Georgia State University’s Evidence-Based Cybersecurity Research Group (ECBS) will use a $1.4 million federal Minerva Research Initiative grant to examine the growing threat of conspiracy theories and how they lead to radicalization and acts of violence.
The three- to five-year study seeks ways to aid individuals who seek to disengage from such groups and their actions.
The spread of conspiracy theories has reached critical proportions in the United States and globally as individuals who become radicalized by false beliefs seek to engage in violent acts of terrorism. The research focus will be on how conspiracy theories become weaponized and how to disrupt the path to radicalization.
“Our goal is to design a model of intervention that will safely and securely lead participants to disengagement,” said ECBS director David Maimon. “We hope to help individuals make changes that – to date – have proven challenging and dangerous for those trying to disengage from violent extremist groups.”