Most extremists radicalize alone before seeking out groups rather than being recruited top-down.

Evidence

Seven cases (four white supremacists and three Islamic extremists) involved top-down recruitment, in which recruiters from radical organizations formally and proactively recruited them. Eighteen cases (15 white supremacist, three Islamic extremist) involved bottom-up entry, in which individuals radicalize on their own and then seek membership in extremist organizations. — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 40

Categorization

• XREF: This complicates the common assumption that radical organizations proactively recruit; most subjects self-radicalized first. — connects to: Extremist groups recruit by supplying the kinship and belonging that members lacked. — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America:…, 372; Unmet basic needs like belonging and purpose drive extremist recruitment — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America:…, 57; Extremist groups deliberately provoke Islamophobia to recruit disaffected Muslims — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 1004 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Extremist groups deliberately provoke Islamophobia to recruit disaffected Muslims #contradicts (0.78) — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 1004
• Extremist recruitment recruits through belonging and fellowship, not hatred #qualifies (0.75) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 2020
• Radical extremists join groups partly to resolve anger left by unaddressed childhood harm #expands (0.74) — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 289
• Unmet basic needs like belonging and purpose drive extremist recruitment #qualifies (0.72) — Ryan Andrew Brown, Todd C. Helmus, Rajeev Ramchand, Alina I. Palimaru, Sarah Weilant, Ashley L. Rhoades, and Liisa Hiatt (RAND Corporation), Violent Extremism in America, 57