Isolation, Social Media Combine to Radicalize Violent Offenders

[Kilgore]

Isolation, Social Media Combine to Radicalize Violent Offenders https://www.wsj.com/articles/isolation-and-social-media-combine-to-radicalize-violent-offenders-11565041473

Recent mass-violence incidents in America share common threads: disaffected individuals who feel powerless, radical ideas that blame particular groups and the use of social-media platforms that bring these factors together and amplify them.

Radicalization, researchers have found, is driven by a need to matter and be respected. Violence is often a means to that end, especially when it is in the name of a cause, like fighting against immigrants who are viewed as invaders upsetting white people’s dominance in the U.S.

Social media is increasingly playing a role in that process, especially among lone actors like the ones responsible for the recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

In 2016, social media—including services like Facebook, WhatsApp, Skype, Instagram and YouTube, plus personal blogs and forums—played a role in radicalizing and mobilizing roughly 90% of lone actors, according to a 2018 study by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism.

Between 2005-2016, social media played a role in radicalizing 50% of individuals in extremists groups.

Islamist and far-right extremists including white nationalists were the most likely to be radicalized on social media, according to the research. Between 2005 and 2016, social media played a role in the radicalization of nearly 70% of Islamist extremists and more than 40% of far-right extremists, according to the study.

Social media is also accelerating the pace at which people can be radicalized, the research found. Sometimes, users build off of the violence-themed posts of others.

[pangaia]

1. I can see trump of trying to turn the social media and the internet 'danger' against the left.....

i've been concerned about this for some time..

[BigmanPigman]

2. I just saw a discussion about this and it was scary how easily

and quickly people get sucked into this hole.

[Midnightwalk]

3. The weaponization of social media

I’ve been wondering about that since the weekend.

We know that russia and others have used social media to swing elections.

How much has social media been used by external groups to promote white supremacy and their terrorism? It seems a likely target.

I hope the FBI is taking the threat seriously.

I probably read the above title online somewhere because google says there is a book. Here’s a link to an npr interview with one of the authors. Only had time to skim a little but I’ll use this as a reminder to read later.

Edit to add link...duh.

[link://https://www.npr.org/2018/10/09/655824435/the-weaponization-of-social-media-and-its-real-world-consequences|]