Crime Online: Hashtag Like and Subscribe, or don’t

Episode NotesAbout our guest:

Dr. Francesco Carlo Campisi

PhD in Criminology, Université de Montréal

Researcher, International Centre for Comparative Criminology

🔗 https://www.cicc-iccc.org/fr/personnes/etudiants-supervises/carlo-campisi

🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesco-carlo-campisi-aa3576125/

Topics discussed in this episode:

• From street gangs to digital deviance: a research trajectory
• Why “recruitment” doesn’t fit how modern movements grow
• How groups like QAnon and Anonymous influence participation online
• Using social media metrics to measure engagement
• Emotional capital, visibility, and symbolic participation
• Updating resource mobilization theory for digital contexts
• Hashtag hijacking and online visibility strategies
• Stochastic terrorism and the challenge of lone-wolf violence

Papers or resources mentioned in this episode:

• Campisi, F. (2024). Unveiling the digital underworld – Exploring cyberbanging and recruitment of Canadian street gang members on social media. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 66. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjccj-2023-0033
• Campisi, F., Fortin, F., & Néron, M.-E. (2022). Hacktivists from the inside: Collective identity, target selection and tactical use of media during the Quebec Maple Spring protests. Presented at the ICCC Symposium. Available on ResearchGate
• Campisi, F., & Beauregard, E. (2025). QAnon’s use of hashtag hijacking on X and its impact on online engagement. SSRN preprint. Link
• McCarthy, J. D., & Zald, M. N. (1977). Resource mobilization and social movements: A partial theory. American Journal of Sociology, 82(6), 1212–1241.
• Vigil, J. D. (1988). Barrio gangs: Street life and identity in Southern California. University of Texas Press. https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/barrio-gangs-street-life-and-identity-southern-california-0

Other:

If you are curious about the video that was taken down, you should watch this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIyrzMThHq8