Tackling online radicalisation

The online and offline worlds are inextricably linked: what happens online has a direct influence on the real-world human environment and vice versa. In that connection, more and more often we are witnessing the internet’s influence on radicalisation processes.

In the cyber domain, it is common for extremist ideologies to be disseminated and for extremist networks to be formed. People are being recruited, and information is being shared on committing terrorist offences. The internet makes it possible to easily reach large groups of people. The amplifying effect of recommendation systems, the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI), echo chambers and disinformation, the anonymity of the internet and the lack of physical country borders all play an important stimulating role in that regard.

This threat is not merely a theoretical one: every year in the Netherlands, dozens of young people between the ages of 12 and 20 come to the attention of the police and the Public Prosecution Service for, among other things, disseminating terrorist propaganda and, in some cases, preparing attacks. There are probably a few hundred young people active in online jihadist and right-wing terrorist circles, and the speed with which some young people are becoming radicalised is concerning. The anti-institutional movement also makes frequent use of online channels.

This paper deals with the opportunities and difficulties involved in operating in the cyber domain within the scope of the local approach. The local approach consists of three closely related components: