Online propaganda use during Islamist radicalization.

While a plethora of previous studies have described extremist propaganda content that seeks to radicalize individuals, there has been a lack of research on how individuals who have become Islamists perceive and describe the propaganda they have used. To address this issue and to explore the personal drivers and circumstances of propaganda usage, we conducted in-depth interviews (n = 44) with radicalized Muslim prisoners and former Islamists in Germany and Austria. Our results found that several types of propaganda are used in sequence as individuals undergo cognitive and behavioral radicalization. Propaganda during cognitive radicalization is characterized by religious frames, which strictly advocate Islam as the 'right' way, while propaganda used during the behavioral radicalization phase is characterized by suggestions that violence is effective, urgent, and the only way to help Muslims. This use of different kinds of propaganda can be explained by individuals' needs and the professionalism of Islamist leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]