Teenagers, Terrorism, and Technopanic: How British Newspapers Framed Female ISIS Recruits as Victims of Social Media

Authors

  • Sara Shaban University of Missouri, School of Journalism

Keywords:

social media, terrorism, technological fetishism, moral panic, teenagers, gender, agency

Abstract

In 2015, three teenage girls from London were recruited by ISIS via social media. British news discourse focused on the role of gender and technology in their recruitment. Through the lens of technological fetishism’s intersection with gendered terrorism, a discourse analysis of British newspapers revealed two dominant themes: (1) gendered terrorism through the victimization of female ISIS recruits and (2) the technological fetishism of social media focused on individualized solutions including censorship and regulation.

Author Biography

Sara Shaban, University of Missouri, School of Journalism

SARA SHABAN is a doctoral candidate at the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism. Sara conducts critical/cultural studies in media with a focus on women and social movements in the Middle East.

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Published

2020-01-12

Issue

Vol. 14 (2020)

Section

Articles

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