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Radicalisation through Gaming: The Role of Gendered Social Identity
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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.
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2024-12-17 12:00:00 |
White, J., Wallner, C., Lamphere-Englund, G., Frankie, L., Kowert, R., Schlegel, L., Kingdon, A., Phelan, A., Newhouse, A., Saiz Erausquin, G. and Regeni, P. |
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Journal Article |
Vicarious Trauma via the Observation of Extremist Atrocities: A Rapid Evidence Assessment
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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.
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2024 |
Shortland, N., Crayne, M.P. and Mezzapelle, J.L. |
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Report |
Evaluating ‘Transnationalism’ as an Analytical Lens for Understanding REMVE Terrorism
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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.
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2024 |
Macklin, G. |
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Journal Article |
Examining the Online Posting Behaviors and Trajectories of Incel Forum Members
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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.
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2024 |
Helm, B., Holt, T.J., Scrivens, R., Wojciechowski, T.W. and Frank, R. |
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Foreign and Familiar: Recruitment Pathways of Young People Engaged with Extremism in Australia
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It has been established by leaders of the Australian national security community, such as the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the Australian Federal Police, that young people are being increasingly recruited into extremism. To date, few Australian studies have examined this issue using primary source data. This article seeks to understand the conditions which may make vulnerable young Australians more susceptible to recruitment, recruitment pathways, and forms of recruitment. To address this, primary sources were consulted, and frontline countering violent extremism (CVE) practitioners were interviewed. It was found that there is no typical pathway for young Australians to be recruited to extremism and that recruitment can be both foreign (informed by transnational networks and organisations) and/or familiar (within the immediate domestic environment of the young person). We identified the continued significance of online vectors, but further established the ongoing relevance and power of offline engagement for the recruitment of young people. Finally, we suggest that multiple intersecting vulnerabilities render young people more susceptible to recruitment, with data that suggests they may be naïve to their being recruited in the first place.
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2024 |
Campion, K. and Colvin, E. |
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Journal Article |
Death Cult in Hypermedia Environments: Martyrdom and Terrorism in the Neofascist Movement
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The proliferation of images and videos online commemorating the death of martyrs is becoming more and more widespread within the neofascist movement. Ceremonies honouring fallen comrades today go viral on the Internet in a manner that information technologies could not facilitate in the past. Neofascist organisations share these ritualistic practices on the Internet, producing hypermedia environments: specific media content that creates a dialogue between the digital and the physical realm. Analysing these hypermedia environments enables a better understanding of neofascist representations and tactics today. Noting that supremacist terrorism is widely excluded from the far-right hypermedia fabric, while the martyrs of neofascism are at the centre of these actions, this article illustrates the shifts that the movement is experiencing, from a clandestine offensive to a self-defence mass strategy.
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2024 |
Cuenca, A. |
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