I found the research sometimes amusing, but mostly frightening - in view of the extremely high militancy in subcultures that are closer to each other than they would ever admit.
Fuelled by widespread disinformation on social media, technophobic extremists are posing an increasing threat to social cohesion. I examine the nature and extent of the challenge faced by law enforcement authorities.
I have now published some of the results in Jane's Intelligence Review, titled "Technophobic extremists increasingly engage in militancy".
Some of the keypoints are:
- Extremists have long used the traditional sabotage techniques of militant environmentalists against technical installations, with the professionalisation of these techniques being promoted by exchanges on social media.
- Far-right extremist technophobes are increasingly copying the modus operandi and methods of left-wing extremist groups.
- Attacks against 5G technology show an overlap of anti-technology operations from the extremist, anarchist, and esoteric conspiracy theory spectrum.