Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Internet terrorism

This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion of the article below. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record.
The result of the debate was REDIRECT. dbenbenn | talk 16:00, 23 Feb 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Internet terrorism

This isn't the article about "cyber-terrorism". All it does is acknowledge that even though "terrorism" refers specifically to the use of violence, that the intended goal behind the violence can be to send a message. Leaping abruptly from there to the assumption that sending a message can therefore be terrorism regardless of whether any act or threat of violence is involved, the article then asserts "By inference", people "could be accused of Internet terrorism" if they are using the Internet to disseminate any information that damages the reputation or public standing of a corporation or a political or religious figure. By this ludicrously broad definition, Wikipedia's a hub of "Internet terrorism": have you included any information, true or false, in any article, which makes a public figure look bad? Congratulations, you're an "Internet terrorist". It's another attempt to take an emotionally loaded word and stretch the definition until it screams, for the purposes of getting all that emotional loading into a neologism to throw at enemies. -- Antaeus Feldspar 20:12, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC)

• Delete. It's just somebody's college dissertation, or something. The second source uses the phrase in "quotes" throughout, suggesting that it's not notable in itself. The article is couched in terms of 'some scholars argue' and 'it could be argued that', and Wikipedia isn't a place for inferences. Worst of all, there's nothing specifically 'internet' about the phenomenon as described; concept is covered much better in disinformation, big lie, propaganda and so on. -Ashley Pomeroy 00:30, 12 Feb 2005 (UTC)
• Redirect imaginary topic to cyber-terrorism. The word for this is libel. Gazpacho 00:33, 12 Feb 2005 (UTC)
• Comment: This isn't something the author made up, I've heard the term used in this sense before. I'd agree it's stretching the meaning out of all recognition. 03:45, 12 Feb 2005 (UTC)
• Redirect to cyber-terrorism. Not the same thing, but how many casual users know the difference? -Sean Curtin 04:39, Feb 12, 2005 (UTC)
• " ...people or groups that use the Internet for the systematic spreading of information aimed at harassing, damaging or destroying the business of corporations or the public standing of political and religious figures, could be accused of Internet terrorism." Sure, or they could be accused of winning the Specialhappypeople Award, as I will accuse them of doing if no one else will. Utter crap. Delete, or some redirect without merge, like Sean suggested. -R. fiend 04:56, 12 Feb 2005 (UTC)
• Redirect -- AllyUnion (talk) 12:48, 13 Feb 2005 (UTC)
• Redirect to Cyber-terrorism. Megan1967 03:15, 23 Feb 2005 (UTC)

This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like some other VfD subpages, is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion, or the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.