# How do extremists use cognitive biases to manipulate people?

*Van Hoer Center · The Conflict Decoded · Media, opinion and manipulation · October 31, 2026* · https://vanhoercenter.com/decoded/how-do-extremists-use-cognitive-biases-to-manipulate-people

Yes — extremists manipulate people by exploiting cognitive biases all minds share: confirmation bias, fear-driven threat perception, black-and-white thinking, and the need for group belonging. And governments can use the same playbook, not just militant groups.

**How the manipulation works.** Recruitment follows a gradual pipeline: recruiters target people who feel powerless or aggrieved, build emotional trust, then restrict the information environment so one narrative circulates ([Extremist Recruitment and Control Mechanisms](https://cognitura.org/disinformation/recruitment-and-control/)). Social identity bias does the heavy lifting — once identity binds to the group, members seek only confirming evidence and dismiss the rest as enemy propaganda ([Radicalization: Understanding Its Psychological Roots](https://psychologyfanatic.com/psychology-of-radicalization/)).

**Cults use identical psychological tactics.** A charismatic leader, love-bombing of newcomers, isolation from outside voices, and strict information control — so dissent comes to feel like betrayal ([Groupthink and Identity Traps](https://cognitura.org/hamas-gaza/groupthink-and-identity-traps/)). Fear appeals complete the process: threat narratives make people accept harsher policies and violence they would otherwise reject ([A Socio-Cognitive Model](https://sbp-brims.org/2025/papers/working-papers/2025_SBP-BRiMS_paper_34.pdf)).

**The misleading framing to watch for.** Some sources apply these manipulation techniques exclusively to Hamas, claiming Israel's "open media environment" is immune while portraying Israeli military conduct as inherently ethical. That is itself a textbook exploitation of the same biases — in-group favoritism, selective focus, false dichotomy — inoculating readers against applying critical tools to state propaganda. The FBI/NIJ radicalization model applies to any actor, state or non-state, that suppresses competing information.

**The defense.** Apply skepticism universally: notice when fear short-circuits judgment, ask whose grievances are erased, and reject any framing where only your group's deaths count.

## Sources

1. Extremist Recruitment and Control Mechanisms — cognitura.org — https://cognitura.org/disinformation/recruitment-and-control/
2. Radicalization: Understanding Its Psychological Roots — psychologyfanatic.com — https://psychologyfanatic.com/psychology-of-radicalization/
3. Groupthink and Identity Traps — cognitura.org — https://cognitura.org/hamas-gaza/groupthink-and-identity-traps/
4. Fear appeals complete the process: threat narratives make people accept harsher policies and violence they would otherwise reject — sbp-brims.org — https://sbp-brims.org/2025/papers/working-papers/2025_SBP-BRiMS_paper_34.pdf

## See also

- [Which words do Israel-Gaza explainer videos use to describe each side?](https://vanhoercenter.com/decoded/which-words-do-israel-gaza-explainer-videos-use-to-describe-each-side)
- [Do most Jews say Israel matters to being Jewish?](https://vanhoercenter.com/decoded/do-most-jews-say-israel-matters-to-being-jewish)
- [Did the framing of Gaza war headlines shift as the war went on?](https://vanhoercenter.com/decoded/did-the-framing-of-gaza-war-headlines-shift-as-the-war-went-on)
- [How do the most-watched Israel-Gaza explainer videos frame the conflict?](https://vanhoercenter.com/decoded/how-do-the-most-watched-israel-gaza-explainer-videos-frame-the-conflict)