What role does technology play in violent extremism and terrorism?
Channel: Norsk utenrikspolitisk institutt NUPI
Date: 2021-09-29

Extremist actors have been some of the earliest adopters of the Internet and recognised its potential as a communications and mobilisation tool. While a growing body of evidence suggests that the Internet is a key facilitator of violent extremism, research in this area has rarely incorporated former extremists’ experiences with the Internet when they were involved in violent extremism.

This seminar will shed light on the nature of the interplay between the Internet and violent extremism in particular, with close attention paid to the interactions between the on- and offline worlds of violent right-wing extremists. We will discuss interviews conducted with Canadian former right-wing extremists who were involved in violent racist skinhead groups, their use of the Internet and the connection between their on- and offline worlds during their involvement in the violent right-wing extremist movement. We then move on to look at the Global Network on Extremist and Technology report on research community’s findings of the role of computer mediated communication in extremism and to gauge the academic research community’s level of engagement with the tech industry. The findings reveal that there is a great deal of consensus within the research community that Internet enabled communications and social media platforms “support, encourage or mobilise real world harm.” However, according to the responses to more detailed survey questions, parsing the role of technology on violent extremism is incredibly complex, multifaceted and still contested. 

The event is organized by the Consortium for Research on Terrorism and International Crime.