ABSTRACT
There is not one single path that leads to extremism or radicalization and not everybody is swayed by extremist propaganda. The effectiveness of social media propaganda is, however, not random. The world is a whirlpool of propaganda emanating from numerous media sources and is spread and validated by interactions between individuals and groups. It should also be recognized that people with diminished mental capacity and those that are in closed social environments may be more readily influenced by extremist propaganda. Chapter 10 examines the circumstances that can make the distribution and reception of extremist propaganda effective, including how it is distributed, group think, monoculturalism, and mental illness.
There is not one single path that leads to extremism or radicalization and not everybody is swayed by extremist propaganda. The effectiveness of social media propaganda is, however, not random. The world is a whirlpool of propaganda emanating from numerous media sources and is spread and validated by interactions between individuals and groups. It should also be recognized that people with diminished mental capacity and those that are in closed social environments may be more readily influenced by extremist propaganda. This chapter examines the circumstances that can make the distribution and reception of extremist propaganda effective, including how it is distributed, group think, monoculturalism, and mental illness.
