ODIO 2.0: una prospettiva psicosociale sui processi di radicalizzazione online

Abstract

Hate 2.0: a psychosocial perspective on online radicalization's process. Hate spreads online against vulnerable social groups and minorities, targeted for their socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, or their ethnic and cultural identities (Vox Diritti, 2019). ICT - Information and Communication Technologies - and social media platforms especially represent a new fertile ground for the spreading of extremist and radicalized views, which legitimize forms of discrimination, violence or revenge, and foment prejudice, hatred and exclusion in offline contexts as well (Awan, 2014). The literature defines radicalization as a dynamic and composite process, characterized by a progressive and totalizing support for extremist beliefs, values and norms (Verkuyten, 2019). Radicalization emerges as a collective response in contexts of intergroup conflict in which both processes of polarization and politicization, along with those of identification with a group, play a determining role (van Stekelenburg et al., 2010). The contribution aims to offer an overview of key processes and psychosocial factors that the literature has identified as responsible for online radicalization.