Withdrawal to the shadows: dark social media as opportunity structures for extremism

Abstract

Dark social media has been described as a home base for extremists and a breeding ground for dark participation. Beyond the description of single cases, it often remains unclear what exactly is meant by dark social media and which opportunity structures for extremism emerge on these applications. The current paper contributes to filling this gap. We present a theoretical framework conceptualizing dark social media as opportunity structures shaped by (a) regulation on the macro-level; (b) different genres and types of (dark) social media as influence factors on the meso level; and (c) individual attitudes, salient norms, and technological affordances on the micro-level. The results of a platform analysis and a scoping review identified meaningful differences between dark social media of different types. Particularly social counter-media and fringe communities positioned themselves as "safe havens" for dark participation, indicating a high tolerance for accordant content. This makes them a fertile ground for those spreading extremist worldviews, consuming such content, or engaging in dark participation. Context-bound alternative social media were comparable to mainstream social media but oriented towards different legal spaces and were more intertwined with governments in China and Russia. Private-first channels such as Instant messengers were rooted in private communication. Yet, particularly Telegram also included far-reaching public communication formats and optimal opportunities for the convergence of mass, group, and interpersonal communication. Overall, we show that a closer examination of different types and genres of social media provides a more nuanced understanding of shifting opportunity structures for extremism in the digital realm.