Virtual risk: The role of new media in violent and nonviolent ideological groups

In January 2007, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York declared her candidacy for the 2008 presidential elections by posting a video on her web site declaring “I'm in.” She followed this with a series of “web chats” with voters on current issues and concerns (CNN, 2007). Senator Clinton's use of the Internet as her initial medium for communicating with voters is emblematic of the importance new media plays in today's society. According to the World Bank, in the United States in 2004, roughly 63 percent of the population could be considered “Internet users” (Internet World Stats, 2007). Of that group, 88 percent say the Internet plays a role in their daily routines (Pew Internet and American Life Project, 2004). Over one billion people worldwide are online (Internet World Stats, 2007), and the material they are being exposed to is not always prosocial. For example, according to the an intelligence report by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), there were 524 U.S. hate web sites online in 2005, up 12 percent from the previous year (Potok, 2006).