The Devil's Long Tail: Religious and Other Radicals in the Internet MarketplaceThe internet may be a utopia for free expression, but it also harbours nihilistic groups and individuals spreading bizarre creeds, unhindered by the risk-averse gatekeepers of the mass media -- and not all are as harmless as the Virtual Church of the Blind Chihuahua or Sexastrianism. With few entry barriers, ready anonymity and no centralised control, the internet offers wired extremists unprecedented access to a potential global audience of billions. Technology allows us to select the information we wish to receive -- so those of a fanatical bent can filter out moderating voices and ignore countervailing arguments, retreating into a virtual world of their own design that reaffirms their views. In The Devil's Long Tail, Stevens and O'Hara argue that we misunderstand online extremism if we think intervention is the best way to counter it. Policies designed to disrupt radical networks fail because they ignore the factors that push people to the margins. Extremists are driven less by ideas than by the benefits of participating in a tightly-knit, self-defined, group. Rather, extreme ideas should be left to sink or swim in the internet's marketplace of ideas. The internet and the web are valuable creations of a free society. Censoring them impoverishes us all while leaving the radical impulse intact. |
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The Devil's Long Tail: Religious and Other Radicals in the Internet Marketplace David Stevens,Keiron O'Hara No preview available - 2015 |
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actions adherents al-Qaeda American Grace argued behaviour benefits blogosphere blogs Branch Davidians Bryan Caplan Cambridge Cass Sunstein cent Chapter Christian Church club model Coolsaet costs create crowdsourcing cultural Cyberspace debate democracy democratic discussion doctrine echo chamber effect el-Nawawy embedding society example extremists Facebook faith forums framing global Habermasian Iannaccone Ibid ideology important individuals interaction Internet Islamic issue Jihadi Khamis large number Laurence Iannaccone less liberal London long tail mainstream marketplace membership messages moderate Mormons Muslim niche offline Olivier Roy organisations Oxford particular political preferences prevent Putnam and Campbell Radicalisation rational religion religious belief religious groups religious ideas religious market Rodney Stark role sects Sherry Turkle social networks Stark strategy suicide bombers suicide missions Sunstein tactics Terrorism terrorist theory tion trust Turkle tweets United University Press users violent extremism websites wider