Extremism

From the verbal to the real violence

In many Internet forums dominated by a rude, often aggressive language. A dangerous group dynamic develops, the conspiracy theories making the round – an ideal breeding ground for real violence.

The Chancellor is likely to your Facebook presence is no real joy anymore. For months, hailing it there criticism of your Flüchtlingskurs, often in less kind words. “With what impudence, what arrogance, what lies, what Süffisanz Merkel in Germany is doing, that is Herzenskälte high three and not humanity, is the sender Dieter Naußed. “The foreigners laugh at us. Merkel pulls it not,” assures another sender.

The tone in the social networks is harsh, on Facebook as well as on other sites. The topic of the minds at the most excited, is the
Refugee crisis. It convinces many Users to such uninhibited language, Minister of justice Heiko Maas Facebook repeatedly to delete Hetzkommentaren has requested.

The “Munich Digital Institute” has published a study, for it 1271 Facebook users to their impression of the used language has surveyed. Nearly 70 percent said that political discussions on Facebook are more aggressive and / or emotional. As “factual” liked only two percent of respondents describe them. Nearly 74 percent, in contrast, saw on Facebook increasingly extreme political opinions. 53 percent declared hateful posts in the future, log on to want.

A Disastrous Group Dynamics

Rough and rude, but also
extremist comments in the social networks for a long time already posted, the Islamic scholar and journalist Thorsten Gerald Schneiders. The network is a kind of germ cell, he explains in an Interview in Germany radio. “Here people find easy to each other, here, you can have extremist views easily Express and receive immediate Feedback. If you consent, gets, grows the confidence.”

Schneiders, the particular so-called islamkritische, but also Salafist Websites observed, knows the mechanisms for uninhibited Writing. “Every Time, when someone ‘Like’ clicks, for some the Ego polished. So you can find groups of like-minded people together and be bigger and bolder.”

Also in the network organized: Violent Leftists

Lack of social control

In the network behave people in General, more of the mark than in direct interactions in everyday life, observes the social psychologist Catarina Katzer. On the Internet if you’re often in a group of like-minded people. “And the social Engagement is higher, the more I have a group to belong to,” she explains in an Interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Increased going to the disinhibition by the fact that the net effective controls social interaction would become superfluous.

But the web not only offers a coarse or abusive language Forum. The North Rhine-Westphalian interior Minister Ralf Jäger has recently warned that the aggressive language to physical violence in lead. “Hatred in social networks is fuelling a climate of fear and violence”, it says on the Website of the Ministry of the interior. “He stirreth up to assaults towards refugees and sets fire to Flüchtlingsheime.”

Terrified Audience

The American lawyer Susan Benesch, the editor of the page “dangerousspeech.org” the relationship between verbal and real violence is being explored. This would be due to certain factors favored. These include, for example, in the respective circles of influential users, the other users encourage him with verbal attacks to do the same. Further, it takes a terrified and unsettled audience, as Gewaltaufruf-to-understand speech, earlier outbreaks of violence and an influential platform. The more of these factors come together, so Benesch, the easier it could be verbal into physical violence turn.

Active in the Internet and on the street: radical Salafists

Currently Express themselves while more and more people under your real name on the Internet. But the protection of anonymity is given. And, as Islamic scholar Thorsten Gerald Schneiders, brisk, particularly to verbal violence. “Anonymity is the Internet is still a kind of experimental laboratory, where you just have to try it out, as the own extreme Statements arrive, where his frustration, his anger can live out without having to be in too big of a risk to go in real life for this punished.”

The Lack Of Plurality

The violence is conducive to the unanimity of the individual groups. Different political views meet in the forums becoming less and less of each other. Instead, confirm the members of political groups in the network each other. The view of the world narrows, the group dynamics gaining momentum, other than those in the group, established beliefs do not penetrate through. So is the soil for conspiracy theories prepares. This also contributes to the Reversal of verbal and real-world violence.

Objective reporting and plurality in numerous Userforen hardly more present. It would be so important to the discourse to civilize and violence to stop.