Methodology and Research Strategy
This research aimed to determine the role of the internet and social media on the homegrown violent extremism phenomenon. The research questions for this study were:
- How do social media and the internet impact homegrown violent extremism?
- How is law enforcement leveraging on this technology to effectively neutralize the threat of HVE?
To answer the research question, we reviewed scholarly sources to determine the effects of exposure to extremist views on the internet and the likelihood to support extremist views. This study’s dependent variable was exposure to extremist ideologies on the internet, while the independent variable was the radicalization effects of people in the West towards violent homegrown extremism. The first hypothesis developed was that social media and the internet increased the levels of HVE, and the second one was that law enforcement use technology can neutralize the threats of HVE. The materials required for this research study included secondary data sources, a notebook, a pen, and a data collection schedule to guide the researcher as we collected the data that would be most relevant in answering our research question. One of the advantages of this method was that it was less expensive and required fewer logistics to carry out since a critical evaluation of scholarly articles is what was reviewed.
Some of the sources that we used in this research were peer-reviewed articles, books, journals, and government documents, which had the most relevant and reliable information for this research. The study design for this study was to thoroughly review past research work in the field as well as government sources to determine the effects of the internet on homegrown violent extremism. The study was conducted by focusing on keywords such as homegrown violent extremism, the internet, social media, radicalization, law enforcement, and mitigation of threats to the homeland. These keywords were used to search for the most recent and relevant sources and also the most reliable sources to ensure that the study findings were consistent and accurate with the research findings.
Once the sources were identified, they were organized systematically in order to come up with the most relevant sources. In line with the research questions and keywords, eight sources were identified as the most recent and had the most pertinent information to answer the research questions. These sources were systematically reviewed, and notes were taken to determine how the sources answered the research questions. During the data collection, the literature was reviewed in an in-depth analysis of the content in order to find out how the internet and social media have affected the growth of homegrown violent extremism. After the data was collected, it was organized into relevant information via a literature review that provided the research findings.
Analysis and Findings
In this research, the main sources of data were secondary data. After the data was collected and the information filled into a notebook, there was a need to analyze the findings to develop the most appropriate recommendations critically. The first step was to organize the data systemically and then develop the data into information through the preparation of a draft of the findings in the eight different sources. The ideas were organized and then developed into relevant information through revising and reviewing the draft. Some of the issues that were used to evaluate the information were the information alignment with the research question, the credibility of the sources, and the reliability of the sources. This was to ensure that author bias was eliminated and that the data was as accurate as possible. The data collected was then analyzed to determine if the findings were aligned with the hypotheses and determine the variance level.
The first hypothesis was that social media and the internet increased the levels of a homegrown violent extremist. The research findings portrayed that this assumption was true based on the findings of the study. For example, Harindranath supports this view by arguing that Facebook is a major recruitment platform for foreign terrorists who then radicalize vulnerable individuals in the West to carry out attacks. However, only Conway argued that no data was linking-social media exposure to radicalized messages to HVE, but this is disputed by Southers, who shows that radical propaganda is enabled by the new media, leading to lone shooters that are less detected by law enforcement. Crawford supports the same perspective that the internet plays an integral role in fortification and quickening of the radicalization process. El-Said findings are also aligned with this hypothesis since they show that adolescents who are also significant internet consumers are at most risk due to their fanatical following of radicalized messages on the internet.
The same position is supported via reliable research by Dauber and Ilter, who found out that the internet and social media have helped extremists to arrange better, compose and spread propaganda to a large audience. Simultaneously, the internet has provided anonymity, which has made it difficult for law enforcement to stop the radicalization of people from becoming lone attackers in the West. The second hypothesis was that law enforcement use technology could neutralize the threats of HVE. This hypothesis was supported by Schwemmer, who shows that when young people are more preoccupied with constructive activities in society, they are more difficult to radicalize over the web. Law enforcement can take advantage of the advanced technology to better track society’s most vulnerable and allow organizations to step in and provide alternative beneficial things to do to avoid radicalization. However, the research findings also show that the extremists and law enforcement are on different sides of the coin, which means that law enforcement can use the internet to counter the extremist tactics, supporting the second hypothesis. However, the research findings also show that the extremists and law enforcement are on different sides of the coin, which means that law enforcement can use the internet to counter the extremist tactics, supporting the second hypothesis.