Forensic linguistic examination of digital content as a tool to counter the involvement of youth in extremist activities: on the example of ultra-right ideology

Relevance. The digitalization of the communication space and the development of social media have led to the formation of stable channels for the dissemination of far-right extremist ideology among young people, which poses a direct threat to the constitutional foundations of the Russian Federation. The use of latent forms of propaganda by radical actors through memetic constructions, cryptonyms, and gamified narratives significantly complicates the qualification of such acts by law enforcement agencies.

The purpose of the study is to develop a scientifically based methodology for the forensic linguistic analysis of youth-oriented digital content and to develop algorithmized criteria for identifying far-right extremist propaganda to ensure uniformity of expert practice and increase the effectiveness of criminal law counteraction to youth extremism.

Objectives: systematization of typological features and speech strategies of ultra-right discourse in the Internet space; analysis of the normative and doctrinal foundations of expert procedures in extremist cases involving minors; formation of a multi-level matrix of linguistic and semiotic indicators relevant to the age specifics of addressees; development of standardized guidelines for expert practice.

Methodology. The research is based on an integrative interdisciplinary approach combining the methods of corpus linguistics, semantic, pragmatic and discursive analysis with normative and legal analysis. The empirical base was made up of a corpus of 11.8 million word usage from 37 ultra-right Internet resources. Statistical methods, latent semantic decomposition, and cluster analysis with cross-validation were used.

The results of the study reveal four classes of linguistic markers of extremist content (cryptonymized symbols, transliterated Anglo-Americanisms, gamified militaristic metaphors, memetic constructions) and a variety of speech strategies of ultra-right discourse. A process-appropriate methodology of expert analysis has been developed, ensuring reproducibility of the results and compliance with the requirements of the CPC of the Russian Federation.

Conclusion. The proposed method of forensic linguistic analysis is a scientifically based toolkit for identifying latent markers of extremist propaganda in the youth digital environment. Its implementation in the practice of investigative bodies and judicial institutions will help to increase the effectiveness of countering youth extremism while unconditionally respecting the constitutional guarantees of the rights of minors and the principles of fair justice.

1. Belikov S.V. Towards a typology of Right-wing Radical youth. Svobodnaya mysl' = Free Thought. 2008;(4):65-78. (In Russ.)

2. Kurshev A.Kh. Radicalism as a factor of destabilization of the global political situation. Probely v rossiiskom zakonodatel'stve = Gaps in Russian legislation. 2022;15(4):149-153. (In Russ.)

3. Avramenko A.A. Features of euphemization of speech in Russian. Ekonomika i sotsium = Economics and society. 2017;(11):56-61. (In Russ.)

4. Davydov S.G. The National Socialist trend in the non-institutional youth movement of Russia: History and Modernity. Sovremennaya nauchnaya mysl' = Modern Scientific Thought. 2019;(2):155-161. (In Russ.)

5. Suslov Yu.E., Mironova T.I. Manifestations of latent digital extremism among young people. Yuridicheskaya psikhologiya = Legal Psychology. 2024;(2):25-29. (In Russ.)

6. Vitsentii I.V., Eliseev S.M., Popova O.N. A conceptual model of digital sociological monitoring of extremist attitudes. Vestnik Permskogo natsional'nogo issledovatel'skogo politekhnicheskogo universiteta. Sotsial'no-ekonomicheskie nauki = Bulletin of the Perm National Research Polytechnic University. Socio-economic sciences. 2022;(1):61-72. (In Russ.)

7. Voevodina M.I. Transformation of the symbol and sign at the stage of formation of the information society. Aktual'nye problemy gumanitarnykh i estestvennykh nauk = Current problems of the humanities and natural sciences. 2014;(8-2):78-80. (In Russ.)

8. Gorelov S.A. The threat of terrorism and extremism in the information environment. Pravo i obrazovanie = Law and Education. 2025;(5):64-71. (In Russ.)

9. Mayatskaya O.B. Information extremism and its destructive influence on the behavior of the younger generation of Russians. Byulleten' nauki i praktiki = Bulletin of Science and Practice. 2022;8(12):512-515. (In Russ.)

10. Seredyuk V.V. Juvenile justice as a legal experiment in criminal proceedings in Russia. Yuridicheskaya tekhnika = Legal Technology. 2025;(19):809-812. (In Russ.)

11. Badmaeva V.D., Dozortseva D.S., Oshevskii D.S. Criminally relevant mental disorders in juvenile defendants: organic mental disorders. Rossiiskii psikhiatricheskii zhurnal = Russian Psychiatric Journal. 2016;(6):17-24. (In Russ.)

12. Len'kov R.V., Kolosova O.A., Kovaleva S.V. Socio-psychological diagnostics and forecasting of youth protest behavior in the digital environment. Tsifrovaya sotsiologiya = Digital Sociology. 2021;4(1):31-41. (In Russ.)

13. Mainagasheva E.V. The attitude of Russian university students to youth extremism. Otechestvennaya i zarubezhnaya pedagogika = Domestic and foreign pedagogy. 2019;1(5):82-89. (In Russ.)

14. Tokbaev A.A., Savchuk N.A. Countering the spread of extremism in the global information space. Evraziiskii yuridicheskii zhurnal = Eurasian Law Journal. 2022;(9):439-440. (In Russ.)

15. Geranina I.N., Loginova E.I. Psychological and linguistic study of texts to identify signs of inciting national, racial or religious hatred in society. Sudebnaya ekspertiza = Judicial expertise. 2008;(3):38- 42. (In Russ.)

16. Chelysheva O.V., Nazarkulova Ch.N. Evaluation of an expert's opinion in the investigation of crimes motivated by national, racial, religious hatred or enmity. Mir yuridicheskoi nauki = The world of legal science. 2016;(12):67-74. (In Russ.)

17. Dyatlova E.V. On the issue of the problem of distinguishing racial, national and religious hatred or enmity. Yuridicheskaya nauka = Legal Science. 2022;(4):121-123. (In Russ.)

18. Belyutin R.V. On the issue of discrimination in the discourse of German football fans. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 19: Lingvistika i mezhkul'turnaya kommunikatsiya = Moscow University Bulletin. Series 19: Linguistics and Intercultural Communication. 2022;(3):119-129. (In Russ.)

19. Terekhova E.M. Features of the use of special knowledge in the investigation of the rehabilitation of Nazism. Sledstvennaya deyatel'nost': nauka, obrazovanie, praktika = Investigative activities: science, education, practice. 2023;(3):356-359. (In Russ.)

20. Bikeev I.I., Nikitin A.G. Extremism: Interdisciplinary legal research. Kazan': Poznanie; 2011. 320 p. (In Russ.)

21. Polikarpova O.N., Polikarpov I.A. The pragmatic significance of the commentative paranthesis in the theory of speech acts. Mir nauki, kul'tury, obrazovaniya = The World of Science, Culture, Education. 2019;(6):624-625. (In Russ.)

22. Kukushkina O.V., Safonova Yu.A., Sekerazh T.N. Theoretical and methodological foundations of the production of forensic psychological and linguistic expertise of texts in cases related to countering extremism. Moscow: Rossiiskii Federal'nyi tsentr sudebnoi ekspertizy pri Ministerstve yustitsii Rossiiskoi Federatsii; 2011. 326 p. (In Russ.)