Domestic Terrorism: Social Media Analysis

Social media databases, which include Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are attractive to users because they allow them to have complete control over who they communicate and interact with. According to The Pew Research Center Online, 79% of American adults between the ages twenty-three to sixty-five said they used the internet and nearly half of adults (47%), or 59% of internet users, say they use at least one Social Media site to network. On the other hand, The Pew Research Center Online also claims that 16% of social media users are between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two. Like the older adults, the young adults and children are exposed to the luxuries of social media, but they are also introduced to the sophistical media as well. For example, Social Media sites have become a headquarter for people to spread their own malicious beliefs: the jihadists terrorists group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has become an adept user of social media. In June of 2014, the group began an attack on the Iraqi city Mosul while also launching a “hashtag campaign” (Brooking and Singer), #AllEyesOnISIS. The hashtag surged across Twitter and created a global frenzy. Since then, ISIS has grown because of social media while recruiting through networking sites and self advertisement. ISIS’s most notable self promotion was the surfacing of a video that showed several ISIS followers beheading an

Domestic terrorist groups are violent extremists that want to attack the U.S. from the inside. Their intent is to frighten, pressure, and/or influence national principles. Today’s terrorist organizations are using cyberspace to spread their message. Training and online recruitment are also being made available by the Internet and social media websites. Some of the acts are lone-wolf attacks and others are collective attacks. Some examples of domestic terrorist groups that use cyberspace are Army of God, Sovereign Citizens, and Phineas Priesthood. The Southern Poverty Law Center released a report on terrorism, stating that more people have been killed in America by non-Islamic domestic terrorists than jihadists (Henderson, 2015). Terrorist

Ever since 9/11 when both World Trade Center buildings were attacked by an Islamic Group, attacks by Islamic Terrorist on U.S. soil have been less of a threat than Domestic Terrorists. Domestic Terrorism has been shown these passed for years but yet again most of these cases have not been classified as acts of Domestic Terrorism they most likely fall into the category. Now the definition of Domestic Terrorism is basically "the committing of terrorist acts in the perpetrator 's own country against their fellow citizens". Now personally I don 't know how our government is working with these popular cases like Charlottesville, Las Vegas, and a new that just happened recently actually two but I 'll just say one, the New York attack that

Besides friends using social media to connect with other friends or families keeping in touch with other relatives who are at a distance, in the recent years, terrorists have taken advantage of social media and used it as a platform to threaten and send jaw dropping messages to some of the most popular outlets across the nation. For this paper, I will examine how terrorists have used social media as propaganda. I will also analyze the trends in media and terrorism, and how it has provided access for the promotion of the violent messages as well as allowing the news of terrorist attacks and assassinations to reach many parts of the world within a matter of minutes.

Tactics to induce terror in pursuit of a political goal have been utilized by a multitude of organizations across the globe. This method of power control is known as terrorism, and due to its impact and unpredictability, it is highly feared and monitored today in the 21st century. Attacks of this nature stem from radical beliefs of religion, ethics, or other politics, and have been carried out globally, ranging from the 9/11 attack in New York City to the 2015 shooting in Paris, France. Terrorism over recent years has grown despite an abundance of efforts by many nations and international organisations to stop development of such groups. This growth is partially attributed to advances in digital technology and the furtherment of communication techniques, such as social media and web-based content, which has allowed for the spread of these radical ideas across the planet making it difficult to control the advancement of these beliefs (Council on Foreign Relations, 2009). Terrorism will never be able to be fully stopped due to the abstract nature and ideology from which terrorism originates.

The way terrorist groups has been communicating and recruiting new has been changing, due to the emerging use

Terrorists are actively targeting American youth through social media to solicit empathy and recruits. The Counter-terrorism proposal targets those same young Americans. The proposed campaign recommends the use of black propaganda in the social media sphere to make terrorist organizations seem distasteful, unappealing and boring.

Atwan and others who trenchantly talked about the position of the internet in al-Qaeda 's progression collects evidence of vast amounts of jihadist online activity to craft their case. Chat rooms, emails and Web sites all bristle with jihadist discussion, dissemination, and debate, providing resources vital to individuals studying al-Qaeda. However, the real centrality of such virtual movement to al-Qaeda and its acts of terrorism remains a relatively unexplored theory in these intellectual accounts of the internets

Although the threat posed by foreign terrorist organizations is often foremost in the public consciousness as a result of al-Qaeda's attack on September 11th, 2001, the threat from domestic terror groups remains a central concern of those responsible for homeland security. In fact, while the United States has not suffered from another foreign attack in the decade since 9/11, research by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, along with non-governmental organizations, has found that the number of domestic terror groups has increased, a trend only exacerbated by the economic recession (U.S. Department of Justice, 2009, Domestic Terrorism). While there are a wide variety of individual groups and ideologies, most domestic terror groups falls into one of three broad categories: religious extremism, white supremacy, and anti-government and separatists movements, including the militia movement. Examining these domestic terror groups in greater detail will aid in better understanding the full spectrum of threats considered by homeland security personnel.

274 days in the past year have had one specific theme in common: each of them has been the setting for a mass shooting, on campuses or in public places that resulted in the injury or death of multiple bystanders (Ingraham). When violent information reaches social media, it results in issues such as gun-control policy and tighter security in public places to rise to prominence on political agendas. In addition, the consideration of other issues found in shootings, such as mental and social disorders, which cannot be immediately corrected through policy , become smothered by the debate of gun-control and similar measures. I propose that the reason for this preference to swiftly control mass shootings through arbitrary gun laws results from the innate

When most Americans attempt to visualize a so-called “terrorist” or “extremist”, they most likely imagine a Middle-eastern man with a big grey beard, shouting, “Allahu Akbar!” After the attacks on September 11th, The United States changed dramatically and permanently. The government declared war on a new type of terror, and directly gave the public the impression that our freedoms and “way of life” were under attack and being imminently threatened. A radical threat that most citizens almost never think about, are the ones that exist within our own borders, the domestic variety. Domestic threats that have been active and relevant for a much greater span of time when compared to modern international terrorist organizations. In fact, the oldest American terror group reached its 150th anniversary just last year – The Ku Klux Klan (cite).

Homegrown violent extremists are defined as individuals who are radicalized and receive the inspiration to commit terrorist acts in the country they live in, from foreign terrorist organizations (New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, 2017). These individual's actions are independent of the foreign terrorist organization that inspired them. Although they receive inspiration from these foreign terrorist organizations the individual's personal grievances can influence what they do, and how and who they target (New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, 2017). Foreign terrorist organizations can influence people like this through the use of the internet as

Ever since September 11, 2001 Americans along with the majority of the world’s population have been skeptical of Muslims. It’s a sad reality but it’s hard for people to think of a Muslim without linking them directly to terrorism. But these assumptions aren’t totally out of the blue—the Muslim’s religion, Islam, teaches a low tolerance for other religions and the Islamic government has no separation of church and state, so it’s only normal to assume that their government shall have a low tolerance as well—some however, immediately translate this into terrorism. Through the Islamic government and religion, relations with foreign countries, and separation amongst themselves it can be concluded that Islamic Fundamentalism is clearly a threat

To counter the crisis factors, creating and actively promoting government funded programs that can help people who are going through a crisis and show them that terrorism is not the solution to fix the problems could help reduce the chances of someone becoming radicalized (Newark, 2016). The same tools that terrorists leaders use to radicalized new recruits such as the media; social networks; and the internet; could also help counter radicalization. The media and the internet could serve as a tool to inform and educate people about the truth of terrorism. Encouraging people to say something when they see something strange could help law enforcement identify those who are at risk of becoming radicalized. In regards to the depravation factor,

“If the media were not there to report terrorist acts and to explain their political and social significance...terrorism as such would cease to exist” said John O'Sullivan, an editor of the Times of London.1 This is also the way many other people feel about the recent increase in terrorist activity; they feel that the media is causing it. The media is doing this by fulfilling the terrorists' need for publicity.2 Terrorists need media publicity in order to get their views spread to the public.3 Because of this need for publicity, terrorists are committing their acts of terrorism in areas where a lot of publicity will be gained; the United States and Western Europe are the most recent targets. The bombings of the federal building in