Social media, the online environment and terrorism

‘Online radicalization’ is a trending theme in terrorism studies, to the extent that an April 2016 Google scholar search on this term, as well as ‘internet radicalization’, harvested more than 20,000 and 15,000 results respectively. Much work is focused on Islamist groups, particularly Daesh (also known as Islamic State, ISIS, ISIL) as this chapter will make apparent; however, no ideology is unrepresented on the ‘Net, and this chapter is concerned with the spectrum of extremism, including far-right, socialist and jihadist movements. Our focus is on ‘terrorism’ as generally understood and therefore excludes non-violent groups and state-sponsored actors. Despite proliferation of research outputs, there are many unanswered questions in research into terrorism and the Internet. This chapter addresses some, and in four main parts. The first maps mechanisms of the ‘radical’ or ‘extremist’ online world. We discuss the uses to terrorists - communicative, social, symbolic and operational - of social media and the Internet. The second discusses the interaction of the online and offline realms, focussing on debates about cyberspace as an initiator, facilitator or ‘force multiplier’ of extremism in the ‘real world’. The final substantive part assesses online counter-radicalisation efforts to date, categorised in two ways: ‘negative’, activities which seek to ‘inhibit’ terrorist movements online, and, ‘positive’ counter-narratives which offer alternative content that challenges radical messages. The fourth section explores the gaps in knowledge, and areas for future research, drawing together the main themes discussed. We then offer a brief conclusion.