Abstract
We introduce a generalized form of gelation theory that incorporates individual heterogeneity and show that it can explain the asynchronous, sudden appearance and growth of online extremist groups supporting ISIS (so-called Islamic State) that emerged globally post-2014. The theory predicts how heterogeneity impacts their onset times and growth profiles and suggests that online extremist groups present a broad distribution of heterogeneity-dependent aggregation mechanisms centered around homophily. The good agreement between the theory and empirical data suggests that existing strategies aiming to defeat online extremism under the assumption that it is driven by a few “bad apples” are misguided. More generally, this generalized theory should apply to a range of real-world systems featuring aggregation among heterogeneous objects.
- Received 21 December 2017
- Revised 15 June 2018
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.048301
© 2018 American Physical Society
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Focus
Identifying Early Signs of Online Extremist Groups
Published 27 July 2018
An analogy between the growth of online networks and the formation of gels suggests ways to detect extremist groups before they become influential.
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