On the media - The challenge of fighting terrorism online

     What does a terrorist look like? Is it the person standing right next to me or someone just down the block? Do they have a specific skin color, income level, mannerism or style in how they dress? Honestly, I wouldn't have a clue and not being able to identify the enemy is one of the biggest challenges in the global fight against radical extremism.

    Since the horrific tragedy in Orlando this past weekend, people are crying out all over the nation, asking again how this could have happened and what signs are we not fixating on enough. Just in class yesterday we were discussing the use of social media to promote terrorist activities and unfortunately, they have found a new way to step up the game. A few weeks ago, Facebook began implementing the use of live video events as part of a new interaction plan with users. At first it seemed like a harmless fun way to include family and friends in current events. My first thought was to use it for weddings when your family is far away on a  Hawaiian beach, but a terrorist has just used the service to broadcast a live murder of a couple in Paris. It seems crazy to me a person can be radicalized enough to get to this level of atrocity on Facebook's service and hadn't already been flagged as a person of severe interest and been constantly surveyed to prevent any actions.

     In this weeks podcast, the discussion was raised again whether a computer algorithm could be specifically tailored to identify potential suspects and give authorities a helping hand in the global fight. It would need to identify risk factors in people and signal in on key words to see if someone is intending on creating destruction or pursuing another terrorist act. Perhaps, if we could find out people's tendencies, we could seek to get them professional help or even push media that might sway their direction in life. Even Hillary Clinton has called for industries in Silicon Valley to step up and come up with a feasible method to collect data points and utilize the material. But as far as we know, the government has yet to implement such a procedure.

     Not everyone agrees that simply identifying a person's interest in materials or online propaganda is an automatic red flag for a person to commit destruction. John Horgan, professor of psychology at Georgia State University, said just because a person has radical views, does not mean they always have the intent to act. He made some interesting comparisons to terrorist groups of the past and one in particular, the I.R.A., is a good example of a very large group, with only a small segment of violent psychotics willing to inflict pain and mass damage. Many in the southern Ireland share the anger, and the distrust of their British neighbors to the North. In fact, you may hear them wailing about the injustices in song at the local pub, especially in the wee hours, but only a select few feel destruction is the path toward reaching their goals. The question remains whether investigating online patterns or social media use can provide the answers the government needs to keep us safe. As someone whose Facebook feed is hardly representative of the things  I actually do or am willing to try, I would have to disagree that you can find my intent from simply what I post or engage in. Sometimes I just re-post things only to inspire a reaction or get someone's goat. If we are really serious about identifying the threat, I think the answer will be found in our local communities. Using our eyes, ears and the courage to call someone out when we realize suspicious activities.