In the last months, as part of my work monitoring radical groups, I've focused less on events and more on language.
Because language ALWAYS moves first.
And what I've observed is not random... It follows a precise psychological and social pattern.
It begins with the vocabulary of justice:
Words like rights, freedom, humanitarian, solidarity.
The tone sounds noble and universal. Then, slowly, it shifts. The language hardens.
Punish. Erase. Destroy. Exterminate. Annihilate. Cleanse.
The words mutate, but few notice when the mutation occurs. Until one day, a call for "justice" has become a call for "annihilation".
That shift is a mechanism: a recruitment tool (disguised as moral conviction).
Because the more brutal a discourse becomes, the more it reveals who's ready for the next stage.
Extremism uses language as a sieve: to filter, select, and mobilize.
When someone calls to "erase", "destroy" the goal is rarely ideological coherence... It's operational efficiency: filter who's in, who's out, and who's ready... to cross the line.
The mechanism: extremes as recruitment funnels
Step 1 - Filtering.
An extreme statement acts like a loyalty test. It instantly separates those who hesitate from those who obey.
That saves recruiters the cost of persuasion.
Step 2 - Social investment.
Once you've posted and repeated an extreme claim, you've publicly committed. Backtracking means losing face.
That's why the first step in radicalization is always symbolic violence: words that lock you in.
Step 3 - Identity bonding.
Repetition of violent language builds belonging. The group becomes your mirror. And dissonance becomes betrayal.
Step 4 - Escalation.
Each layer of extremity pushes the next one.
Verbal → moral → physical.
The gap between "say" and "do" shrinks until someone crosses it.
The emotional economy and the reason why it works
Every human system trades in emotions... Extremists (and the media!) understand this better than rationalists.
Outrage gives dopamine.
Group affirmation gives serotonin.
Righteous fury gives purpose.
Combine the three, and you build an addiction !
Not a movement of reason, of logic, of truth.
That's why extremism spreads faster than nuance: it offers chemical certainty in a world of cognitive fatigue.
The algorithmic layer or how networks amplify rage
Social media doesn't create hatred per se. It's a medium to transmit a message, to amplify it... It basically rewards whatever keeps people scrolling!
Extremes simplify.
Simplification accelerates engagement.
Engagement feeds reach.
Reach creates legitimacy.
Result: the most destructive messages gain the illusion of truth simply by repetition.
How good people become instruments
Most radicalization doesn't really start with hate... It starts with empathy manipulated.
"You care about injustice? Then destroy the oppressor."