Extremism in the Digital Age: Measuring the Internet’s Role in (Violent) Politically Motivated Crime

The rise of digital environments has raised concerns about how they contribute to and facilitatepolitically motivated crime (PMC), reshaping the processes of radicalization, extremism, andterrorism. This study distinguishes between PMC-online, crimes mediated through the internet, andstrictly offline PMC, analyzing the prevalence and characteristics of over 550,000 geo-locatedpolitically motivated crimes from 2010 to 2023, as recorded by the Federal Criminal Police Office inGermany. Using hierarchical regression and qualitative validation, we test whether the prevalence ofPMC-online has increased over time and within rural areas. Additionally, we examine ideologicaldifferences in PMC-online and compare the severity and topics of these crimes with their offlinecounterparts.Our findings reveal that, while offline PMC remains more frequent and severe, PMC-online isgrowing rapidly, especially in rural contexts, even accounting for digitalization effects. PMC-onlineprimarily targets outgroups with attacks and insults, potentially promoting polarization and hatred indigital spaces. Although digital environments still serve functions like spreading propaganda andrecruitment, the volume of digital extremist acts, such as threats or defamation, far surpasses thesecommonly researched uses. This study provides the first systematic empirical review of thedigitalization of PMC, emphasizing the internet's role in shaping modern extremism and terrorism.