Radicalisation

By Dimitrios Kalantzis Less than 24 hours after John Earnest opened fire at a San Diego-area synagogue killing one person and injuring three others, the focus of the developing story shifted to his digital life. News outlets reported that Earnest “posted an anti-Jewish screed online about an hour before the attack” and “praised the suspects ...

By Michael Hartinger and Daniela Pisoiu Radicalisation and recruitment to violent extremism and terrorism occur in various ways and a myriad of rhetorical and visual elements have been used to that extent, increasingly online. Gamification and actual video games have recently increased in relevance, as Islamist and right-wing groups have recognised their potential for attracting ...

By Alice Raven Young people remain identified as one of the most vulnerable groups at risk of online radicalisation in the UK, however using education institutions to engage with and build resilience amongst these groups remains a persistent challenge. Virtual reality as an alternative resource has been increasingly explored to help bridge the gap between ...

This article is the second of a two-part series. It summarizes a recent study published in Terrorism and Political Violence. Part I is HERE. By Tiana Gaudette, Ryan Scrivens, and Vivek Venkatesh Last week on the Blog, we argued that, while a growing body of evidence suggests that the Internet is a key facilitator of ...

This article is the first of a two-part series. It summarizes a recent study published in Terrorism and Political Violence. Part II is HERE. By Tiana Gaudette, Ryan Scrivens, and Vivek Venkatesh In the past five years, it has become increasingly common for practitioners and policymakers in the western world to draw from the insights ...

By Linda Schlegel The ‘gamification of terror’ has received increased attention in the last years, especially in the aftermath of the right-wing extremist attacks in Christchurch, El Paso and Halle, which were livestreamed by the perpetrators akin to ‘Let’s Play’ streams found in the gaming scene. Previously, ISIS had made headlines, because it used not ...

By Anne Speckhard “If I was going to die at least I could die helping children. [It’s] illogical that you are entering a war zone that you don’t know anything about … I felt if I did something good it would overwrite the bad that had happened.” — Canadian 46-year-old Kimberly Pullman, speaking about her decision ...

By Ariadna Matamoros-Fernández and Joanne Gray People watch more than a billion hours of video on YouTube every day. Over the past few years, the video sharing platform has come under fire for its role in spreading and amplifyingextreme views. YouTube’s video recommendation system, in particular, has been criticised for radicalising young people and steering viewers ...

By Pamela Ligouri Bunker and Robert J. Bunker The 2019 Terrorism and Social Media (TASM) Conference took place on 25 and 26 June 2019 at Swansea University Bay Campus, Wales, United Kingdom. The conference was organised by Swansea University’s Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law and its Cyber Threats Research Centre (CYTREC), with the support ...

By Mike Caulfield Sam prides himself on questioning conventional wisdom and subjecting claims to intellectual scrutiny. For kids today, that means Googling stuff. One might think these searches would turn up a variety of perspectives, including at least a few compelling counterarguments. One would be wrong. The Google searches flooded his developing brain with endless ...