From October 20-23, 2020, NATO’s Centre of Excellence Defence Against Terrorism (COE-DAT) organized an online course on ‘Terrorism and Media.’ Stephanie Foggett, Resident Fellow at The Soufan Center, provided two lectures on the theme. A lecture on ‘Media and Contemporary Terrorism’ looked at why it remains important for NATO and partners to understand the media and communications landscape and how this landscape intersects with security challenges, especially international terrorism. Another lecture looked at ‘Gender & Online Extremism,’ applying a gender analysis lens to contemporary terrorism and violent extremism, with a particular focus on far-right extremism and white supremacy online. As well as looking specifically at women within these movements, the lecture also noted another concerning trend: the radicalization and recruitment of young people, especially boys, into far-right, neo-Nazi and violent white supremacist movements. “A gender lens can provide observers with the full picture of what is going on within these movements and can better support our response by recognizing that an issue or situation can impact men, women, girls and boys in different ways,” concluded Ms. Foggett.
