RadicalizationFBI delays release of interactive tool to identify violent extremists

Facing criticism, the FBI has decided to delay the release of “Don’t Be a Puppet,” an interactive program aiming to help teachers and students identify young people who show signs of flirting with radicalism and violent extremism.

The program was scheduled for release Monday (yesterday).

Civil rights advocates and American Muslim leaders, invited by the agency to preview the program, harshly criticized it for focusing almost exclusively on Islamic extremism. They noted that practically all the mass school shootings in the United States – and most of the violence perpetrated by extremists — had nothing to do with Islamic militants.

The New York Times reports that the program leads the viewer through a series of games and tips aiming to teach viewers how to identify someone who may begin to come under the influence of radical extremists. With each successful answer, scissors cut a puppet’s string, until – when all the right answers are given — the puppet is free.

The FBI’s “Don’t Be a Puppet” is the latest example of government agencies trying to deal with terrorism and violent extremism by doing a better job identifying young men and women who are susceptible to extremists’ messages.

The response to the interactive program exposes ongoing debates about who should be involved in detecting and reporting suspects, and how to draw a line between spotting would-be radicals and religious profiling.

“The F.B.I. is developing a website designed to provide awareness about the dangers of violent extremist predators on the Internet,” a spokeswoman for the agency said late Sunday, “with input from students, educators and community leaders.”

The Washington Post reports that religious leaders and privacy advocates who previewed the interactive program spoke to reporters only after they learned that the FBI was going ahead with its plan to release to program on Monday, despite the criticism and misgivings.

“Teachers in classrooms should not become an extension of law enforcement,” Arjun S. Sethi, an adjunct professor of law at the Georgetown University Law Center, told the Times. Sethi, who specializes in counterterrorism and law enforcement, was asked by the FBI to offer feedback on the program.

“The program is based on flawed theories of radicalization, namely that individuals radicalize in the exact same way and it’s entirely discernible,” he said. “But it’s not, and the FBI is basically asking teachers and students to suss these things out.”

He added that the FBI’s program amounted to “misplaced priorities.”

“The greatest threat facing American schoolchildren today is gun violence,” he said. “It’s not Muslim extremism.”

During the summer and fall, the FBI invited representatives of several religious and ethnic groups to view and discuss the program. On 16 October, representative of six groups of American Muslims, Arabs, Yemenis, and Sikhs met at the FBI building to view and discuss the interactive program. The developers of the program highlighted how it covers different types of violent groups and ideologies, and listed some personality changes that might indicate radicalization, according to those who attended. They also showed a map of places terrorists have targeted, and included interviews with victims of terrorist attacks.

Abed A. Ayoub, the legal and policy director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, told the Times that “They were getting blowback from everybody. It was a very tense meeting.”

“They wanted teachers in social studies, civics and government classes to show this to their students,” said Hoda Hawa, the director of policy and advocacy for the Muslim Public Affairs Council. “But the Web site will be accessible by anyone.”

She told the Post that those present were troubled by a question that asked the user to identify which of four or five posts on social media should raise alarm. Among the choices were a person posting about a plan to attend a political event, or someone with an Arabic name posting about going on “a mission” overseas. The correct answer was the posting with the Arabic name.

“What kind of mission? It could have been humanitarian. It could have been religious,” Hawa said.

Ayoub said, “If this is shown to middle and high school students, it’s going to result in the bullying of these children.”