Speaker
Description
Islamists are quick to adapt to the evolving landscape online and have repeatedly used social media platforms to recruit people and convince them of their ideas. With TikTok having over 1 billion active users, it is unsurprising that Islamists also use the platform now to mobilise (young) people. To do this, they emulate TikTok aesthetics and trends and use popular-cultural references to make their narratives more accessible, interesting and fun to a younger audience that they might not reach on other platforms. Moreover, they exploit (perceived) grievances and reframe current events to create emotionalised narratives provoking strong reactions by their audiences. Most of the content is posted by individuals without direct links to terrorist organisations. To circumvent content moderation, they address seemingly harmless, everyday topics, for example explaining if it is allowed for Muslims to listen to music or celebrate their birthdays. This makes it difficult to differentiate between general information about Islam and extremist content. The presentation highlights how Islamists on TikTok conceal their identity and create content that viewers identify with, which facilitates their radicalisation. Additionally, it will present examples of approaches to counter Islamism and prevent radicalisation on TikTok by utilising authentic content, alternative narratives and redirection.
| Institutional Affiliation | Royal Holloway University |
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