Masking violent content with religious symbology in jihadist videos: a case study of the terrorist organization Jabhat al Nusrah on YouTube
Abstract
YouTube is currently facing an exponential proliferation of content openly endorsing hate speech. In the case at hand, we propose as a hypothesis (H1) that the use of symbolic content allows for the dissemination of a jihadist ideology on YouTube without the need to be particularly explicit in promoting violent discourse. Thus, a strategic masking formula is employed, which enables online products to be sustained for a considerable amount of time, effectively bypassing content restriction policies. To verify this hypothesis, we conducted a symbolic analysis of a documentary piece titled "Heirs of Glory," disseminated on YouTube and produced by a jihadist organization known as Jabhat al Nusrah. The results indicate that 74.04% of the scenes in the piece show symbolic content of a jihadist nature, whose religious exegesis precisely favors a masking of extremist doctrine.
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