Assessing the Impact of Civil Gang Injunctions on Online Media Use by Criminal Street Gangs CrimRxiv

Mounting evidence suggests that members of criminal street gangs use Internet communication technologies to promote their achievements, promote counter-normative lifestyles, and perpetuate illegal activities. Since not all content is equally effective in influencing audiences, this study examines the message sensation value (MSV) of material posted by street gangs with civil gang injunctions. Gangs that experience increased social censorship and behavioral restrictions associated with the imposition of CGIs may be more likely to post high-MSV YouTube videos to promote the gang’s lifestyle and brand, as their visibility in the neighborhood may be reduced by law enforcement. The results show that (1) there is a moderate association between indices measuring MSV and content (lifestyle and branding); (2) gangs that continue to use physical violence to maintain social dominance have lower scores on MSV, lifestyle, and branding metrics; and (3) videos filmed in public settings and produced by gangs under long-term court orders are likely to have stronger brand messages, while videos filmed in safe zones are likely to have weaker lifestyle messages. We find no significant difference in video quality between the Bloods and the Crips.