Ideas change everything

How young people join violent extremist groups -- and how to stop them

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Erin Marie Saltman |

TEDxGhent

• June 2016

Terrorists and extremists aren't all naturally violent sociopaths -- they're deliberately recruited and radicalized in a process that doesn't fit into a neat pattern. Erin Marie Saltman discusses the push and pull factors that cause people to join extremist groups and explains innovative ways of preventing and countering radicalization.

Terrorists and extremists aren't all naturally violent sociopaths -- they're deliberately recruited and radicalized in a process that doesn't fit into a neat pattern. Erin Marie Saltman discusses the push and pull factors that cause people to join extremist groups and explains innovative ways of preventing and countering radicalization.

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxGhent, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

Join YouthCAN. The Youth Civil Activism Network (YouthCAN) unites youth activists, artists and tech entrepreneurs from around the world to amplify efforts in countering violent extremism. If you want to use your skills (activist, artist, techie or otherwise) to challenge hate speech and extremism and would like to network and create content with others, please join!

Check out the counter-narrative toolkit, which includes guidance on how to plan, create and promote campaigns to challenge hate speech and extremism.

Join the Online Civil Courage Initiative. If you have content, campaigns or pages that challenge hate speech and extremism in whatever form and would like it boosted or promoted, the Online Civil Courage Initiative will help you reach target audiences.

About the speaker

Erin Marie Saltman

Policy researcher

See speaker profile

Dr. Erin Marie Saltman manages Facebook's counterterrorism and counter-extremism policy work for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

About TEDx

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This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxGhent, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

Join YouthCAN. The Youth Civil Activism Network (YouthCAN) unites youth activists, artists and tech entrepreneurs from around the world to amplify efforts in countering violent extremism. If you want to use your skills (activist, artist, techie or otherwise) to challenge hate speech and extremism and would like to network and create content with others, please join!

Check out the counter-narrative toolkit, which includes guidance on how to plan, create and promote campaigns to challenge hate speech and extremism.

Join the Online Civil Courage Initiative. If you have content, campaigns or pages that challenge hate speech and extremism in whatever form and would like it boosted or promoted, the Online Civil Courage Initiative will help you reach target audiences.

Erin Marie Saltman: How young people join violent extremist groups -- and how to stop them | TED Talk