T
thevenon
Veteran
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- Joined
- Aug 17, 2021
- Posts
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While the threat to Asia seemingly remains limited for now, some incels have ambitions, at the very least, of a global revolution. “Do you mean like an incel caliphate?” one forum user pondered, responding to an August 2018 thread debating a possible incel revolution. He added: “Like instead of ISIS it will be incels who make terror attacks all around the world? If so, then i think it has already begun and it will be more powerful in Future.” Similarly, a November 2018 thread titled “This world needs to be cleansed” featured a commenter noting that “I’d rather live in a dystopia that what we have now. Human society & western culture needs to be destroyed and then rebuilt or reset.” If aspects of the incel community’s rhetoric is to be believed, there are darker days ahead in the efforts to combat incel violence.
The involuntary celibate movement has metastasized from a small online support system to a substantial subculture of theonline “manosphere,” which is increasingly turning to terroristic violence to spread its message and seek revenge for perceived wrongdoings. For now, it remains a fringe threat, isolated to the West - but Asian law enforcement and intelligence agencies should be aware of the movement, its ideological and geographical trends, and the possibility for violence. Governments, including those in Southeast Asia, can take steps towards countering online extremism by encouraging tech companies to take more responsibility for harmful content online, and by helping protect young people from radicalisation by encouraging internet literacy and easy access to mental health resources, both online and offline.
The involuntary celibate movement has metastasized from a small online support system to a substantial subculture of theonline “manosphere,” which is increasingly turning to terroristic violence to spread its message and seek revenge for perceived wrongdoings. For now, it remains a fringe threat, isolated to the West - but Asian law enforcement and intelligence agencies should be aware of the movement, its ideological and geographical trends, and the possibility for violence. Governments, including those in Southeast Asia, can take steps towards countering online extremism by encouraging tech companies to take more responsibility for harmful content online, and by helping protect young people from radicalisation by encouraging internet literacy and easy access to mental health resources, both online and offline.