| |
| author |
Melanie Haber
| | title |
From Clickbait to Cruelty: An Analysis of Terrorist Recruitment via Social Media
| | abstract |
Social media has become an ever-present part of our modern society. However, with sites
like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter favoring user engagement over the safety of their
customers, these platforms have begun to be used for a darker purpose. Although terrorists have
mobilized the Internet for most of its existence, their presence online is continuing to expand into
more mainstream social media platforms. This leaves thousands of users susceptible to being
shown terrorist content, or worse, being directly targeted by terrorist organizations. This paper
seeks to examine the phenomenon of online terrorist recruitment to paint a clearer picture of the
strategies used to bring new members in via social media. By using traditional theories of
political recruitment, this paper will give these theories new life by testing their applicability to
online recruitment. With the case study of QAnon, online terrorist recruitment will be put to the
test in order to develop a profile of the users that are most susceptible to online recruitment. With
the increase of domestic terrorists and white supremacists in the United States mobilizing these
technologies, it is more important than ever to discover what makes a person likely to be targeted
by terrorist groups online.
| | school |
The College of Liberal Arts, Drew University
| | degree |
B.A. (2022)
|
| advisor |
Timothy Carter
|
| full text | MHaber.pdf |
| |
