The advent of the internet was a very complex and revolutionary phenomenon which brought in a lot of significant societal changes and changed the face of modern life. The internet has led to drastic transformations in business, education, communication, everyday lifestyles, among others. It is creating new and powerful online communities and societies and is making strides in information dissemination. However, these changes have had equally negative impacts on the society. One of these negative impacts is the rise in online extremism and radicalisation, and its subsequent effect on terrorism.
Terrorism is defined as “the premeditated and unlawful use of violence against a non-combatant population or target having symbolic significance, with an aim of either inducing political change through intimidation and destabilisation or destroying a population identified as an enemy” (Forst 5). Radicalisation and extremism are key factors that lie behind acts of terrorism (Crenshaw 384). The availability and wide-spread nature of the internet provide terrorists and extremists the same opportunities as the rest of the society, and that is to communicate, collaborate, and convince over a wide network of individuals (Behr et al 3). This paper will explore the impact of new media and the internet on terrorism and analyse how it has taken up a new form through the case of the Christchurch shootings in New Zealand in 2019.
The Christchurch Mosque Shootings in New Zealand serve as a befitting example of how various online platforms are facilitating in the process of radicalisation and the spread of ideas of violent extremism. On 15 March 2019, Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old man from Australia, open fired at worshippers during the Friday prayer in the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch. This was his first attack. He then drove to 5 kilometres east of the Al Noor Mosque to the Linwood Islamic Centre and carried out his second attack, open firing at worshippers yet again. Tarrant livestreamed the first 17 minutes of his attack in the Al Noor Mosque on Facebook wherein the viewers bore witness to the horrifying crime. Both the attacks took the lives of fifty-one individuals in total and left about fifty injured (Child).
It was later revealed that Tarrant was also the author of a hateful, anti-Islamic and anti-immigrant manifesto called The Great Replacement, based on the far-right white supremacist replacement theory. This manifesto was sent to thirty or so recipients which comprised of several media outlets as well as the Prime Minister’s office. The manifesto claimed that the attack had been in the works for the past two years (as of the date of the attack) and the locations for the attacks were finally fixed three months ago. The links to the manifesto, as well as the Facebook Livestream were posted on 8chan, a forum-based website, and on Twitter (Walden).
From the very outset of this case study, new media and the internet play a huge role. Tarrant’s appalling use of social media to broadcast his attack is an example of how the internet has provided radical and extremist agents yet another means of not only spreading propaganda, but also of acquiring notoriety and fame. While Tarrant sought to spread his far-right ideology through his acts of terror and contribute to the religious persecution of Muslims as under the banner of white supremacy, he also very evidently sought notoriety (Walden). Livestreaming the attack was the perfect method to serve all these motives. It is quite evident that new media is changing the approach extremist agents take to carry out attacks and to amplify and extend their extremist views. A digital platform provides access to a wider audience owing to the huge number and diversity of the people who have access to said platform. In addition to this is the fact that information travels at an accelerated speed on online platforms.
Online platforms also act as an accelerant of radicalisation. Research on the attacker, Tarrant, revealed that his radicalisation began on the internet (Walden). The vast availability of knowledge regarding certain fascist ideologies, white supremacy, ideas of ethnic cleansings and Islamophobia at just the click of a button provided Tarrant with an opportunity to become radicalised. Moreover, access to ideas of other extremists and terrorists and their respective acts of terrorism, encouraged ideas of violent extremism to thrive in Tarrant’s mind. Tarrant soon became highly fascinated by their acts of extremism and even quoted the Norwegian mass murderer, Anders Behring Breivik and the interwar British fascist leader, Oswald Mosley as the inspiration behind his own attack (Walden). This is not to suggest that the simple availability of such information on the internet is enough to radicalise a user. A user with pre-existing tendencies to become radicalised, however, is handed a repository of terror on a platter.
Tarrant also relentlessly wrote about Neo-Nazi ideologies and Islamophobia on a right-wing web forum which maintains user anonymity. The flood of violent extremist propaganda and support of the web-forum users with similar ideas only exacerbated his hostility towards certain communities and encouraged him to commit acts of violence and hatred. He allegedly posted about the attack on the same web-forum beforehand and informed the readers about his livestream. His livestream was lauded by other users on the forum and he was hailed a hero (Walden). The forum, and the internet in general, acted as an echo chamber for Tarrant, and perhaps does for many others. This serves as an example of how prevalent online extremism is and how it can rapidly and swiftly lead to radicalisation.
It is very evident from this case study that new media is having a profound impact on how terrorism is understood. Previous understandings of acts of terrorism and the motivations, approaches and methods behind them are being challenged as the internet is introducing new factors into the dynamic. Extremist agents and organisations are quick to use the internet to their advantage and the trend seems to have already taken off. Militant extremist groups like the Al Qaeda and ISIS have used social media to their advantage countless times. Both have used social media platforms to recruit, radicalise, and coordinate attacks on multiple accounts in the past (Ward). The example of these two groups only give a surface level glimpse into the usage of the internet by extremist agents. In fact, a study by RAND shows that such use of online propaganda by various extremist organisations corresponds with increased access to the internet. Clearly the use of online platforms is very effective in the projection of violent extremist propaganda, radicalisation, and recruitment (Ward). The Christchurch Mosque shootings is yet another result of this phenomenon.
Considering the impact of new media and the internet on radicalisation and terrorism, it is of utmost importance that counterterrorist methods be accordingly produced and revised. In fact, many nations have already come up with various counterterrorism policies. According to RAND Europe, Europe has invested hundreds of millions of euros in counter-terrorism policies and interventions, the US has allocated approximately $124 billion to cybersecurity, and even India has allocated around Rs. 170 Crore (Behr et al 35). Despite these efforts, governments are still finding it challenging to implement highly effective counterterrorism policies in the digital and online realm (35). States and policymakers will have to come up with very innovative methods in order to tackle this issue and will have to perhaps make as much use of new media and the internet to fight this issue as extremist and radical agents to do create fear, chaos, and havoc. At a time where violent extremism is at its peak, it is imperative that nations work towards creating a thorough and robust counter-narrative with respect to the internet and radicalisation.
Works Cited
Behr, Ines von, et al. “Radicalisation in the Digital Era.” RAND Europe, 2013, www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR400/RR453/RAND_RR453.pdf.
Child, David. “New Zealand Mosque Attacks: What We Know so Far.” New Zealand News | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 15 Mar. 2019, www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/03/zealand-mosque-attacks-190315141332037.html.
Crenshaw, Martha. “The Causes of Terrorism.” Comparative Politics, vol. 13, no. 4, 1981, pp. 379–399. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/421717. Accessed 29 Apr. 2020.
Forst, Brian. Terrorism, Crime, and Public Policy. Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Walden, Max. “New Zealand Mosque Attacks: Who Is Brenton Tarrant?” New Zealand News | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 18 Mar. 2019, www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/03/zealand-mosque-attacks-brenton-tarrant-190316093149803.html.
Ward, Antonia. “ISIS's Social Media Use Poses a Threat to Stability in the Middle East and Africa.” RAND Corporation, 11 Dec. 2018, www.rand.org/blog/2018/12/isiss-use-of-social-media-still-poses-a-threat-to-stability.html.
Note: This paper was originally written for a course on Critical Concepts in Peace and Security (Prof. Avinash Godbole), O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonepat, Haryana
Sakshi Verman
Co-Owner (EPGSC)
Excellent Read Sakshi, Keep up the good work