Countering violent extremism using social media and preventing implementable strategies for Bangladesh

Abstract

Globally, more than 85% of youth use social media daily in the medium of Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, etc., which is more than 70% for Bangladesh. The young population of Bangladesh is rapidly embracing social media through the internet and afflicted with the malaise of countering violent extremism (CVE), often through Facebook. Given the increasing connectedness that the internet and social media offer, it is crucial that the fight against CVE shift to the digital space. Extremists are increasingly adopting novel ways and means based on technology to draw unsuspecting youth to their cause. It is essential to establish effective implementable strategies to stop the CVE activities using social media in Bangladesh. This study aims to identify existing initiatives globally in the space of disruptive online technologies that have yielded some success in preventing CVE. Various publications such as journal and news articles, TV news, and blogs have been used as data sources for this study. Also, fifteen expert interviews have been conducted to identify the most effective strategies for CVE in Bangladesh. Through the content analysis, the study highlights successful efforts and explores technology-based initiatives that can be deployed in Bangladesh to minimize the impact of VE activities through online technology. Finally, recommendations for strategies to restrict VE activities through technologies have been suggested that can be potentially implemented by the Bangladesh government by coordinating with international donor agencies and CVE practitioners. The research output recommends that Bangladesh and other less developed countries can concurrently deal with CVE by successfully using cutting-edge online/digital technologies.

Retracted: Modern problems of youth extremism: Social and psychological components

“…It is no coincidence that ‘hate crimes’ refer to extremism (Pyrooz et al, 2015). Scholars distinct such feelings in the emotional structure of an extremist love for the idea reflected in the professed ideology; love for oneself as a representor and translator of a given ideology; hatred for the world that contradicts the ideals of an extremist; hatred for everyone who does not share an extremist ideology (Amit et al, 2021; van de Weert & Eijkman, 2020; Zick et al, 2020).…”

“…It is no coincidence that 'hate crimes' refer to extremism (Pyrooz et al, 2015). Scholars distinct such feelings in the emotional structure of an extremist love for the idea reflected in the professed ideology; love for oneself as a representor and translator of a given ideology; hatred for the world that contradicts the ideals of an extremist; hatred for everyone who does not share an extremist ideology (Amit et al, 2021;van de Weert & Eijkman, 2020;Zick et al, 2020). Apart from the above three-element structure of extremism, Russian academia is also represented by an approach that considers extremism as a social phenomenon that exists in four interrelated elements: extremist consciousness, extremist ideology, extremist activity and extremist organisations (totalitarian cults and ultranationalist parties).…”

Informational Extremism Among Young People As A Category Of Cybercrime

“…Сourses on the safe use of digital technologies should be conducted among schoolchildren, teachers, and parents on online platforms. According to foreign authors, such courses have been developed and are being held in some countries (Amit et al, 2021;Brown, 2019).…”

Youth Extremism: Search for Methodological Solutions on the Analysis of Nonverbal Reactions

“…При рассмотрении литературы, необходимой для понимания соприкосновения проблем анализа невербального поведения и подверженности экстремизму среди молодёжной аудитории, внимания заслуживают наиболее современные труды учёных разных стран. В них представляются психологические характеристики и мировоззрение террористов и экстремистов (Loza, 2007), рассматриваются когнитивный, эмоциональный и поведенческий структурные элементы экстремизма (Lakbayev, 2020), анализируются социальные и психологические компоненты молодёжного экстремизма (Lyzhin, 2021), приводятся причины радикализации медиапространства и распространения экстремизма в онлайн-среде (Amit, 2021), обсуждаются варианты раннего предупреждения экстремизма посредством государственных программ (van de Weert, 2020), иллюстрируются онлайн-кампании и проекты по противодействию киберэкстремизма (Ducol, 2016).…”