User:Opencooper/Stochastic terrorism

Stochastic terrorism is the use of media such as television "to incite random actors to carry out violent or terrorist acts that are statistically predictable but individually unpredictable".^[1] The speaker, whether intentionally or not, incites those with a combination of personality traits that leads them to violence. Since the speaker only focuses animus towards the victim instead of directly participating, they escape culpability and the perpetrator is labeled a lone wolf by law enforcement.^[1] The term originates in academic studies of international terrorism, but has also been applied by journalists to domestic American incidents of violence.^[2]

The blogger who popularized the term accuses personalities such as Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, and Sean Hannity of inciting perpetrators such as Jim David Adkisson, Scott Roeder, and Byron Williams.^[1] Rawstory said that the 2015 Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood shooting was incited by far-right Christians.^[3] An op-ed in Rolling Stone referred to then presidential-candidate Donald Trump's comment during one of his 2016 campaign rallies as stochastic terrorism. Trump said of his opponent Hillary Clinton: "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is. I don't know".^[2]^[4] Salon tied these comments to a history of encouragement of violence by O'Reilly and other right-wing media personalities.^[5]