Talk:Lone wolf attack

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Lone Wolf vs. Stochastic Terrorism

When the Hutus used their control over their "mass media" to demonize the Tootsies, which resulted in the Rwandan genocide, everyone understood clearly what the definition of "Stochastic Terrorism" was.

But now, due to who controls the mass media, this obvious and clear definition is obscured and clouded by fusing it with some bullshit notion of "lone wolves", while ignoring the primary characteristic, which is who controls the mass media, and who (currently) uses it to demonize which group.72.181.112.54 (talk) 17:26, 22 March 2023 (UTC)

Agreed 166.198.161.75 (talk) 14:50, 18 May 2023 (UTC)

Should Stochastic Terrorism be a separate article?

I think that stochastic terrorism is notable enough and contains enough important concepts that it should be an independent article. I am new here and don't know how things work very well. I want to write an article on Stochastic Terrorism but don't want to step on anyone's toes. I would appreciate any feedback on the suitability of my proposal or on the proper etiquette regarding starting an article with a sub-topic that is already in another article. Schrodinger's gateau (talk) 20:56, 8 April 2023 (UTC)

Hi there Schrodinger's gateau. The best etiquette here would probably be to leave this section open to see who else weighs in and then possibly proceed after a little while to follow the steps at WP:SPLIT (specifically WP:PROSPLIT. I'd recommend reading the 2018 deletion discussion that led to the Stochastic terrorism being merged here, and preparing to counter the types of arguments made there. For what it's worth, I'm likely to support a split, and I'm seeing some very usable academic sources that mention "stochastic terrorism" and not "lone wolf". Firefangledfeathers (talk / contribs) 22:24, 8 April 2023 (UTC)

@Schrodinger's gateau and Firefangledfeathers: I might prefer an undelete/restore of the article and maybe the prior versions too (2017 deletion discussion) and then add on updates from this article. The term has gained interest again (Google Trends) and with many more sources. I suggest starting with this article, Stochastic Terrorism: A Linguistic and Psychological Analysis (2021) and their update Incitement to Violence and Stochastic Terrorism: Legal, Academic, and Practical Parameters for Researchers and Investigators(2022). StrayBolt (talk) 19:52, 11 April 2023 (UTC)

StrayBolt, would you be willing to request and undeleted copy in your userspace? It's hard for those of who haven't seen that version to know if it's a useful starting point. Firefangledfeathers (talk / contribs) 20:11, 11 April 2023 (UTC)

@StrayBolt and Firefangledfeathers: May I ask for a little assistance, please. I am wondering if my split notification is functioning? Should I notify anyone directly? Is there anything else I should be doing at this point. Thanks.

@Firefangledfeathers:, Hi, I just reviewed the deletion discussion from 2018 and think that a lot has changed since it took place. Unlike many page deletions, the page was changed to a redirect, leaving the page history intact (see here). You can copy that to your userspace or Draft-space as a starting version, without needing to use WP:UNDELETE. Please ping me if you do so and I'm happy to review your draft.-Ich (talk) 13:50, 11 August 2023 (UTC)

Hi Ich. I think Schrodinger's gateau has been the main proponent of a split, and it looks like they decided to proceed with in the absence of any opposition. They haven't been active since June. Firefangledfeathers (talk / contribs) 15:58, 11 August 2023 (UTC)

Splitting Proposal

I propose that the section Stochastic Terrorism be split into a separate page called [[Stochastic Terrorism]]. Stochastic terrorism is not dependent upon the idea of lone wolf attack to give it meaning and stochastic terrorism easily meets the notability “requirement” expected of “new” articles. Since these topics were merged stochastic terrorism has been the topic of quite a few academic articles and many popular ones. These articles demonstrate not only that the notability of stochastic terrorism has increased but also that it is a complex multi-faceted subject both suggesting that it merits being a separate page.

Stochastic terrorism and lone wolf attack are independent ideas: stochastic terrorism is not an aspect of lone-wolf attacks. The authors of a recent article state “ Stochastic terrorism, moreover, is not a new term for a “lone-wolf terrorist” since it is a statistical construct rather than an adjectival inference concerning the asocial nature of an individual. In fact, recent research has found that the term “lone wolf ” is a misnomer since the social networks of individuals who carry out acts of violence without any external command or control are often broad and deep, exist both online and on the ground, and often contribute to the inspiration for an attack—even though the attack is done alone”ⁱ. Stochastic terrorism, in the most widely currently used meaning, is political demagoguery that results in a third party or parties carrying out an unpredictable act or multiple acts of targeted violence. It has also been described as a sort of “camouflaged incitement” leading to violence, however it differs, legally, in several important aspects from incitementⁱⁱ. The term stochastic terrorism is associated with the individual(s) doing the communication not the individual(s) carrying out the terrorist act(s).

From the idea of stochastic terrorism, its differentiation from that of lone-wolf attacks naturally follows: as stochastic terrorism’s effects are unpredictable, who will carry out the violence is not foreseeable. A specific incidence of stochastic terrorism may motivate a single or multiple lone-wolf attacks(s) but not necessarily; it may instead motivate a group or groups of terrorists to attack. Looking with the opposite perspective: a lone-wolf attack may be motivated partly by stochastic terrorism but not necessarily; their motivation may also be unrelated to stochastic terrorism and for example they may instead be motivated by grievances, other types of social interactions on and off-line leading to ideological radicalization or by previous membership in radical groups or movementsⁱⁱⁱ

Regarding notability, two academic articles are cited above and there are other recent published articles including: “AI and Stochastic Terrorism -Should it be done?”^iv (conference paper) and “Stochastic Terrorism, Speech Incantations, and Federal Tax Exemption”^v (forthcoming in New Mexico Law Review). And the following popular magazines are among those that have relatively recent articles on stochastic terrorism: Scientific American^vi, Business Insider^vii, Vox^viii, City Journal^ix, and Mother Jones^x.

Stochastic terrorism may sometimes be a motivation for lone wolf attacks but is not dependant on the idea of lone wolf attacks to have meaning. It is a multifaceted, nuanced idea that the provided references show is notable. In addition, stochastic terrorism is a useful idea for understanding certain media situations which recently appear to be occurring more frequently. For these reasons, in my opinion, stochastic terrorism merits its own Wikipedia page.

City Journal. “The ‘Stochastic Terror’ Lie.” Accessed April 23, 2023. https://www.city-journal.org/article/the-stochastic-terror-lie/.

Follman, Mark. “How Trump Spread Incitement of Violence throughout the GOP.” Mother Jones (blog). Accessed April 23, 2023. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/09/trump-republicans-incitement-violence-threats-stochastic-terrorism/.

Ioanes, Ellen. “An Atmosphere of Violence: Stochastic Terror in American Politics.” Vox, November 5, 2022. https://www.vox.com/2022/11/5/23441858/violence-stochastic-terror-american-politics-trump-pelosi.

Jones, Darryll Keith. “Stochastic Terrorism, Speech Incantations, and Federal Tax Exemption.” SSRN Scholarly Paper. Rochester, NY, January 31, 2023. https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=4343878.

Kemper, Bart. “AI and Stochastic Terrorism -Should It Be Done?,” 2022. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISSREW55968.2022.00091.

Nelson, Bryn. “How Stochastic Terrorism Uses Disgust to Incite Violence.” Scientific American. Accessed April 23, 2023. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-stochastic-terrorism-uses-disgust-to-incite-violence/.

Snodgrass, Erin. “Stochastic Terrorism Appears to Be on the Rise Globally. Extremism Experts Explain How This Form of Violence Has Gone Mainstream.” Business Insider. Accessed April 23, 2023. https://www.businessinsider.com/stochastic-terrorism-meaning-definition-form-of-extremist-political-violence-2022-11.

iSchuurman et al., “End of the Lone Wolf”; Amman and Meloy, “Stochastic Terrorism.”

iiAmman and Meloy, “Incitement to Violence and Stochastic Terrorism.”

iiiSchuurman et al., “End of the Lone Wolf.”

ivKemper, “AI and Stochastic Terrorism -Should It Be Done?”

vJones, “Stochastic Terrorism, Speech Incantations, and Federal Tax Exemption.”

viNelson, “How Stochastic Terrorism Uses Disgust to Incite Violence.”

viiSnodgrass, “Stochastic Terrorism Appears to Be on the Rise Globally. Extremism Experts Explain How This Form of Violence Has Gone Mainstream.”

viiiIoanes, “An Atmosphere of Violence.”

ix“The ‘Stochastic Terror’ Lie.”

xFollman, “How Trump Spread Incitement of Violence throughout the GOP.” Schrodinger's gateau (talk) 16:07, 25 April 2023 (UTC)

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section. A summary of the conclusions reached follows.

The splitting proposal generated less discussion or feedback than I expected. No one seems to be vehemently opposed so I am planning to go ahead with the split ... Schrodinger's gateau (talk) 17:06, 14 June 2023 (UTC)

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The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Schrodinger's gateau (talk) 17:06, 14 June 2023 (UTC)

Splitting Stochastic Terrorism from Lone Wolf Attack

I copied the Stochastic Terrorism section into the existing same named page. I left the Stochastic Terrorism section here intact. The redirect link was removed. I plan to help rewrite the Stochastic Terrorism page to reflect current available information. The section here may also profit from an edit to update the information and better coordinate it with the newly available page (when the page has been updated I should add). Schrodinger's gateau (talk) 22:41, 11 August 2023 (UTC)