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Teens and young adults can be exposed to online hate via mainstream and fringe social networking sites, messaging applications, video sharing platforms, and online-gaming communication channels. Violent extremists use these online spaces to promote their propaganda and share their hateful or violent ideologies, often disguised as entertaining content. To increase the online safety of teens and young adults, caregivers need to understand the platforms where hate is most prevalent.

Here are some of the main platforms where teens and young adults see hate online:

Messaging Applications

A messaging application or “app” is a chat application or platform that enables users to instant message and connect with each other through their computers or mobile devices.[1] Messaging apps include Facebook Messenger, Kik, WhatsApp, WeChat, Snap, Telegram, and Slack, to name a few. These apps are easy to use and provide a free, easy way to instantly connect with others around the world. However, their lack of security measures may expose youth and young adults to unwanted contact and unmonitored distribution of information and materials. Messaging apps have increasingly become a space where violent extremists communicate their message and recruit new members to their movement.

[1] Encryption refers to the process of scrambling data so that messages cannot be read by anyone other than the sender and recipient

Following the U.S. Capitol insurrection, Telegram became the most downloaded messaging app in the US. Telegram allows users to have conversations on public channels and to also have secret chats with self-destructing messages, photos, and videos. These encrypted chats[2] and group chats remain private between the people chatting. This privacy allows violent extremists to use the public side of Telegram to expose others to their violent extremist beliefs. They then use the private chats to share their tactics, recruit, and organize. Telegram’s file storage feature allows violent extremists to share videos and manifestos that can inspire people to commit violent extremist acts. Telegram has become a convenient tool for right-wing extremists and is used frequently by neo-Nazis, white nationalists, and antigovernment extremists.

Recommended Age: 16 and up (Age not required to register)

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[2] Encryption refers to the process of scrambling data so that messages cannot be read by anyone other than the sender and recipient

Rocket.Chat

Rocket.Chat is an online instant messaging platform that allows for the creation of private and public chatrooms and one-on-one conversations with other users. The platform was originally designed for office collaborations, much like Slack. However, because it automatically translates posts between languages, it provides a useful space for transnational extremist groups to collaborate and recruit members. Rocket.Chat is known as the platform of choice for jihadists. It poses a threat for recruitment of youth into terrorism groups in the U.S. and abroad.

Required Age: 13 and up

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Social Networking Sites

Social networking sites allow individuals to create a public profile and interact with others online, including family, friends, and strangers. In the 2000s, mainstream social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter were used by violent extremists to spread their hateful ideologies and recruit. In recent years, Facebook and Twitter attempted, in a limited manner, to block violent extremist users from using their sites to amplify these ideologies. As a result, new platforms, like Parler, were created and promoted as a much friendlier platform to potential users and those looking to engage in recruitment activities.

Facebook

Anyone over the age of 13 can use Facebook. Facebook allows you to send messages and post status updates to stay in touch with friends and family. You can also share videos, photos, and links to outside media on your Facebook page. Information shared on Facebook is more public than other platforms, which means it can usually be seen by many other people. Extremist individuals and groups use Facebook to bring their propaganda to a wider audience. Their Facebook groups and pages serve as a gateway to other extremist websites where more radical content can be found.

Required Age: 13 and up

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Twitter

People use twitter to communicate using short messages called tweets. These short messages are posted so that anyone that follows you on Twitter can read what you have to say. Twitter is available globally and is supported in 35 languages, giving extremists an international recruiting ground. Many extremist organizations use Twitter to issue statements and press releases, disseminate propaganda, and provide justification or encouragement for attacks. Recruiters can contact users that retweet their posts or leave favorable comments on their tweet.[3] Finally, extremists who have mobilized to violence can use Twitter nearly in real time to coordinate attacks.

Required Age: 13 and up

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[3] https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/Publications/cops-w0741-pub.pdf

Reddit is a platform that combines aspects of social media, news sites, and message boards. It creates a community that is driven by conversation where content is socially curated and promoted by site members through voting. The site name is a play on the words “I read it.” Reddit member registration is free, and it is required to use the website’s basic features. Reddit is designed for adult users, not kids. It’s not a safe place for kids or younger teens because of risks including predators, misinformation, and dangerous online challenges. Reddit contains a lot of inappropriate material, hate speech, and white supremacy content.

Required Age: 13 and up

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Parler

Parler is a platform like Twitter that surged in popularity in 2021 and provided an alternative to Twitter. Parler is a cross between Twitter and Instagram. This platform has had less stringent community guidelines than Twitter and has previously allowed users to call for violence. Under new leadership, Parler now indicates that it has established community guidelines and content moderation. However, Parler has been found to be a haven for hate groups, extremists, and conspiracy theorists. The attacks on the U.S. Capitol building were planned using Parler.

Recommended Age: 13 and up (Verification not required to sign up)

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Gaming-Adjacent Communication Platforms

Gaming-adjacent communication platforms are popular in the video game community. There is little evidence of recruitment and radicalization inside video game chats; however, gaming-adjacent communications platforms meant to connect gamers outside of the online games themselves have attracted violent extremists. Platforms such as Discord, Twitch, DLive, and Steam provide a safe space for violent extremist communities to discuss their ideas. If young people unknowingly join one of these spaces, they run the risk of being radicalized.

Discord

Discord is a free voice, video, and text chat app that can be accessed via mobile phones and computers. Conversations on Discord are driven by shared interests. Discord was designed as a platform for gamers to communicate with each other while playing video games. Discord allows users to speak to each other in real time through the creation of chatrooms. These chatrooms can then be used for any purpose, including sharing hateful or ideological material and discussing extremist movements. Members, on average, are 15 years old and the app does not use algorithms to moderate what should be seen.

Required Age: 13 and up

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Twitch

Twitch is a video-streaming platform that offers a social way to watch people play games. Through the Twitch app and online at Twitch.tv, gamers, known as “streamers,” broadcast their matches while providing running commentary on the action. In the past, extremist activists have used Twitch to livestream. Twitch has also been used to promote extremist ideologies and broadcast terrorist attacks live.

Required Age: 13 and up

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Video Sharing Platforms

Video sharing platforms are particularly popular with teens and young adults. They allow users to upload videos, share videos with other users and view, rate, and comment on videos uploaded by other users. Some of these platforms also allow users to subscribe to the channels and public activities of others. Extremists use these platforms to broadcast their own ideologies, since graphic videos with hate-based violence can easily go viral.

Tiktok

TikTok is a social media platform for creating, sharing, and discovering short videos. TikTok uses algorithms to populate their “For You” page based on the types of videos that a user regularly interacts with. The app is popular with young people as an outlet to express themselves through singing, dancing, comedy, and lip-syncing. Tik Tok has been found to contain large numbers of anti-Semitic and racist content and is used by extremists to promote hate. Extremist TikTok videos combine audio, video, and text to avoid violating community guidelines. In addition, TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company, causing concern around manipulation of algorithms to sow disinformation or spread divisive content.

Required Age: 13 and up

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Instagram

Instagram is a free photo and video sharing app available on iPhone and Android. Users upload and share static posts photos or videos as we livestream videos and stories which disappear after 24 hours. Many teenagers use Instagram to connect with friends, to explore their identity, and to catch up on current events. However, some young people create separate fake Instagram or “Finstagram” accounts through which they access content without their caretaker’s knowledge.

Extremists use Instagram to promote conspiracy theories, viral misinformation, and extremist memes. They will combine videos and memes with hateful rhetoric, conspiracy theories and jokes based on violent hate. Instagram’s algorithms have been found to push people further towards the fringes. Facebook bought Instagram in 2012, so any data-sharing concerns surrounding Facebook also apply to Instagram.

Required Age: 13 and up

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YouTube

A free video sharing service where users can watch, like, share, comment and upload their own videos. The video service can be accessed on PCs, laptops, tablets and via mobile phones. A Google account is used to create a YouTube account which then allows you to watch videos or create your own content. Although individuals of all ages use this platform, YouTube is particularly popular among younger people who prefer the variety of content and interactive components over traditional television. Many use it for entertainment purposes, for learning how to do something (tutorials), for keeping up with their favorite artists’ latest music videos, and more. Extremists use YouTube to post visually appealing videos to draw young people in. YouTube algorithms then “recommend” similar videos from alternative and extremist channels.

Required Age: 13 and up (YouTube Kids available for younger children)

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