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Basic Analysis of Social Media: Examining the use of narrative-based drivers for remote radicalization. (First published 3 August 2016)

As I am fortunate to have a large number of data analysts and those involved in the behaviour sciences among my LinkedIn contacts, I would like to point out this paper is not intended to bring anything new to the study of radicalization or extremist behaviour. I also feel sure that many of my contacts in this field will put forward various other methods which may be used to collect the same datasets mentioned in this paper.

Several years ago, as part of my research into the induction and radicalization process used by AQ affiliates via social media (SM), I spent a considerable amount of time reading academic papers on SM mapping and human behaviour. This information allowed me to research SM, the web and dark web in order to increase my understanding of the drivers associated with violent extremism (VE) and the mindsets of vulnerable people who may be psychologically manipulated to join the extremist cause. It also allowed me to examine and test new theories put forward by various academics.

The following is a basic introduction to the subject which is based on the research of others and which I have modified for my own research needs. Furthermore, due to the limited scope of this paper I have not included data associated with demography, gender; or the analysis of text and visual images which are to be found in the ‘extremists’ virtual world of their making.

Finally, although I and other members of the Narrative Strategies Team (http://www.narrative-strategies.com/) have a comprehensive understanding of the narrative based drivers associated with VE, I have found the following allows us to examine these drivers working over time and space along with the behavioural changes experienced by some members of the target audience.

Analysing Social Media (SM networks)

Virtual social networks, like those found in the ‘real’ world, consist of relationships and relationship building blocks. An examination of this network reveals a combination of relationships which create identifiable patterns of connected people, groups and organisations. As explained later, this virtual social network which appears to allow users to remain anonymous provides a false sense of security where members are willing to express their concerns, frustrations and other personal information which they may not be willing to discuss in the real world. This provides an indication of an individual’s vulnerabilities which may leave them open to psychological manipulation. When one examines the communications between like mined individuals within this network it may first appear to resemble a peer-group support network which by its very nature encourages additional personal information to be shared with ‘like-minded’ people. Accordingly, extremist groomers and recruiters can select suitable individuals who may be radicalized.

Virtual Social Networks

It is easier to regard social networks as consisting of social entities: actors, distinct individuals, groups and organisations. We must also be prepared to follow these entities as they migrate to or simultaneously use other SM platforms. For instance, Twitter is limited to the maximum use of 140 characters (Tweets) and due to this limitation member who are of interests to extremists are often encourage to join a similar network on another SM platform with less restrictions and/or is considered more secure. Consequently, it is not uncommon to find the same social entities on various SM platforms.

Relationship ties (Contacts)

Some relationships which are tied to others across the network/s are said to be ‘informal’ because they are not widely known by others entities of the network under examination. For example, on LinkedIn we often find third degree contacts commenting on updates posted by members from outside their network simply because the commentator is connected to one or more of the writers’ first degree contacts. Such entities, in this example LinkedIn members, are often referred to as ‘Muktiplexity’ or ‘Multiplex’ because these individuals are actors with ties to other actors connected to you. I plan to cover this concept in greater detail at a later date during my examination of Russian trolls and the information war.

The Two Node Network consists of actors who may not have direct ties with each other but they attend similar events within a community (Mosques, sports clubs etc.) or may regularly visit similar websites. Although there are no virtual or physical connections, this provides an opportunity for prominent actors (Focal Actors) to form a false rapport with members of the Two Node Network and the opportunity to form a ‘weak’ link. The establishment of ‘strong’ links are only attempted after an individual is thought to be of interest to the extremist cause.

Egocentric, also called personal networks, tie directly with Focal actors (those with influence, I.e., groomers, recruiters, propagandists etc.) in the network. Hanson and Shneiderman describe this as, “Social Centric or complete network consisting of the relational ties among members of a single bounded community. (Social Network Analysis: Measuring, Mapping and Modelling Collections of Connections, D. Hanson and B Shneiderman, 2010).

The examination of networks also allows us to develop what some academics call ‘name generators’ which is simply the names of social entities, in this case people, who frequently communicate with the focal actors. Hanson and Shneiderman call those names generated by the focal actor, ‘the actors alters’.

The use of name generators, as advocated by Hanson and Shneidrman, allows for the identification of strong ties across a dense network. To identify weaker ties in more wide ranging networks, acquaintance name generators can be used.

Another useful tool discussed by Hanson and Shneiderman, is the Positioning Generator. This allows the researcher to identify people who fill a particular ‘valued’ role or position within the network and therefore have access to a range of resources. These resources may include professional knowledge, or work related experience beneficial to an extremist group.

Psychological Manipulation

Apart from the same narrative based drivers being used within the real and virtual world, we also find the same methods used to encourage members of their target audience to express their concerns, frustrations, aspirations and how they see themselves. This information is used to psychologically manipulate suitable members within the network and tie them to others with similar mindsets. The linking of suitable individuals within a network will often reinforce these concerns and produce suitable conditions for physiological manipulation. A United Nations report describes this as, psychological manipulation, “to undermine an individual’s belief in certain collective social values, or to propagate a sense of heightened anxiety, fear or panic within a population or subset of the population…” (The Use of the Internet for Terrorist Purposes: United Nations Office of Drug and Crime, NY 2012) It is also widely acknowledged that certain cognitive propensities can combine to create a mindset that presents a high risk of being radicalized (see Drivers of Violent Extremism: Hypotheses and Literature Review, RUSI, 16 October 2015) and it is these propensities which extremists seek to identify within members of the network.

Social media has made social connections and networks more visible and open to research. “The internet and its use by terrorist organisations, individual members, supporters and recruits afford new avenues for assessing information about groups and their activities…” (Lorraine Bowman-Grieve, Security Informatics, 2013, 2:9) As Bowman-Grieve says, “individual reasons why people become involved are many and varied, with no single catalyst event that explains involvement.” However, research indicates that involvement is a gradual process that occurs over time and the development of this process, which is driven by narratives and supported by inter-personal bonds that have been created for this purpose, can be examined through social network analysis.

By analysing network activities over a period of time not only do we see the use of narratives as efficient drivers towards extremism, we also see the development of identities being slowly formed. This includes perceived victimization and attempts to convince individuals they are victims and linking this to a common or shared identity and the legitimization of violence to address these perceived injustices. We also see the development of dualist thinking which supports the extremist’s’ view of the world, other cultures, religions and western society.

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Alan Malcher

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Lonely Courage – the story of the SOE Heroines in Occupied France. A talk by Rick Stroud

Introduction

A talk by Rick Stroud on Wednesday 11 April 2018 in The Kincaid Gallery, The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum. (see link at bottom of page)

“The French Resistance began almost as soon as France surrendered to Germany. At first it was small, disorganised groups of men and women working in isolation but by 1944 around 400,000 French citizens (nearly 2% of the population) were involved. The Special Operations Executive (SOE) set up in 1941 saw its role in France as recruiting and organising guerrilla fighters; supplying and training them; and disrupting the Germans by any means, including sabotage, collection of intelligence and dissemination of black propaganda.

Infiltrated into France and operating in Resistance circuits the basic SOE unit was a team of three: a leader, a wireless operator and a courier, many of them women. This is the story of those women, their selection, training, dropping into occupied France and their attempts to survive on a daily basis whilst being hunted by the Gestapo. Some survived by luck through the war, whilst others were captured, tortured and executed before the Nazis final capitulation.

Rick Stroud is a writer and television director who has directed such actors as Pierce Brosnan, John Hurt,and Joanna Lumley. He is the author of several books including Rifleman, the story of Vic Gregg, ex 2RB. He is currently working on a book about the kidnapping by the SOE of General Kreipe from his headquarters on Nazi occupied Crete.”(Ricard Shroud April 2018)

Talk by Rick Stroud

The legendary Nancy Wake who served in wartime France with Britain’s SOE (Special Operations Executive)

The following short documentary by ABC Australia provides an overview of the life of Nancy Wake who was dropped by parachute into wartime France to organise resistance and subversive warfare.

Virginia Hall the American agent who worked for Britain’s SOE (Special Operations Executive) in wartime France before later serving with the American OSS and CIA

A short but interesting account of Virginia Hall’s service during the Second World War.

Making the Spark, Feeding the flame – lecture by historian Mark Seaman

In 2015 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Denmark from German occupation (1940-45), Museum Vestsjaelland hosted an international seminar on 2nd May 2015 attended by historians, WWII veterans, descendants of allied airmen, descendants of Danish resistance fighters, and members of the public. The four key lectures are available here on the Museum Vestsjaelland’s Youtube channel. Historian and SOE specialist Mark Seaman describes the establishment and organisation of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the Danish resistance movement.

The crew of USAAF B-17 ‘Mi Amigo’ 22 February 1944

On 20 February 1944 a B-17 bomber (Flying Fortress) which the crew called ‘Mi Amigo’ was part of the 305^th Bombardment Group, US 8^th Army Airforce based at Chelveston Airfield in Northamptonshire and ‘Mi Amigo’ was one of 700 American B-17 bombers involved in Operation Argument.

Operation Argument was an intensive one-week joint operation with RAF bomber command to destroy high value and heavily defended aircraft factories and Luftwaffe airfields in Alaborg Denmark and Leipzig Germany and the bombers had to run the gauntlet of extensive anti-aircraft artillery and German fighters.

On 22 February there was heavy fog over the Luftwaffe base in Alaborg and the target could not be seen from the air as the B-17’s were being attacked by swarms of German fighters during which three American aircraft were shot down and most of their crews were killed or captured. Due to the fog and continuous waves of German fighters the mission was aborted; the surviving aircraft began their return to England and once they reached the North Sea, they started jettisoning their bombs.

Mi Amigo had been extensively damaged and there were concerns one or more of its engines would seize up before reaching England, but the crew managed to dump their 4,000 lb bomb load over the sea.

According to historian Paul Allonby, Mi Amigo was several miles from its base in England and its engines which had all been damaged were fading quickly as its pilot Lt Kriegshauser steered his crippled B-17 out of thick clouds and found they were over a major city in Sheffield. As he looked for a suitable field for a crash landing, he could only see houses, roads and trees and then in the distance he saw a large field called Encliffee Park which was a public play area with thick woods behind it.

Lt Kriegshauser prepared his crew for a crash landing and started his final approach when he suddenly saw a large group of children playing in the field and immediately aborted the landing in the full knowledge his aircraft would crash into the woods.

After crashing the wreckage of the B-17 was scattered across the hillside, the aircraft was split into two and the front section was on fire and the crew were dead.

Several eyewitnesses say the aircraft circled the park for some time and it is believed the pilot sacrificed the lives of himself and his crew to avoid a group of children in the field.

Lt Kriegshauser was posthumously awarded the US Distinguished Flying Cross.

During the crash a large number of trees had been destroyed and in 1969 a grove of American Oakes was planted to honour the crew of Mi Amigo. There is also a memorial to the crew in the park and Tony Foulds who was one of the children in the park at the time of the crash continues to personally tend the memorial.

On 22 February 2019 after a long campaign by Tony Foulds, who is now 82 years old, British and American military aircraft took part in a flypast over Endcliffee Park in Sheffield to mark the 75^th anniversary of the American crew of the bomber Mi Amigo.

Tony Foulds ar 82, who was one of the children playing in the field

Louis Strange MC, DFC (bar)

During the First World War there are many accounts of RFC (Royal Flying Corp) pilots modifying their aircraft. Whilst serving with No. 6 Squadron on the Western Front Pilot Officer Louis Strange decided to improve the fire power and accuracy of his aircraft by fitting a Lewis Machine Gun on the top wing above the cockpit of his Martinsyde S.1 Scout.

On 10 May 1915 Strange was engaged in aerial combat against a German Aviatik two-seater and during the lengthy dog fight Strange had to reload his Lewis Gun. After standing up in the cockpit to change the drum his aircraft immediately became unstable, flipped on its back and Strange was thrown from the aircraft but managed to grab the ammunition drum which was still attached to the Lewis Gun.

As his aircraft started to develop a slow spin towards the ground from five thousand feet strange was seen hanging from his inverted aircraft.

Strange later explained: “I kept kicking upwards behind me until at last I got a foot and then the other hooked inside the cockpit. Somehow, I got the stick between my legs again and jammed on full aileron and elevator; I don’t know exactly what happened then, but the trick was done. The machine came over the right way up and I fell off the top plane and into my seat with a bump.”

It was later estimated Strange was only 500 feet from the ground before he eventually regained control of his aircraft.

On his return to the airfield Strange was reprimanded for causing unnecessary damage to his instrument panel and seat.

During the Second World War Strange was too old for operational flying and on 21 May 1940 was the control officer with No. 34 Squadron (RAF) at Mervile. After the airfield had been evacuated and with no other pilots available, Strange flew a Hurricane fighter back to England. Apart from this being an advanced aircraft he had never flown before the guns had been removed and most of the instruments were missing.

At 8000 feet Strange dodged anti-aircraft artillery before being attacked by several Messerschmitt Bf 109’s and was forced to fly at very low level to lose his attackers. One month later Strange was awarded a bar for his DSO.

Awards and citations

Distinguished Service Order

Lieut. Louis Arbon Strange, M.C., D.F.C.

For his exceptional services in organising his wing and his brilliant leadership on low bombing raids this officer was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross not long ago. Since then, by his fine example and inspiring personal influence, he has raised his wing to still higher efficiency and morale, the enthusiasm displayed by the various squadrons for low-flying raids being most marked. On 30th October he accompanied one of these raids against an aerodrome; watching the work of his machines, he waited until they had finished and then dropped his bombs from one hundred feet altitude on hangars that were undamaged; he then attacked troops and transport in the vicinity of the aerodrome. While thus engaged he saw eight Fokkers flying above him ; at once he climbed and attacked them single-handed; having driven one down out of control he was fiercely engaged by the other seven, but he maintained the combat until rescued by a patrol of our scouts.

London Gazette, 7 February 1919[24]

Military Cross

Second Lieutenant (temporary Captain) L. A. Strange, The Dorsetshire Regiment and Royal Flying Corps.

For gallantry and ability on reconnaissance and other duties on numerous occasions, especially on the occasion when he dropped three bombs from a height of only 200 feet on the railway junction at Courtrai; whilst being assailed by heavy rifle fire.

— London Gazette, 27 March 1915[15]

Distinguished Flying Cross

Lieut. Louis Arbon Strange, M.C. (Dorset R).

To this officer must be given the main credit of the complete success attained in two recent bombing raids on important enemy aerodromes. In organising these raids his careful attention to detail and well-thought-out plans were most creditable. During the operations themselves his gallantry in attack and fine leadership inspired all those taking part.

— London Gazette, 21 June 1940[39]

Bar to the Distinguished Flying Cross

Pilot Officer Louis Arbon Strange, D.S.O., M.C., D.F.C. (78522), R.A.F. Volunteer Reserve.

Pilot Officer Strange was detailed to proceed from Hendon to Merville to act as ground control officer during the arrival and departure of various aircraft carrying food supplies. He displayed great skill and determination whilst under heavy bombing attacks and machine-gun fire at Merville, where he was responsible for the repair and successful despatch of two aircraft to England. In the last remaining aircraft, which was repaired under his supervision, he returned to Hendon, in spite of being repeatedly attacked by Messerschmitts until well out to sea. He had no guns in action and had never flown this type of aircraft previously, but his brilliant piloting enabled him to return with this much needed aircraft.