The Virtual World Is Not Enough

Will McCants has once again nailed a really complex issue. In How Online Recruitment Works, Will examines what role jihadi forums really play in the radicalisation and recruitment of individuals. I’ll slightly unfairly quote just the conclusion, but that’s because I want you to read the whole article:

So here’s my basic model: Jihadi forums are good for creating and storing propaganda material. Mainstream forums are where online recruitment, if any, is happening. But even if the recruitment is effective, the recruits still need some face time with committed militants or other recruits to remain radicalized; ingesting more propaganda or joining Jihadi forums isn’t enough.

Undoubtedly correct. Although the data is scarce in this field of analysis, all the signs point towards this model being basically sound. This does not mean that the internet is not significant in the radicalisation of people to violent causes, just that it is not the whole story. Cases that buck this model are very rare indeed.