Social media is becoming an increasingly useful tool for radicalisation and the recruitment and mobilisation of individuals for extremist activities. India, with its unique socio-political landscape, is particularly susceptible to the misuse of social media. This brief explores the challenges posed by social media extremism in India and globally. It examines the psychological and societal impacts of platforms like X, the interplay between local and international propaganda, and the limitations of existing regulatory measures. The brief makes a case for a multi-pronged strategy for addressing these gaps to allow India to effectively counter the evolving threats of social media extremism while balancing security needs with the right to freedom of expression.
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Propaganda is a powerful tool for influencing public opinion and normalising violence. For extremists, a primary propaganda strategy is the exploitation of individuals’ vulnerabilities—such as emotional instability, social isolation, dissatisfaction with government policies, and the desire for belonging or respect—to create an “us vs. them” mentality, often using psychological warfare to dehumanise perceived adversaries and justify violence.
In recent years, extremist actors have increasingly used social media platforms—low-cost, fast, decentralised, and globally connected—to spread their ideologies, recruit followers, and foster support for their activities. Terrorist groups are turning to the internet for activities such as recruitment and the dissemination of violent content through tools such as hashtags, videos, images, and open letters. Though social media is an enabler rather than a primary driver of violent radicalisation, its role in reinforcing extremist ideologies, identifying potential recruits, and fostering engagement cannot be underestimated.
Each platform offers unique advantages to extremist groups. Facebook, for example, acts as a decentralised hub for sharing information; X allows for rapid communication and engagement with global audiences; and YouTube is the preferred platform for video propaganda that is often tailored to resonate with specific cultural and linguistic audiences.
As of 2024, there were around 5.35 billion internet users worldwide, each generating approximately 15.87 Terabytes (TB) of data, including 500 million tweets on X, daily. Facebook had the highest number of visitors globally in 2023, producing around 4,000 TB of data daily that year. The same study found that WhatsApp users share the most number of images, with 6.9 billion photos shared between users daily, followed by Snapchat, with 3.8 billion photos shared.
Terror groups can easily reach out to registered users on social media without having to build their audiences. Extremist groups exploit social media’s global reach, anonymity, and interactive capabilities by creating emotionally charged content. For radicalisation and recruitment, terror groups disseminate violent content targeting vulnerable youth, such as propaganda videos that show military training and other battlefield activities. Extremists also use video games to embed their narratives, modifying popular titles to reflect jihadist themes.
They use visual and audiovisual mediums, such as videos of attacks or symbolic imagery, to trigger powerful psychological responses and incite violent behaviour. Vulnerable individuals, particularly the youth, are drawn to these narratives, which aim to provide a sense of purpose and identity.
Understanding the methods and strategies that extremist groups use on social media is essential to countering their influence. By examining the psychological and social dynamics at play, policymakers and stakeholders can develop effective counter-narratives and interventions to address the root causes of radicalisation and prevent its spread. This will ensure that the digital space enables positive engagement rather than divisiveness, conflict, and violence.
This brief uses interviews and analyses of research material to identify propaganda strategies used by terror groups to rationalise their acts of terror and to recruit and radicalise members. Approximately 100 such images, slogans, hashtags, and social media posts in English, Hindi, and Urdu were assessed. According to the analysis, extremist groups target three kinds of audiences: the general public, for gaining sympathy and justifying their actions; the enemy group, usually the government and its various agencies; and existing members of the group to keep them motivated.
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