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Two Sides of the Same Coin? A Largescale Comparative Analysis of Extreme Right and Jihadi Online Text(s)
,
Stephen Herron,
Ben Miller,
Anthony F. Lemieux,
Maura Conway
Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Pages: 1 - 24
Swansea University Author:
Maura Conway
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DOI (Published version): 10.1080/1057610x.2022.2071712
Abstract
This article describes and discusses a comparative semiotic analysis of online text collected from eight extreme right websites and four violent jihadi groups’ online magazines. The two datasets, which comprise just over 1 million words each, were analyzed using LIWC software. The core issues explor...
| Published in: | Studies in Conflict and Terrorism |
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| ISSN: | 1057-610X 1521-0731 |
| Published: |
Informa UK Limited
2022
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| Online Access: |
Check full text
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa62898 |
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| Abstract: |
This article describes and discusses a comparative semiotic analysis of online text collected from eight extreme right websites and four violent jihadi groups’ online magazines. The two datasets, which comprise just over 1 million words each, were analyzed using LIWC software. The core issues explored were the shared and different linguistic patterns used among extreme right and violent jihadi extremists and the emotional, cognitive, psychological, and social dimensions of the online textual discourses of each ideological grouping and what function these played in their overall political rhetoric. The findings bring to light some nuanced differences and similarities in the cognitive, social, psychological, and temporal dimensions of language used by each. For example, while both types of ideological text showed the same level of certainty in arguments as a cognitive process, the language depicting social and emotional processes, and religion were used more often by the violent jihadi extremists (VJEs) than the extreme right. The findings also point to the fact that VJEs were more likely than right-wing extremists to discuss the future and promise change as motivational incentives. |
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| Keywords: |
Extreme right, violent jihadi extremists, LIWC software, online discourse |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Funders: |
This work was partially supported by the Minerva Research Initiative of the U.S. Department
of Defense, through the Air Force Office of Scientific Research as part of the Mobilizing Media
research program (Grant# FA9550-15-1-0373; Anthony F. Lemieux, PI); the European Union’s
Framework Program 7 as part of the VOX-Pol Network of Excellence (Grant# 312827: Maura
Conway, PI); and Swansea University’s Legal Innovation Lab Wales, which is part-funded by
the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh government under Grant 82123. |
| Start Page: |
1 |
| End Page: |
24 |