Propaganda teroristă şi orchestrarea violenţei în mediul online

Abstract

In this paper I investigate the main characteristics of the propaganda associated with the recent development of Internet-oriented terrorism. In the first section I will present the thesis defended by some prominent authorities (like Edward Bernays, Walter Lipmann or Jacques Ellul) according to which propaganda is a necessary and useful mechanism for organising public opinion and public action in the “technological civilisation” specific to our contemporary society. And I will add that the organising function of propaganda became even more important in the contemporary society dominated by computer-mediated communication and social media. However, these communication media and their virtues which helped them develop into vital instruments of our everyday life also captured the attention of terrorist organisations. Acknowledging the vulnerability of our western societies to propaganda campaigns, present-day terrorism has become more and more Internet-oriented and has developed new and unscrupulous ways of using the great potential of the new media. Following the contributions of some important specialists in the field of terrorist propaganda (and especially those of Gabriel Weimann) I will present and analyse the ways in which present-day terrorist use Internet and emphasize the complexity of the challenge to identify the appropriate way to react to this massive terrorist campaign in an effective way that will not alter the special character of our democratic societies.