Online Radicalization: Identifying Risk Profiles for Recruitment into Online Extremist Groups
Online Radicalization: Identifying Risk Profiles for Recruitment into Online Extremist Groups
Joshua Cloudy, “Online Radicalization: Identifying Risk Profiles for Recruitment into Online Extremist Groups,” paper accepted for presentation at the International Communication Association Conference, June 12-16, Denver.
Abstract: Violent extremism is a clear and present danger to a stable and functioning democracy. A number of different risk factors have been identified across the different bodies of literature where this work is being done, however it remains unclear what type of individuals are most at risk of being drawn into a violent online extremist group. Accordingly, this study draws from the group processes and intergroup relations literature, the metacognition literature, the motivational processes literature, and the criminology literature to identify potential risk factors for joining an online extremist group, classifies individuals into risk profiles, and examines how the risk profiles moderate efforts at recruitment into such groups. The results of a latent profile analysis demonstrated the existence of three risk profiles that vary in terms of severity of risk (i.e., low, moderate, and high), and an experiment demonstrated that those in the low- and moderate-risk profile were significantly less likely to identify with a violent online political group compared to non-violent online political groups whereas those in the high-risk group were equally likely to identify with a violent or non-violent political online group. By taking a broader perspective, this study provides a more comprehensive understanding of individual susceptibility to being drawn into a violent online extremist group and, as such, may have important implications for those seeking to combat online radicalization.
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