Hidden in plain sight: the insidious spread of online radicalization

Raise your hand if you know someone who was radicalized online during COVID-19. A lot of people have gone down an online video rabbit hole and emerged with some pretty wild beliefs and worldviews. Some situations strain families. Other times, the outcomes can be a lot worse. When we hear about tragedies like mass shootings, we often hear the term online radicalization attached to the person behind the atrocity. So how does this happen, how does someone become radicalized? What does that look like, and how easy is it to fall down the rabbit hole? We asked Dr. Dustin Kidd, Associate Professor and Chair of the Sociology Department at Temple University.