Since the 1990s, terrorists use the internet for their purposes. It has provided them with all new possibilities for propaganda, recruitment, radicalization, funding, and planning. Instead of hosting their own websites, terrorists nowadays increasingly and strategically exploit the New Media. They offer an excellent infrastructure for free and enable terrorists to reach a global audience. This article describes the terrorist use of the three major social-media-services – Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube – and the underlying intends. Special attention is given to content related to Germany.

Article Der Forschungsstand zum Thema Radikalisierung was published on February 21, 2017 in the journal SIRIUS – Zeitschrift für Strategische Analysen (volume 1, issue 1).