i3 Scholars: Miriam Hernandez, Marilu Duque, Jackelyn Cach, Eric Lopez, Mohammed Khalid
Research Advisor: Dr. Kathleen Moore
Abstract:
In recent years, the threat of white extremists has been growing rapidly within the United States (U.S.). White extremists have been exploiting Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to spread their rhetoric to wider audiences through the publication of manifestos. However, U.S.-based extremism literature has mainly focused on Islamist extremism due to the September 11, 2001 (9/11) attacks. As such, there is a gap in extant academic research to understand current ideologies of white extremists and their usage of ICTs, particularly in regard to online manifestos, which are frequently linked to violent acts. To address this gap, our preliminary, exploratory analysis examines three white extremists’ manifestos by utilizing a mixed-methods approach to uncover themes in their narratives. Results from a qualitative deductive thematic analysis and a Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) suggest that U.S. white extremists’ ideologies may be shifting. Further research into these shifts in ideology could aid in the development of counter-narratives to combat the proliferation of extremist behavior online.