Symbiotic radicalisation strategies: Propaganda tools and neuro linguistic programming

The rise of Islamic State has seen a rise in the threat and incidences of domestic terrorism. Sophisticated strategies are being used to target youth and draw them into the ideology of Islamic state and other terrorist groups. Two common strategies used by Islamic State are the use of propaganda tools as well as Neuro linguistic programming strategies. This paper looks at how these strategies were used through a longitudinal online ethnographic study on the social media site Facebook. Data collected revealed that these two strategies were used in a targeted manner and worked together in a symbiotic fashion to create a change in the mental frameworks of an individual. Both strategies worked in the linguistic domain to help shape and internalise key discourses and ideologies. Finally, these strategies were used implicitly without any direct references on how to achieve change.