Week in Review for Violent Extremism and Terrorism Analysis: 2023-03-13
Happy Monday everyone, here is your recap for the week of March 13, 2023. Feel free to send my way recommendations for next week.
1) The New issue of CREST Security Review brings together brings together articles that shine a light on behavioural and social science lens on innovation and security threats
This issue of CREST Security Review covers a diverse range of issues from the violent extremist innovation and recruitment in the Metaverse, to innovative ways to fight disinformation and conspiracy theories, the potential misuse of language models, strategic communication strategies for communication with the public about terrorism and violent extremism, analysis of misogynistic discourse by far-right groups, to an discussion about if we should consider Incels extremists, and so much more. it is very much worth the time reading.
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2) The Complex Relationship between Offline Events and Online Hate Speech
This study analyzed data from 1150 online communities across several platforms, including Reddit, Gab, and 4chan, tracking the frequency of seven types of hate speech: racism, anti-Semitism, gender-based hate, hate against the LGBTQ+ community, general insults (E/I/N), hate against religion, and hate against immigration. The researchers found that racism was by far the most prevalent type of hate speech, appearing in nearly 7 million posts.
However, despite originating from hate communities, most posts did not contain any of the seven types of hate speech, and about 20% of hate posts contained more than one type of hate speech. The researchers also found that during periods of intense and contentious offline activity, the activity in online hate communities increases dramatically, likely due to the heightened salience of these events more generally.
3) An ISD analysis found that it is (still) shockingly easy to find terrorist content on TikTok
An ISD investigation, done in conjunction with the anniversary of the Christchurch Attack, found that content related to the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack remains easily accessible on TikTok. On the fourth anniversary of the attack and only one week from TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, ISD explores the platform’s failure to commit to enforcing its own policies. Over the course of only one day of research, ISD identified 53 pieces of content that featured support for Brenton Tarrant. ISD categorised content as supportive if the TikTok video, added on-screen text or the accompanying caption used in the post by the user praised, promoted, glorified, discussed positively or uncritically mentioned Tarrant. Throughout the course of the monitoring period, though not the focus of this 2023 review, ISD also noted the presence of numerous TikTok videos and account profiles supporting the actions of other racially motivated mass shooters such as Dylann Roof and Anders Behring Breivik, as well as extremist ideologies like white supremacy and Holocaust denial.
4) Testament to Murder: The Violent Far-Right’s Increasing Use of Terrorist Manifestos
Over the past few years, several major far-right terrorist attacks have been accompanied by detailed, published manifestos, which outline ideology, motivation, and tactical choices. Given that such manifestos are rapidly becoming an essential part of far-right violence, they urgently require more detailed analysis. In this Policy Brief, Jacob Ware assesses the manifestos for common themes, before discussing implications for counterterrorism scholars and practitioners.
5) The Link Between Age and Extremism
Michael Jensen provides a quantitative analysis of the nearly 1,000 people who have been charged with federal crimes that range from misdemeanor trespassing to assault to seditious conspiracy. He found that the Capitol defendants, who come from all parts of the US, are an eclectic mix of characters, including fringe conspiracy theorists, social media influencers, members of organized extremist groups, local politicians, and people who had never organized politically prior to Jan. 6. But despite the diversity in their backgrounds and levels of political engagement, the Capitol riot defendants are remarkably similar on one key, but often overlooked, trait: they are overwhelmingly older Americans. The statistics on the Jan. 6 insurrection make it clear that the riot was not the result of a youth movement. The average Capitol defendant was nearly 42 years old on the day the riot occurred. Additionally, some of the most high-profile cases consist of individuals who should have been preparing for retirement rather than insurrection.
6) “Between the self and the other”: clinical presentation of male supremacy in violent extremists
“This paper examines the relationship between gender and violent extremism (VE) among individuals engaged in VE clinical services in Montreal, Quebec (Canada). We use mixed methods to understand the experiences and characteristics of individuals who express support for male supremacist ideologies. Study participants include 86 patients enrolled in VE clinical services and 7 clinical practitioners providing services. We conduct a retrospective chart review to identify clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of male supremacists. A focus group was conducted with members of the clinical team. Integrating quantitative and qualitative findings provides an opportunity to draw meta-inferences on male supremacist violent extremists, including a typology of the phenomena as well as clinical characteristics and social dynamics. Clinicians articulated that many of the harmful attitudes and beliefs of male supremacists were not marginal, but rather reflected in everyday forms of misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia that were activated by their personal experiences. Our findings suggest the importance of clinicians remaining attentive to the underlying gendered grievances which shape a range of extremist beliefs. Finally, we explore the value of training practitioners who work on VE on diverse domains of gendered violence which may intersect with VE participation.”
7) Hate Crimes Case Examples
The US Department of Justice published a selection of representative federal hate crimes case summaries. Each includes a link to a DOJ press release, with additional information.
8) Dual-use regulation: Managing hate and terrorism online before and after Section 230 reform
In a must read by Brian Fishman in Brookings, he set to illustrate the challenges that will be raised by regulation. It is a great piece from someone who understands the challenges intellectually, as well as through years of experience, via his past work at Meta.
9) Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS
In their recent data release, START included a new suite of variables looking at mass casualty offenders. PIRUS shows a 1900% increase in the yearly average of mass casualty extremist plots in the United States since the early 1990s
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