Facebook and Violent Extremism Awareness Brief

Understanding Facebook legitimate reasons, violent extremists, gangs, and terrorist groups also have a significant With more than 1 billion users, Facebook is presence and following on Facebook.1 The one of the most popular social networking following identifies the ways domestic and sites. After users create a personal profile or international extremists of all persuasions use organization page and add photos, contact Facebook to promote violence: information, and additional information, they can search for people with similar interests, Recruitment create networks of “friends,” communicate by sending private messages or posting Facebook provides violent extremists with a comments on another user’s wall, “like” pages vast recruiting ground. In the United States of organizations and join “groups” with other alone, 67 percent of all Internet users have a users who share similar interests, and post and Facebook profile, and the percentages are even share content created on Facebook or linked to higher for youth and young adults. Moreover, another website. Facebook is one of the top three websites visited by people under the age of 18.2 How Extremists Use Facebook Extremists take advantage of the fact that parents and law enforcement often are not Although individuals and organizations aware of the dangers that could be present worldwide use Facebook for a variety of when a young person spends large amounts AWARENESS BRIEF

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of time on Facebook. Extremist individuals bring propaganda to a wider audience and and organizations use this viewing potential to serve as a gateway to other extremist websites create lines of communication, enabling them where more radical content is available. In to find, recruit, groom, and communicate with many instances, posts include historical and young people worldwide. This aids extremist factual data that is skewed or changed to foster groups intent on attacking Western countries support or empathy to the cause and link to and their interests in creating an international websites with additional information. network of followers that can be radicalized Groups and pages also provide a community to violence. of like-minded individuals for recruits to Radical recruiters also contact users who interact with and share their extremist have liked their wall posts and left favorable ideology, feed off of one another, and further comments on posts that express a desire to radicalize. In some cases, these groups can become involved in the cause. Some recruiters foster friendships that individuals may be even use names, pictures, and information of missing from their physical community. The attractive young women to engage and recruit number of “likes” on a page or members of young men.3 a group can also make certain organizations appear to have critical mass. Radicalization Mobilization Facebook groups and pages expressing support for violent extremists and Extremists also post tips and guidance about terrorist organizations allow anyone to operational and tactical information, gathering read information, view videos and other counterintelligence, and coordinating attacks. propaganda, comment on wall posts or write For example, information about various their own posts, and click on links to content explosives and commonly used weapons, hosted on other sites. These pages effectively information about how to avoid arousing AWARENESS BRIEF 3

suspicion, videos of successful operations, law enforcement are a valuable asset to any and links to other websites are the most department or agency and can play a large role common types of content these individuals in countering violent extremism. Individuals and groups post. using Facebook to groom and recruit extremists are a public safety concern that By only posting certain information on many law enforcement agencies are already Facebook and linking to third-party sites with working with communities to address. graphic videos and other violent content, extremists are able to abide by Facebook’s Ways in which law enforcement and the terms and policies and still spread essential community can work together to use Facebook operational and tactical information to to help identify, prevent, and counter violent interested parties. extremism include the following: Violent individuals and groups also gather information about law enforcement strategies, Educating the community tactics, and locations based on content posted Educating youth and parents about how to AWARENESS BRIEFon their Facebook pages. In addition, pictures report suspicious postings and violent content uploaded to Facebook that contain embedded and who to report these incidents to, as well geolocation data as well as status updates as providing them with general Internet posted by individual officers or agencies have safety tips, helps law enforcement create been used by violent extremists to modify community members who are well positioned their tactics and plan attacks. Extremists can to identify indicators of radicalization and other also use the chat function to exchange private suspicious behaviors. messages and information and to coordinate attacks in real-time. Engaging youth

Attack Engagement is another key component of community policing that law enforcement can Embedding malicious content and software use to address violent extremists and radical in applications and hacking into accounts recruiters on Facebook. Because recruiters can serve multiple purposes for extremist tend to target youth and young adults that organizations. Hackers can gain access to feel isolated or excluded from their physical accounts of legitimate users and steal personal community, law enforcement can engage information that hackers can use to obtain these same age groups in positive ways. Police forms of identification and to open new lines athletic leagues, youth police academies, of credit to fund additional attacks, which youth advisory councils, and sponsoring can also generate attention for a certain or hosting youth-specific events can help group or cause. offset the allure of radicalization, provide law enforcement with ideas about the best ways The Role of Community Policing to reach other young people, and encourage youth and young adults to be more active in in Addressing Violent Extremism their physical community. on Facebook Creating an agency Facebook page Community policing promotes the use of partnerships between law enforcement and Law enforcement agencies can create their 4 the community to address public safety own Facebook page for free. Having a page concerns. Citizens who are empowered by is an easy way to encourage members of AWARENESS BRIEF

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the community to connect with the police Endnotes department. Agencies can post questions on their page and encourage comments as 1. Some of the activities and uses mentioned are an easy way to solicit tips and feedback and not necessarily illegal and may be protected under the First Amendment and other civil rights engage in dialogue with community members. laws. Facebook allows users to block individuals Departments can also use their Facebook from contacting them and to report content and accounts that violate the site’s terms of page to share flyers and information about service. Facebook can remove any content that upcoming community events, disseminate is determined to violate its terms, and users information about unsolved crimes and crime who post such content are subject to having trends in the community, and encourage their account suspended or removed. For more people to report any information they information about Facebook’s terms and policies, might have. Engaging residents by visit www.facebook.com/policies/?ref=pf. empowering them to play an active role 2. “Fun Facts,” IACP Center for Social Media, www. can impress upon them their importance iacpsocialmedia.org/Resources/FunFacts.aspx. in the community and proactively counter extremists on Facebook. 3. Gabriel Weimann, “Terror on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube,” Brown Journal of World Affairs 16, no. 2 (2010): 45–54.

4. For more information about how law enforcement can use Facebook and other social media sites, visit IACP’s Center for Social Media at www.IACPsocialmedia.org.

This project was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number The Internet references cited in this publication were valid as of the 2011-CK-WXK-010 awarded by the Office of Community Oriented date of this publication. Given that URLs and websites are in constant Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions contained flux, neither the author(s) nor the COPS Office can vouch for their herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent current validity. the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific agencies, companies, products, or services Recommended citation: should not be considered an endorsement by the author(s) or the International Association of Chiefs of Police. 2014. Facebook and Violent U.S. Department of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations to Extremism. Awareness Brief. Washington, DC: Office of Community supplement discussion of the issues. Oriented Policing Services. This Awareness Brief is one of a series and part of other products produced as part of the Role of Community Policing in Homeland Security and the Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) initiative. For more information about the CVE initiative, and to access additional IACP resources, please visit www.theiacp.org/CVE.

U.S. Department of Justice To obtain details on COPS Office programs, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services call the COPS Office Response Center at 800-421-6770. 145 N Street NE Washington, DC 20530 Visit the COPS Office online at www.cops.usdoj.gov.

e111321618 Published 2014