How Criminological Theory Can Inform the Role of Marketing in Understanding Radicalization and Deradicalization

On March 15, 2019, a lone gunman entered a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, and opened fire, beginning a rampage in which he killed 51 people and injured 40 more. After the incident, it became apparent to authorities— through his manifesto—that the gunman frequented right-wing extremist internet discussion boards, where he developed the worldview that motivated his crimes. On one board, the shooter posted a livestream of the attack, where thousands witnessed the atrocity. Yet, while this trajectory of online radicalization was particularly severe in its outcome, it was not an unfamiliar one. Indeed, one of the defining characteristics of contemporary radicalization is the role that online interaction frequently plays in facilitating extremist radicalization processes. Extremist viewpoints are those relegated to the political fringe, meaning that most people do not hold them. Preinternet, this meant that those interested in spreading extremist attitudes had to struggle to do so within the constraints of geographic boundaries; this was not an easy task, given the social ramifications of open prejudice. With the proliferation of the internet, however, radicalization processes have changed. Motivated parties can find each other easily online, without the spatial and temporal constraints of the offline world, and they can do so anonymously, allowing them to market their ideology to others without fear of consequence or social repercussion. The culmination of these factors has contributed to an online social landscape wherein many of the most popular right-wing extremist forums are predominately characterized by selective exposure to extreme and prejudicial worldviews, commonly referred to as “echo chambers.”