Extreme parallels: a corpus-driven analysis of ISIS and far-right discourse

Abstract

In this study, we examine key psychological dimensions in the manifestos authored by the perpetrators of the Christchurch and Utøya massacres, the right-wing extremists Brenton Tarrant and Anders Breivik, and the ISIS propaganda magazine Rumiyah. All texts were authored and disseminated virtually with the purpose of attracting or consolidating support, and justifying violent, discriminatory actions. While right-wing supremacist and extremist Islamist discourses are ostensibly ideologically opposed, previous research has posited the existence of ideational and emotive commonalities. We approach this from a corpus-linguistic perspective, and employ the software LIWC2015 and Wmatrix to explore the dominant psychological dimensions, semantic categories and keywords in these texts. We identify elements that contribute to the construction of a narrative of hate, peril and urgency, and discuss differences in the imagery used to construct these meanings and to appeal to different audiences. Whilst our analysis supports the existence of commonalities in ideological content and discursive strategies, our results identify differences in the target of hate in right-wing supremacist discourse and we differentiate between primarily Islamophobic and racist motives. Finally, we also discuss the limitations inherent in employing these software tools to analyse discourse in the Web 2.0 era.

The ISIS Model and its Influence Over Global Terrorism

“…(US Department of State, 2020). [5] In addition to being a model for lethal attacks, ISIS also inspired other terrorist groups to follow its practice of beheading its victims and posting videos of the incidents online. According to the author's previous research, ISIS beheaded 717 people between 2014 and 2020, while five of its branded franchises beheaded a combined total of 325 people during that same period (see Figure 5).…”

“…Figure 4. Casualty rate per attack (deaths and injuries), by the terrorist group, in 2019(US Department of State, 2020) [5]. …”

Making Sense of Language Signals for Monitoring Radicalization

“…The "Personal Concerns" set measures how worried the person behind the text is about different life issues, such as work, leisure, home, money, religion, and death. Drives, affective concerns, and personal concerns are considered the three main psychological variables and have been used as a reference to analyze radical discourses before [57]. The "Social Process" set was also included to provide some more information about references to family, friends, and and female and male authority figures.…”

The Contexts of the Christchurch terror attacks: social science perspectives

“…In his manifesto entitled 'The Great Replacement' themes concerned 'white genocide conspiracy theories', neo-Nazi tropes and symbols and copious anti-immigrant sentiment from the Norwegian shooter Anders Behring Breivik were central, together with broader 'racialised traditions' and a nod to (US President) Donald Trump's racist exhortations. In their article for this special issue, Buckingham and Alali (2020) compare right-wing extremist views expressed in the manifesto with those of ISIS, revealing commonalities, despite very different ideologies.…”