"Extremists are exploiting political violence on online platforms to recruit new people to their causes and amplify the use of violence for political goals, according to a new report that monitored social platforms after recent attacks. Researchers at New York University's Stern Center for Business and Human Rights tracked social media feeds for several months this year, including in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's assassination."
"Violent extremist groups systematically exploit trigger events high-profile incidents of violence to recruit supporters, justify their ideologies and call for retaliatory action, the findings say. The US is experiencing an increase in political violence and extremism, with high-profile incidents targeting Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota, Kirk, an ICE facility, a church, a Jewish museum and more. Donald Trump and his allies have falsely claimed the violence is coming solely from the radical left and sought to clamp down on left-leaning groups."
Social media feeds were tracked for several months, including in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's assassination, to observe patterns following high-profile attacks. Violent extremist groups exploit trigger events and high-profile incidents to recruit supporters, justify ideologies and call for retaliatory action. Monitoring covered actors across the political spectrum, including far-right, far-left, violent Islamist and nihilistic violent extremists, and documented moments of tactical convergence. The United States has seen rising political violence in 2025, with more than 520 plots and acts of terrorism and targeted violence in the first six months, resulting in 96 deaths and 329 injuries, a nearly 40% increase year over year.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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