Extremist groups spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have moved away from popular social media platforms to other sites to sow discord and disperse their radical ideologies. Extremists are increasingly...
On Sunday, the New York Times highlighted increased efforts by white supremacist extremist groups to leverage the COVID-19 pandemic as a means to advance their radical agendas and attract new members. Far-right extremist groups are increasingly...
As the world continues to grapple with the ongoing pandemic, far-right and Islamic extremist groups are plotting to exploit the health crisis to advance their radical agendas. Last week, FBI agents thwarted a car bomb attack on a hospital in Missouri...
CEP Senior Advisor Alexander Ritzmann contributed to the European Commission's Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) Practitioners Spotlight magazine, writing the article, "A Psychological Perspective on Conspiracy Narratives Fostering Anti-Government Sentiment": "People who believe in conspiracy narratives are often trying to fix a problem. In many cases, they are in some kind of personal crisis (e.g. financial debt, reputation loss, job loss, partner loss) when they subscribe to stories claiming for example that a small “hidden (Jewish) elite” is running the world, that “white people” are being systematically replaced or that Bill Gates is using the COVID 19 pandemic to put microchips in peoples bodies to control them."
Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.
Fact:
On March 30, 2020, an al-Shabaab suicide bomber mounted the vehicle of Abdisalan Hasan Hersi, a governor in Somalia’s Puntland, as he parked his car near a police station. The jihadist detonated his explosive device, killing Hersi and seriously wounding a former police commander and a civilian.
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