Comparing the Online Posting Behaviors of Violent and Non-Violent Right-Wing Extremists

Like most of us, violent extremists often leave a digital footprint behind. Researchers, practitioners, and policymakers raise questions about whether violent individuals can be identified online prior to their attacks offline based on their online posting behaviors. Despite ongoing concerns, few empirically grounded analyses have identified which online users have engaged in violent extremism offline and then assessed their digital footprints, and fewer analyses have identified differences in posting behaviors of those who share extreme ideological beliefs but are violent or non-violent in the offline world. This policy note highlights the importance of both identifying and examining the online behaviors of violent and non-violent extremists in preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) and provides researchers, practitioners, and policymakers with a number of recommendations for detecting and analyzing the online behaviors of violent and non-violent extremists in the future.

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Stepping in the Shoes of Leaders of Populist Right-Wing Parties

Social Psychology ◽

10.1027/1864-9335/a000289 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 40-46 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Jolanda Jetten ◽

Rachel Ryan ◽

Frank Mols

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Growth Condition ◽

Baseline Condition ◽

Right Wing ◽

Economic Context

Abstract. What narrative is deemed most compelling to justify anti-immigrant sentiments when a country’s economy is not a cause for concern? We predicted that flourishing economies constrain the viability of realistic threat arguments. We found support for this prediction in an experiment in which participants were asked to take on the role of speechwriter for a leader with an anti-immigrant message (N = 75). As predicted, a greater percentage of realistic threat arguments and fewer symbolic threat arguments were generated in a condition in which the economy was expected to decline than when it was expected to grow or a baseline condition. Perhaps more interesting, in the economic growth condition, the percentage realistic entitlements and symbolic threat arguments generated were higher than when the economy was declining. We conclude that threat narratives to provide a legitimizing discourse for anti-immigrant sentiments are tailored to the economic context.

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