The online behaviors of Islamic state terrorists in the United States

Abstract

This study offers an empirical insight into terrorists' use of the Internet. Although criminology has previously been quiet on this topic, behavior-based studies can aid in understanding the interactions between terrorists and their environments. Using a database of 231 US-based Islamic State terrorists, four important findings are offered: (1) This cohort utilized the Internet heavily for the purposes of both networking with co-ideologues and learning about their intended activity. (2) There is little reason to believe that these online interactions are replacing offline ones, as has previously been suggested. Rather, terrorists tend to operate in both domains. (3) Online activity seems to be similar across the sample, regardless of the number of co-offenders or the sophistication of attack. (4) There is reason to believe that using the Internet may be an impediment to terrorists' success. Policy Implications: The findings of this study have two important policy implications. First, it is vital to understand the multiplicity of environments in which terrorists inhabit. Policy makers have tended to emphasize the online domain as particularly dangerous and ripe for exploitation. While this is understandable from one perspective, simplistic and monocausal explanations for radicalization must be avoided. Terrorists operate in both the online and offline domain and there is

Online radicalization: Profile and risk analysis of individuals convicted of extremist offences

“…First, the majority of individuals convicted of extremist offences within this study were found to have radicalized through both online and offline means (48%, compared with Internet -12% and Face-to-face -40%). This finding is consistent with other studies focusing on individuals convicted of extremist offences in other countries (see Whittaker, 2021), suggesting that most operate across both the online and offline domains.…”

“…The role of the Internet in radicalization and offending of those who commit extremist offences has become a central part of contemporary cases of terrorism (Whittaker, 2021). However, when considering the threat of online radicalization, it has yet to be established which characteristics, of individuals and offences, indicate different levels of risk and vulnerability.…”

Online Radicalisation: Moving Beyond a Simple Dichotomy

“…In previous research conducted on the same dataset, (Whittaker, 2021) analysed the online behaviours of 231 IS terrorists in the US. The study finds that 92% of terrorists use the Internet for some purpose, but that those used the Internet to either engage with co-ideologues or plan their activity online were significantly more likely to do so offline as well, further lending weight to the argument made by Gill et al (2017) that separating the two domains is a false dichotomy.…”

“…At first glance, it is apparent that terrorists use the Internet in high numbers for a range of antecedent behaviours. In fact, research conducted in a more recent timeframe suggests that the use of the Internet may be increasing (Gill et al, 2017;Bastug, Douai and Akca, 2018;Whittaker 2021). However, these pieces of research show that the Internet is not a cause, but rather a facilitator of engaging in terrorist activity.…”

Terrorism and the internet: How dangerous is online radicalization?

“…The figures from Gill et al (2015) are roughly confirmed by Whittaker (2021) who used a data set on 231 U.S. based Daesh (IS) terrorists, all that were recorded during the period 2010 to 2020, and their online activities. Some online activity was found to be present in 92% of all cases; more than 80% interacted online with co-ideologues, 80% used social media platforms for at least some of their activities, 36% had disseminated propaganda online.…”