Using Internet Search Data to Examine the Relationship between Anti-Muslim and Pro-ISIS Sentiment in U.S. Counties

• In Event: 2384 - Section on International Migration Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 19. Xenophobia and Anti-Muslim Sentiment

Abstract

Recent terrorist attacks by second or third-generation immigrants in the United States and Europe indicate radicalization may result from the failure of ethnic integration—or the rise of inter-group prejudice in communities where “home-grown'' extremists are raised. Yet such community-level drivers of radicalization are notoriously difficult to study because public opinion surveys provide poor measures of both prejudice and radicalization. We examine the relationship between anti-Muslim and pro-ISIS internet searches in 3,146 U.S. counties between 2014 and 2016 using instrumental variable models that control for various community-level factors associated with radicalization. We find anti-Muslim searches are strongly associated with pro-ISIS searches—particularly in communities with high levels of poverty and ethnic homogeneity. This finding suggests minority group members may be more susceptible to radicalization if they experience discrimination in settings where they are isolated from other minorities and therefore highly visible—or in communities where they compete with majority group members for limited financial resources. We evaluate the validity of our measures using several other data sources and discuss the implications of our findings for the study of terrorism and inter-group relations as well as immigration and counter-terrorism policies.

Authors

• Friedolin Merhout, Duke University

• Christopher A. Bail, Duke University

• Peng Ding, University of California-Berkeley