NEW SECURITY PARADIGM – THE USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS AS A FORM OF THREAT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY STATE

Abstract Islamic State depends on the recruitment of foreign fighters to execute attacks in their home countries. This paper examines the influence of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in the indoctrination and direction of young people into extremist and terrorist collectives. The study wholly depended on the qualitative analysis in unfolding the concerns related to social media and terrorism activities. After an in-depth exploration, the paper has proven that a good number of attacks are launched by homegrown terrorists who are self-radicalized and indoctrinated through YouTube videos, Facebook groups, and Tweets. Following this discovery, the researchers recommend collaboration between the social media owners and intelligence security agencies in combating terrorist activities online. The social media owners’ help in monitoring terrorists’ activities on their websites would thus help in improving the intelligence and the general security of the country