Incel Ideology: a murky new form of incubated online extremism | shooting plymouth

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For several years, those whose job description includes keeping the nation safe from terrorism have been documenting something completely new and chaotic. Thursday’s deadly frenzy in the streets of Plymouth only confirmed that a new terrorist threat had arrived.

The traditional silos of the far right and Islamic extremism are disappearing. Instead, the security services monitor individuals who have taken a mixed approach to extremist ideologies, and are able to accommodate the views of Tommy Robinson along with Osama bin Laden, often adding a layer of conspiracy theory and fanciful metaphors to achieve good measure. Individuals who casually jump between fascist, Islamist or misogynistic orthodoxy are increasingly appearing on the radar of intelligence agencies.

The embodied ideology pursued by Jake Davison belongs to this new hazy extremism – embraced, promoted, and armed on the Internet.

What has not changed are those who have been seduced. Socially isolated individuals who have little interest in society, such as Davison, are most vulnerable. The pandemic has amplified many people’s feelings of marginalization. However, even before the first lockdown, the internal ideology was increasingly popular. They are rarely categorized into a governmental category known as “mixed, unstable, and unclear” ideologies. This category made up more than half of all PTP referrals in 2019/20 – up from just 11% three years earlier.

Thursday’s killings will mean the internet’s “human sphere” is under new scrutiny, as its sprawling decentralized network of chat rooms and gaming platforms helps normalize misogyny. However, any attempt to stamp out such hatred may only push its members to migrate to newer, ungoverned Internet platforms.

History will likely judge the police’s decision not to classify last Thursday’s attack as a terrorist incident as a mistake. Terrorism, by definition, is the threat or use of an act to intimidate a public to advance a political, religious, racial, or ideological cause.

Immediately, it appears to reflect that Devon and Cornwall police are not aware of the emerging threat of “mixed, unstable or unclear” ideology.

It is a decision that is unlikely to be repeated. The next Davison is likely to be known as the terrorist.

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