by Jeff Cimmino, Foreign Policy Initiative Bulletin
… ISIS invests a substantial amount of time and effort to cultivate Western recruits via social media. J.M. Berger, a fellow with the George Washington University (GWU) Program on Extremism, has identified four stages of online recruitment: 1) First contact with a potential recruit; 2) Creation of a “micro-community” in which recruiters generate an echo chamber of radical ideas around the target; 3) A shift to private communications; and 4) Determination of which type of action the recruit should perform—some recruits become social media activists while others go on to commit attacks or seek to join ISIS in Iraq and Syria. A report from the New America Foundation found the average age of American recruits was 25, and “online activity was ubiquitous…with almost nine in 10 being active in online jihadist circles.”
Online radicalization is often complemented by in-person relationships. In their study “ISIS in America: From Retweets to Raqqa,” Lorenzo Vidino and Seamus Hughes of the GWU Program on Extremism conclude that in most U.S. cases “online and offline dynamics complement one another” in the radicalization process. Often, individuals are exposed to radical sentiments by face-to-face interaction and the Internet serves to reinforce these newly discovered ideas…
There are several different approaches toward countering online radicalization. Broadly stated, one approach stresses directly countering extremist narratives, for example, by engaging in confrontations on social media. In contrast, others favor promoting positive alternative narratives for those vulnerable to extremist propaganda. A third approach takes a long-term view toward fostering digital literacy and critical thinking among youth. Each approach has its merits, but it remains unclear whether any single approach, or even a combination of all three, will be sufficient to guide a comprehensive online counter-radicalization strategy.
Both counter-messaging and the promotion of positive alternative viewpoints can play complementary roles in countering online radicalization. While counter-narratives are meant to respond directly to extremist content and are thus reactive, positive alternatives can offer a different path for those susceptible to extremist ideology…
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