DEADLY DISINFORMATION: LGBTQ CONTAGION NARRATIVES AS RADICALIZING DISINFORMATION IN RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA

On November 21, 2022, Dr. Sophia Moskalenko presented on Deadly Disinformation: LGBTQ Contagion Narratives as Radicalizing Disinformation in Russian Propaganda for this year’s West Coast Security Conference. The presentation was followed by a question-and-answer period with questions from the audience and CASIS Vancouver executives. The key points discussed were the historical uses of disinformation and how it relates to modern disinformation, the three categories which disinformation aims to target, and the disinformation campaign in Russia.   Received: 2023-01-05Revised: 2023-01-1

Perceptions Versus Reality of QAnon Radicalization: A Comparative Study

The online following of conspiracy theory believers known as QAnon has recently come into focus of U.S. government agencies and terrorism scholars, raising questions about the risk of violence it poses. To address these questions, as well as to triangulate existing research on QAnon’s threat, the present study compared survey responses about actual radical intention and activist intention scores of QAnon supporters (n = 113) and non-QAnon participants (n = 287), relative to QAnon’s radicalization as perceived by non-QAnon participants. Actual radical intention scores for QAnon supporters were significantly lower than the perceptions of QAnon radical intentions, and were not significantly different than the actual radical intention scores for non-QAnon participants. Activist intention scores were lowest among QAnon supporters, followed by non-QAnon supporters, and then by perceptions of QAnon activist intentions. The implications of the results for public policy are discussed.   Acknowledgements  Financial support for this study and the authors was provided by the Office of Naval Research grant N000 14-21-275485 Weaponized Conspiracies: Mapping the Social Ecology of Misinformation, Radicalization and Violence

Deadly Disinformation: Viral Conspiracy Theories as a Radicalization Mechanism

Viral online disinformation is misleading content that is generated to manipulate public opinion and to circulate rapidly in the digital space. Although viral disinformation has become an instrument for radicalization, the specific psychological mechanisms by which disinformation can be weaponized––wielded as mobilizing and radicalizing political tools––are not yet well-understood. In this paper, we establish the potential of concerted disinformation efforts to impact mass radicalization and political violence, first through historical precedents of deadly disinformation campaigns, then in modern-day examples from the USA and Russia. Comparing and contrasting political effects of two recent disinformation campaigns, QAnon’s #SaveTheChildren campaign in the USA, and anti-LGBTQ disinformation campaign in Russia, this paper highlights the significance of LGBTQ contagion threat—a notion that people can be “turned” into LGBTQ through deliberate outside influence. The psychological and political consequences of such messaging, its main target audience, and vulnerability factors rendering individuals especially susceptible to its radicalizing effects are discussed

Understanding Political Radicalization: The Two-Pyramids Model

This article reviews some of the milestones of thinking about political radicalization, as scholars and security officials struggled after 9/11 to discern the precursors of terrorist violence. Recent criticism of the concept of radicalization has been recognized, leading to a 2-pyramids model that responds to the criticism by separating radicalization of opinion from radicalization of action. Security and research implications of the 2-pyramids model are briefly described, ending with a call for more attention to emotional experience in understanding both radicalization of opinion and radicalization of action

Understanding Political Radicalization: The Two-Pyramids Model

This article reviews some of the milestones of thinking about political radicalization, as scholars and security officials struggled after 9/11 to discern the precursors of terrorist violence. Recent criticism of the concept of radicalization has been recognized, leading to a 2-pyramids model that responds to the criticism by separating radicalization of opinion from radicalization of action. Security and research implications of the 2-pyramids model are briefly described, ending with a call for more attention to emotional experience in understanding both radicalization of opinion and radicalization of action

Tracking radical opinions in polls of U.S. Muslims

This Research Note examines two telephone polls (2007, 2011) and three Internet polls (2016) to track opinionsof U.S. Muslims relating to the war on terrorism. Results indicate that a small but consistent minority (five to tenpercent) justify suicide bombing of civilians in defense of Islam, while those seeing the war on terrorism as a war on Islam have declined from more than half to about a third. This decline coincided with a decline in perception of discrimination against Muslims in the U.S., and correlational results confirm that perceived discriminationis one source of seeing the war on terrorism as a war on Islam. Other results from both the Pew and Internetpolls show that disapproval of U.S. foreign policies affecting Muslims also contributes to seeing a war on Islam.Discussion emphasizes the value of Internet polling for tracking shifts in the opinions of U.S. Muslims, but acknowledges that polling has not yet discovered what is different about the small minority who justify suicide bombing

Incel Ideology, Radicalization and Mental Health: A Survey Study

Incels (involuntarily celibates) are an online community of men who feel disenfranchised because they are unable to find a romantic and sexual partner. Incels tend to blame society for placing too much value in physical appearance and for endowing women with too much power in mate selection, a grievance that sometimes translates into violent misogyny. Mass-casualty Incel attacks have led the security services in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. to classify Incels as a violent extremist threat. However, little empirical research is available to inform the understanding of Incels, or to qualify their potential danger to the public. Filling this gap, this study presents an important empirical datum by reaching beyond media headlines and online activity, to assess Incel ideology, mental health, and radical intentions through in-depth surveys of 274 active Incels. Most Incels in our study reported mental health problems and psychological trauma of bullying or persecution. Incel ideology was only weakly correlated with radicalization, and ideology and radicalization were differentially correlated with mental health measures. Most Incels in the study rejected violence. The discussion considers implications of these findings for detection, policing, and non-criminal interventions focused on the Incel community

Radicalization in the Age of Social Media: Mass Identity Manipulations (MIMs)

On November 25, 2020, Dr. Sophia Moskalenko presented on Radicalization in the Age of Social Media: Mass Identity Manipulations (MIMs) at the 2020 CASIS West Coast Security Conference. The presentation was followed by a panel discussion for questions & answers, and breakout rooms for further discussion before closing off the day. The key topics of Dr. Moskalenko’s presentation included social media’s role in mass radicalization, MIMs, and the impact of MIMs in radicalization and de-radicalization efforts

Group identification, perception of control and fear of death: The control hypothesis of group identification

The dissertation researches the possibility that reduced perception of control (PC) leads to increased group identification (GRPID). The first chapter reports results of a natural experiment in loss of PC—the impact of September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks on GRPID of Penn undergraduates. Three classes of introductory psychology students at the University of Pennsylvania completed a survey including several measures of GRPID on 20 March 2001, 15 September 2001, and 24 March 2003. Importance of country and university were rated higher four days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks than six months before or eighteen months after. Scores on a nine-item scale of identification with country were higher immediately after 9/11 than at the other two assessments, and the factor structure of identification items was simpler. Discussion focuses on the impact of outgroup threat on ingroup cohesion, and on a more general suggestion that the losses of 9/11 could be perceived as loss of control. The second chapter reports research aimed at understanding mortality salience as a threat to PC. Studies of Terror Management Theory (TMT) indicate that increased salience of personal death leads to increased identification with cultural groups and their norms. Death is for many the ultimate failure of control, and the research reported here was designed to test the possibility that decreased perceived control can produce increased group identification. In Study 1, undergraduate participants asked to think of an uncontrollable future bad event reported lower PC and higher GRPID than participants thinking about a controllable future bad event. Most participants in the unpleasant-uncontrollable condition thought of death and no difference in GRPID was found between those who chose to write of death and those who wrote of other uncontrollable events. In Study 2, participants reading about vulnerability to a non-lethal disease reported lower PC and increased GRPID. In both studies, minorities reported lower PC and higher GRPID than White participants. Fear of death appears to be one of several ways to reduce PC and increase GRPID

Group identification, perception of control and fear of death: The control hypothesis of group identification

The dissertation researches the possibility that reduced perception of control (PC) leads to increased group identification (GRPID). The first chapter reports results of a natural experiment in loss of PC—the impact of September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks on GRPID of Penn undergraduates. Three classes of introductory psychology students at the University of Pennsylvania completed a survey including several measures of GRPID on 20 March 2001, 15 September 2001, and 24 March 2003. Importance of country and university were rated higher four days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks than six months before or eighteen months after. Scores on a nine-item scale of identification with country were higher immediately after 9/11 than at the other two assessments, and the factor structure of identification items was simpler. Discussion focuses on the impact of outgroup threat on ingroup cohesion, and on a more general suggestion that the losses of 9/11 could be perceived as loss of control. The second chapter reports research aimed at understanding mortality salience as a threat to PC. Studies of Terror Management Theory (TMT) indicate that increased salience of personal death leads to increased identification with cultural groups and their norms. Death is for many the ultimate failure of control, and the research reported here was designed to test the possibility that decreased perceived control can produce increased group identification. In Study 1, undergraduate participants asked to think of an uncontrollable future bad event reported lower PC and higher GRPID than participants thinking about a controllable future bad event. Most participants in the unpleasant-uncontrollable condition thought of death and no difference in GRPID was found between those who chose to write of death and those who wrote of other uncontrollable events. In Study 2, participants reading about vulnerability to a non-lethal disease reported lower PC and increased GRPID. In both studies, minorities reported lower PC and higher GRPID than White participants. Fear of death appears to be one of several ways to reduce PC and increase GRPID