Online communication is a tool used by terrorists on coordinating attacks, spreading propaganda, raising funds, recruitment and sharing information. Online conversations, however, are useful in developing resistance to terrorism as they create an attempt for the discovery of justification of insurgency of the threat. Technological developments provide a form of resistance to terrorism by evaluating internet usage. Terrorism employs violence by amplification of messages to an audience beyond the targets and victims of an attack. Combating terrorism by online communication encompasses harnessing the environment of the internet on shaping security services. Intelligence agencies confront threats both strategically and tactically by the use of online communication. The digital era embraces the use of internet and the capability of online communication provides resistance to terrorism. The paper will discuss the role of online communication in developing resistance to terrorism.
Understanding the Mindset of a Terrorist
The technological developments have created extensive changes in people’s lives. The internet has revolutionised communication and simplified ways of building networks to like-minded individuals. The digital era allows people use internet for communication, which has led to radicalisation (Khader, 2016). Developments in social media provide strategies for agencies to eliminate a planned threat tactically, therefore, resistance to terrorism. The opposition to terrorism using online communication starts with the ability to understand radicalised individuals as well as the psychology behind the violence. The agencies and security experts recognise and coordinate actions to resist terrorism by tracking terrorists and extremist's contents in cyberspace. Understanding the shared terrorist information on websites, discussion forums, chat rooms, blogs, social media, virtual world and video-sharing sites helps to understand the terrorists, therefore, a method of resisting terrorism.
Threat and Vulnerability Assessment
Online communication aids in the assessment of terrorist threats and the vulnerability of the population to an attack. Online communication allows people to share information on suspicion of a threat imposed by the terrorists. The internet helps entire society on the understanding the critical rules of security. For instance, distribution of data across the population aids in expounding efforts of avoiding terrorist attacks. Online communication allows people to detect, manage the risk and allocate resources judiciously in the case of an attack. Terrorist share information on the internet, which is useful for security agencies on the identification of systems for making choices on assigning the resources, required for refining and dealing with safekeeping (Awan, 2017). As a result, online communication gives measures of building resilience by minimising vulnerability to prevent terrorist attacks.
Intelligence and Warning
Intelligence and warning strategies involve analytical following on analysis of the tactical threat, strategies of the enemy, vulnerability, threat-vulnerability integration and tactical preventive actions. Online communication helps in building sustaining efforts that form coordination of security systems to the population (Giroux, 2016). Intelligence and warning provide the highest measure towards anti-terrorism efforts. Intelligence requires collecting information from cyberspaces used by the terrorists. Security agencies utilise the information shared by the terrorists online to identify them. Online communication, therefore, provides technological, operational efforts in counterterrorism by issuing warnings against terrorism. Sharing information online offers analytical capabilities for agencies to understand plans and targeted audience of attack by the terrorists. The agencies utilise online communication as a platform for issuing warnings against terrorism. The gathered intelligence and issued a warning because of online connection helps in developing resistance to terrorism.
Explores Nature of Terrorists’ Actions
Online communication helps with detecting enemies, understanding their course of action and providing false information that would impair their operations. The internet can be an initiative that furthers national security policy as it helps in detecting and exploiting the nature of actions of the terrorists (Benson, 2014). However, online communication helps security agencies to detect material or resource support designated for a terrorist organisation. The agencies block and shut down websites used by the terror groups. Shutting down the websites helps in cutting off communication, which impairs operations that would lead to acts of terrorism. The terrorists use complicated language to organise threats on their websites (LaFree, 2017). The interception of communication ascertains intrusive measures necessary for security agencies to build resilience against terrorism. Online communication, therefore, provides the useful means of developing resistance to terrorism by demoralising terror groups because of the ability of security agencies to detect and explore terrorist’s actions.
Weaken Cult Personalities
Online communication weakens cult personalities that contribute to terrorist acts. The internet plays a role for antiterrorism by discrediting the legitimacy of people circulating negative rumours and stories that support terrorism (Cheong, 2016). Respective individuals of a civil society expand virtual presence to contradict violence using online communication system. Understanding the psychology of the terrorist is useful for preventing the occurrence of attacks. Online communication builds a collective identity of good customs and attitudes of people towards others. Building good customs and attitudes helps in contradicting hate messages, which reduce terrorism. As a result, the internet can be used to demonstrate the need for unity by encouraging collectivism. Online communication, therefore, offers opportunities for intervention in developing alternatives that build good personalities (Ropeik, 2018). Understanding terrorist personalities and using members of the civil society to serve as monitors by calling for early-warning sirens on the virtual horizon helps in developing resistance to terrorism.
Challenging the Doctrine of Extremist
Online communication provides a platform for reinforcing and spreading ideas, worldview and radical message of antiterrorism activities. The narratives on the internet exploit the difference in religion but draw inspiration that contains specific message and themes, which reinforce the society on legitimacy and need for unity (Palasinski " Bowman-Grieve, 2017). The narratives endorse the use of critical systems of educating the need of drawing out vulnerability and susceptibility of using violence as the answer to injustice. Online communication helps in linking the narratives to elevate organisational prestige with the agenda of antiterrorism. The internet usefulness challenges the dimensions of content-tailored counterarguments that condemn terrorist activities as they lead to loss of life and destruction of properties. Civil society uses online communication to contradict violent beliefs and attitudes. As a result, online communication amplifies unity by supporting antiterrorism.
Dispel Glory of Terrorist Lifestyle
Terrorist usually responds and admits to attacks to demonstrate their actions on people. The glamorised attitude of the attack creates emotional, psychological and physical struggle of victims of the terrorist attacks (Weimann, 2015). Online communication, however, can be used to show the suffering of the innocents to point out a contradiction of the terrorist notions about attacks. In the online communication, an emphasis highlights the inglorious nature of the life of terrorists and the daily segregation from family and the community. The internet provides a means of denouncing the concept of terrorism and use of violence for justification of injustice or faults in society. Development of the online contest in particular graphic, imagery, and video helps in putting an essential dent in assertions that link to the honour of acts of violence (Ample, 2012). As a result, dispelling the lifestyle of terrorists through online communication helps in developing of resistance to terrorism.
Offers Communicated Counter-Narratives
Counter-narratives oppose terrorism and construct approaches that educate and empower communities. Online communication helps in appealing to individuals who feel alienated and marginalised. The counter-narrative utilises geographical location and culture relevance of people to establish the credibility of actions taken to fight terrorism (Tan, Wang " Gomes, 2016). Online communication helps in promoting psychological disengagement of people in terrorism. The effectiveness of counter-narratives relies on the use of online communication to reach out to several people of the society. For example, a rumour circulating online tarnishes the images of terror groups, which helps in consideration of actions that do not jeopardise their lives (Weimann, 2015). As a result, online communication re-establishes the significance of policies of legislatures, militaries, and organisations on the promotion of peace by fighting against terrorism. Online discussion, therefore, provides essential insight and strategies for developing resistance to terrorism.
The Pursuit of National Strategic Objectives
Online communication helps in detection of general strategic objectives of security. The internet offers a soft power initiative to establish departments that handle public communications functions. The departments have niches that focus on counterterrorism communications. According to Cheong (2016), words and actions are inseparable, therefore; use of online communication develops resistance on the perpetrated drive of terrorist attacks. Online discussions encompass aspects of counterterrorism to undermine extremist movements on the promotion of violence. The program designed by state agencies utilises online communication by structuring awareness, disputing radical narratives and highlighting community-led intervention. Online discussions help in understanding how the terrorist plan and execute an attack. The internet provides the ability to tailor dynamics that help a community to establish policies and outreach mechanisms that assist in developing resistance against terrorism to prevent an attack.
Conclusion
Online communication develops resistance to terrorism by aiding in understanding the mindset of a terrorist. The terrorists coordinate actions by posting contents in cyberspace, and the agencies use the information to track them. Online communication helps with threat, and vulnerability assessment, therefore, gives measures of building resilience against terrorism. Online communication helps in gathering intelligence and issuing warnings. The internet weakens cult personalities, challenges the doctrine of extremist, dispel lifestyle glory of terrorists, offer community-led narratives and helps in pursuit of national strategic objectives in developing resistance to terrorism. Online communication, therefore, embraces technological developments on prevention and opposition to terrorism.
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