PhD Ceremony J.D.R. Hutchinson (CMJS), Online extremist ecosystems

J.D.R. (Jade) Hutchinson will defend their doctoral thesis on Thursday 11 September 2025.

Online extremist ecosystems

How a network of platforms and devices shape far-right and involuntary celibate extremism and violence

Promotores:

• prof. dr. M.J. Broersma
• prof. dr. J. Droogan
• dr. B. Ganesh

The University Library publishes the thesis digitally after the defence ceremony

Abstract:

Far-right and involuntary celibate extremists are said to populate an “online extremist ecosystem” of digital media environments. Online violent extremists are said to use this “ecosystem” to access outcomes that were previously unattainable. Yet there remained fundamental knowledge gaps in understanding the advantageous and limits of using ecosystems to understand and address far-right and involuntary celibate online violent extremism. This foundational theoretical and empirical study critically assessed whether ecosystems offered a greater or lesser understanding of these communities in the Australian and Canadian context and examined how individual involvement in these communities is shaped by digital media software and hardware.