How did technology fuel the explosive birth and growth of the nationalistic extremist movements fueled by former President Donald Trump? How does it compare to the proliferation of foreign terrorist threats? And how can the U.S. government wield technology to combat domestic radicalization? Anne Speckhard, Director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism has interviewed hundreds of terrorists all over the world and offers her expert perspectives.
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Chitra Ragavan:
The January 6th attacks on the US Capitol by violent supporters of former president, Donald Trump, were a shocking coming out party of sorts for technology enabled and deeply radicalized domestic terrorist groups in the United States. And they sent an unmistakable message to American democracy.
Chitra Ragavan:
Hello everyone, I'm Chitra Ragavan. And this is Techtopia. On this podcast, we take a look at the addictive and inexorable forces of technology that are transforming people, society and humanity. I'm joined now by Anne Speckhard. She's director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism. Speckhard has interviewed hundreds of terrorists around the world and has provided expert consultation to the US, European and other governments, as well as the US Department of Defense regarding programs for prevention and rehabilitation of individuals that are committed to political violence and militant jihad. Speckhard has worked extensively with social media platforms, such as Facebook, to create and disseminate counter radicalization messaging against ISIS and other foreign terrorist groups. Anne, welcome to Techtopia.
Anne Speckhard:
Oh, thank you, Chitra. I'm so glad to be here with you.
Chitra Ragavan:
As an expert on radicalization, when you saw what was happening on January 6th, both outside and inside the US Capitol, what were your first thoughts?
Anne Speckhard:
My thoughts were what had been predicted was happening because I'm part of a number of groups that were monitoring and trying to diffuse violence from groups, such as this, before it happened. And, to me, it had been predicted and I was watching it play out.
Chitra Ragavan:
And over the past months and years, what were some of the things that you are seeing? I know your focus has been predominantly of radicalization of foreign terrorist groups, such as ISIS. But I'm assuming you probably were seeing similar things unfold here in the United States.
Anne Speckhard:
Definitely. We were seeing groups forming on the internet or forming in real life as well. And what I would say we were really seeing is that online behavior and online threats were moving into real life, which is exactly what we saw with ISIS. That there was a huge amount of propaganda, and incitement. And that we watched people get wrapped up in it. And some of them, oftentimes, they went dark because they would transfer over to telegram. And then, you would see them do something. So, what was happening and being observed on their Facebook or Twitter profile would later translate into real life behavior.
Anne Speckhard:
But we should say that there were huge groups of people who were responding to this ISIS' online propaganda that never did anything.
Chitra Ragavan:
Interesting. So, what do you think was the trigger? What happened?
Anne Speckhard:
Well, I would definitely say that President Trump incited this mob and he had been inciting them all along with what pundits are now referring to as the "big lie" of telling them that the election was stolen, and that they must stand up for democracy. And these are people, I mean, there are a whole array of people, they're not a monolith. But these are people that already believe that white rights are being stolen, they're disenfranchised, they're upset. And if they're a conspiracy theorist and QAnon, they believe that Trump is going to stand up to evil power...
Ep. 2 — Radicalization and the January 6 Capitol Hill Riots / Anne Speckhard, Director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism. | Techtopia with Chitra Ragavan podcast - Listen or read transcript on Metacast
