12 March 2025
Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses (CTTA) – Volume 17 Issue 02
The Nexus of Misinformation, Disinformation and Conspiracy Theories with Violent Extremism
In a hyperconnected world, the decentralised flow of information on social media has mainstreamed conspiracy theories, allowing violent extremists to recruit and radicalise young people by weaponising misinformation and disinformation campaigns. The World Economic Forum’s annual Global Risk Report 2024 outlines misinformation and disinformation as the top short-term risks to states around the world. The far-right riots in the United Kingdom in August 2024 following the Southport attack exemplify the nexus of disinformation with violent extremism.
The role of misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories as radicalising agents becomes even more acute against the backdrop of a meteoric increase in online self-radicalisation among young people, as noted in the UN Monitoring Committee on ISIL and Al-Qaeda’s 35th report. Alarmingly, the age of online radicals is not only getting younger, including minors and teenagers, but “the gestation period from radicalisation to activation” has also gotten shorter.
The impact of misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories with reference to violent extremism varies across regions and countries. Countries with high digital literacy rates and robust laws and policies against misinformation, such as Singapore, are better positioned to address such a threat. However, for fragile states such as those in South Asia and the Middle East, the security challenges from online radicalisation are stark, especially as people consume unverified and malicious information less critically.
Against this backdrop, the current issue features four articles examining the role of misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories in facilitating and fomenting violent extremism in Syria, the UK, South Asia, and Singapore. In the first article, Ghada Soliman examines the role of disinformation campaigns in the battle for influence and power in post-Assad Syria. Disinformation in support of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) emerged in the lead-up to the operation that took Damascus and have since proliferated to improve the group’s credibility as a legitimate and unifying authority. However, disinformation campaigns against HTS also exist, as other groups, such as the Southern Operation Room, the Syrian Democratic Forces, and the Islamic State terrorist group, continue to vie for power. Disinformation campaigns will likely persist amidst this rivalry, obfuscating public perception and further polarising communities in Syria.
In the second article, Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan discusses the disinformation campaign by far right groups that underpinned one of the worst violent riots in the UK in recent times. The violent riots of July and August 2024 marked the high-water point for far right violence in the UK in the last two decades. The riots erupted in the aftermath of a stabbing attack in Southport on 29 July. Initial social media posts falsely identified the attacker as a recently arrived Muslim immigrant, sparking attacks on Islamic sites. Subsequently when it was revealed that the attacker was a man of Rwandan Christian background, the violence expanded to broader anti-immigrant aggression. The article examines how far right disinformation on social media instigated these attacks. It explores the UK far right’s transition from structured organisations to decentralised networks and analyses disinformation on Telegram and X, focusing on narratives targeting Muslims, immigrants, and Jewish communities.
In the third article, Abdul Basit explores the link between disinformation, conspiracy theories, and violent extremism in South Asia. Through anti-minority rhetoric, theories about superpower intervention in the region, or anti-vaccination sentiments, extremist groups in the region have exploited conspiracies to legitimise their violent cause and radicalise others. The author highlights how disinformation and conspiracy theories have become integral components of violent extremists’ toolkits in South Asia, enabling groups to recruit, fundraise, and call for violent action.
In the fourth article, Gulizar Haciyakupoglu and Yasmine Wong note that while Singapore has been spared from the types of disinformation triggered violence seen in other parts of the world, Singapore is not immune to disinformation campaigns or the possibility of disinformation triggered violence. The authors point to various instances of disinformation in Singapore that were meant to influence perceptions on various issues, organisations and communities. Even where disinformation does not lead to physical violence, it causes trauma and psychological harm. The authors make a case for broadening interpretations of violence to include psychological violence.
The Nexus of Misinformation, Disinformation and Conspiracy Theories with Violent Extremism
In a hyperconnected world, the decentralised flow of information on social media has mainstreamed conspiracy theories, allowing violent extremists to recruit and radicalise young people by weaponising misinformation and disinformation campaigns. The World Economic Forum’s annual Global Risk Report 2024 outlines misinformation and disinformation as the top short-term risks to states around the world. The far-right riots in the United Kingdom in August 2024 following the Southport attack exemplify the nexus of disinformation with violent extremism.
The role of misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories as radicalising agents becomes even more acute against the backdrop of a meteoric increase in online self-radicalisation among young people, as noted in the UN Monitoring Committee on ISIL and Al-Qaeda’s 35th report. Alarmingly, the age of online radicals is not only getting younger, including minors and teenagers, but “the gestation period from radicalisation to activation” has also gotten shorter.
The impact of misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories with reference to violent extremism varies across regions and countries. Countries with high digital literacy rates and robust laws and policies against misinformation, such as Singapore, are better positioned to address such a threat. However, for fragile states such as those in South Asia and the Middle East, the security challenges from online radicalisation are stark, especially as people consume unverified and malicious information less critically.
Against this backdrop, the current issue features four articles examining the role of misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories in facilitating and fomenting violent extremism in Syria, the UK, South Asia, and Singapore. In the first article, Ghada Soliman examines the role of disinformation campaigns in the battle for influence and power in post-Assad Syria. Disinformation in support of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) emerged in the lead-up to the operation that took Damascus and have since proliferated to improve the group’s credibility as a legitimate and unifying authority. However, disinformation campaigns against HTS also exist, as other groups, such as the Southern Operation Room, the Syrian Democratic Forces, and the Islamic State terrorist group, continue to vie for power. Disinformation campaigns will likely persist amidst this rivalry, obfuscating public perception and further polarising communities in Syria.
In the second article, Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan discusses the disinformation campaign by far right groups that underpinned one of the worst violent riots in the UK in recent times. The violent riots of July and August 2024 marked the high-water point for far right violence in the UK in the last two decades. The riots erupted in the aftermath of a stabbing attack in Southport on 29 July. Initial social media posts falsely identified the attacker as a recently arrived Muslim immigrant, sparking attacks on Islamic sites. Subsequently when it was revealed that the attacker was a man of Rwandan Christian background, the violence expanded to broader anti-immigrant aggression. The article examines how far right disinformation on social media instigated these attacks. It explores the UK far right’s transition from structured organisations to decentralised networks and analyses disinformation on Telegram and X, focusing on narratives targeting Muslims, immigrants, and Jewish communities.
In the third article, Abdul Basit explores the link between disinformation, conspiracy theories, and violent extremism in South Asia. Through anti-minority rhetoric, theories about superpower intervention in the region, or anti-vaccination sentiments, extremist groups in the region have exploited conspiracies to legitimise their violent cause and radicalise others. The author highlights how disinformation and conspiracy theories have become integral components of violent extremists’ toolkits in South Asia, enabling groups to recruit, fundraise, and call for violent action.
In the fourth article, Gulizar Haciyakupoglu and Yasmine Wong note that while Singapore has been spared from the types of disinformation triggered violence seen in other parts of the world, Singapore is not immune to disinformation campaigns or the possibility of disinformation triggered violence. The authors point to various instances of disinformation in Singapore that were meant to influence perceptions on various issues, organisations and communities. Even where disinformation does not lead to physical violence, it causes trauma and psychological harm. The authors make a case for broadening interpretations of violence to include psychological violence.
