Radicalization in the Social Media Era: Understanding the Relationship between Self-Radicalization and the Internet

• Date: 01 June 2022
• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X211028771
• Published date: 01 June 2022
• Author: Nicholas Longpré,Georgia F. Hollewell
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X211028771

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2022, Vol. 66(8) 896 –913

© The Author(s) 2021

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/0306624X211028771

journals.sagepub.com/home/ijo

Article

Radicalization in the Social

Media Era: Understanding

the Relationship between

Self-Radicalization and

the Internet

Georgia F. Hollewell1 and Nicholas Longpré1

Abstract

September 11th was a turning point in the understanding of terrorism and

radicalization. The Internet has provided an instrumental change regarding how

terrorists communicate and spread their propaganda, proving a cause of concern for

counterterrorism units. The increased use of social networking platforms has provided

a significant change in the process of self-radicalization, with younger generations at

greater risk. The aim of the project was to study the relationship between social

media and self-radicalization among college and university students. A sample of

499 participants was recruited throughout Amazon Mechanical Turk and social

media platforms. Measures on emotional intelligence, psychological involvement on

social media, attitudes toward terrorism, and political violence, and loneliness were

gathered. Results showed that individuals holding a university degree—especially

young men—were more at risk of endorzing positive attitudes toward political

violence and terrorism, and, therefore, more at risk of being radicalized.

Keywords

social media, radicalization, the internet, terrorism, mturk

Evolution of Terrorism in the United Kingdom (UK)

Historically, terrorism originated in early resistance and political movements, with one

of the first known terrorist organizations being the Sicarii, a Jewish group established

in the first century AD that aimed to displace Romans in the Middle East (D’Alessio

1Department of Psychology, University of Roehampton, London, UK

Corresponding Author:

Nicholas Longpré, Department of Psychology, Whitelands College, University of Roehampton, Parkstead

House, London, SW15 4JD, UK.

Email: nicholas.longpre@roehampton.ac.uk

1028771IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X211028771International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyHollewell and Longpré

research-article2021

Hollewell and Longpré 897

& Stolzenberg, 2009). However, the term terrorist is believed to have been used for the

first time during the French Revolution (Palmer, 2014). The term terrorism comes

from French terrorisme and takes its roots from the Latin words terror (great fear) and

terrere (to frighten). It was not until 1798 that it was recorded in English language,

where it was defined as the systematic use of terror as a policy (Crenshaw, 2010).

According to the Terrorism Act 2006, terrorism can be defined as an action or threat

designed to influence the government or intimidate the public.

The early 20th century was marked by several terrorist attacks on UK soils were

conducted by the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) and by the Irish Republican

Army (IRA) in Ireland and England. The 1970s and 1980s were dominated by “The

Troubles” in Northern Ireland, where INLA and IRA conducted several terrorist

attacks. After the Good Friday Agreement, and with continuing peace talks between

British and Irish governments, the risk of terrorist activity has decreased. However, in

the 2000s, the UK became under threat from a new global enemy: al-Qaeda. The ter-

rorist attack conducted by affiliates of al-Qaeda on September 11th, 2001 has marked

a turning point (Hersh, 2013; Londras, 2012). Following 9/11, the USA, the UK, and

their allies have launched the “War on Terror” military campaign against organizations

and regimes identified as terrorists.

In 2014, following the decline of al-Qaeda, a new threat rose in the name of the

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). ISIS is known for its extensive and effective use

of propaganda on social media. Unlike al-Qaeda, ISIS is less seclusive and encourages

self-radicalized individuals to commit terrorist attacks in the name of the Khalifa.

Although the majority of ISIS recruits originate from the Middle East, there is also a

substantial number of recruits that originate from Western nations such as the UK,

France, Canada, as well as the United States.

A shift was noted in the concentration of terrorism, with terrorist activity now being

highly concentrated in the new movement of “homegrown terrorism,” also known as

self-radicalization (Homeland Security, 2015). The Manchester Arena bombing, con-

ducted by Salman Ramadan Abedi, a 22-year-old British Muslim, is a good example

of this new form of terrorism. While Abedi’s extremist views were reported by several

members of his community, he was not regarded as at high risk by police forces.

Following the Manchester Arena bombing, the MI5 launched an inquiry to understand

how the Abedi case was handled and how it could have been prevented. The 2019

London bridge attacks, which led to three deaths, and the 2020 South-West London

attacks have stressed out the need to understand homegrown terrorism in order to

develop adequate prevention strategies in the UK. The current threat level within the

UK is severe, suggesting that acts of terrorism are highly likely to occur.

Self-Radicalization

Self-radicalization has become the focal point of terrorism studies and counterter-

rorism policy development. The shift is exemplified by the Europeans governments’

attention being increasingly focused on this new variant of terrorism (Vidino &

Brandon, 2012). The term self-radicalization refers to the cognitive process by