional rather than truly transnational. Nevertheless, understanding the transnational dimension of social media and its role in the radicalization of lone-actor REMVE terrorists is increasingly important. Online REMVE communities rather than physical organizations per se serve as the medium through which violent ideologies are spread; where lessons from previous attacks are learned and internalized; where the perpetrators of violence are revered; and where further acts of violence are encouraged and incited—which, as this article demonstrates, has real-world effects. What this suggests is that, insofar as REMVE terrorism is concerned, ‘domestic’ terrorism is increasingly inseparable from tackling ‘transnational’ terrorism and that digital platforms have increasingly blurred the boundaries between the two.

Involuntary celibates, or incels, have been of heightened interest to scholars and practitioners due to their ongoing engagement in misogynistic and violent discourse. The incel subculture is complex, requiring unique strategies to develop effective interventions. The present study investigates patterns in incels’ online posting behaviors and whether acceptance of subcultural beliefs is reflected in variations of user engagement and posting behaviors over time. A sample of postings are drawn from a well-known incel-moderated forum and analyzed using group-based trajectory modeling. The results demonstrate that three distinct posting trajectory groups are present. The findings demonstrate heterogeneity among users’ posting behaviors in the forum over time and suggest that variation may be a reflection of users’ subcultural beliefs.