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== Emergence of the term == == Emergence of the term ==
People began reporting gang stalking after the year 2000.<ref name="Sheridan 2020"/> "]" itself was a socially new concept which people began to report starting in the 1980s.<ref name="Sheridan 2020"/> Both of these experiences are culture specific, so people talk about them differently in different times, places, and circumstances.<ref name="Sheridan 2020"/> People began reporting gang stalking after the year 2000.<ref name="Sheridan 2020"/> "]" itself was a socially new concept which people began to report starting in the 1980s.<ref name="Sheridan 2020"/> Both of these experiences are culture specific, so people talk about them differently in different times, places, and circumstances.<ref name="Sheridan 2020"/>
Following and targetting, in fact stalking, is being common and easy with the developments of cell phones, the possibility of texting and communicating througout cities and to recognize a target has become easy but laws have not forgot that increase of possibilities. In Canada, the article 264 of the criminal code says that it's illegal to follow a target numerous times. In Belgium following someone is not considered as an offense even in a criminal context. That is why police themselves, use this legal vacuum to search other offenses and crimes commited by people following. This way of doing have been confirmed by Michel Reynewaeter of the SPF interior in Belgium who disappeared in troubled circumstances in 2009.


A 2016 article in ''The New York Times'' estimated that more than 10,000 people were participating in online communities "organized around the conviction that its members are victims of a sprawling conspiracy to harass thousands of everyday Americans with mind-control weapons and armies of so-called gang stalkers".<ref name="McPhate 2016"/> The article identified a 2015 paper by Sheridan and James entitled "Complaints of group-stalking ('gang-stalking'): an exploratory study of their nature and impact on complainants" as the only scientific study of the topic at the time.<ref name="Sheridan 2015">{{cite journal |last1=Sheridan |first1=Lorraine P. |last2=James |first2=David V. |title=Complaints of group-stalking ('gang-stalking'): an exploratory study of their nature and impact on complainants |journal=The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology |date=3 September 2015 |volume=26 |issue=5 |pages=601–623 |doi=10.1080/14789949.2015.1054857|s2cid=143326215 }}</ref><ref name="McPhate 2016"/> A 2016 article in ''The New York Times'' estimated that more than 10,000 people were participating in online communities "organized around the conviction that its members are victims of a sprawling conspiracy to harass thousands of everyday Americans with mind-control weapons and armies of so-called gang stalkers".<ref name="McPhate 2016"/> The article identified a 2015 paper by Sheridan and James entitled "Complaints of group-stalking ('gang-stalking'): an exploratory study of their nature and impact on complainants" as the only scientific study of the topic at the time.<ref name="Sheridan 2015">{{cite journal |last1=Sheridan |first1=Lorraine P. |last2=James |first2=David V. |title=Complaints of group-stalking ('gang-stalking'): an exploratory study of their nature and impact on complainants |journal=The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology |date=3 September 2015 |volume=26 |issue=5 |pages=601–623 |doi=10.1080/14789949.2015.1054857|s2cid=143326215 }}</ref><ref name="McPhate 2016"/>


=== "Targeted Individual" community === === "Targeted Individual" community ===
One cause for the rise in reports of gang stalking is Internet connectivity.<ref name="Dietrich 2015">{{cite journal |last1=Dietrich |first1=Elizabeth |title=Gang stalking : internet connectivity as an emerging mental health concern |url=https://scholarworks.smith.edu/theses/702 |journal=Theses, Dissertations, and Projects |publisher=Smith College |date=1 January 2015}}</ref> As distressed people are able to share information throughout the community, more people report their own impressions.<ref name="Dietrich 2015"/> There are online forums where people who believe to be targeted share their experiences among each other.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tait |first1=Amelia |title="Am I going crazy or am I being stalked?" Inside the disturbing online world of gangstalking |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/08/07/1006109/inside-gangstalking-disturbing-online-world/ |website=MIT Technology Review |language=en |date=7 August 2020}}</ref> News reports have described how groups of Internet users have cooperated to exchange detailed ] involving gang stalking.<ref name="McPhate 2016"/> Some psychiatrists and psychologists say "Web sites that amplify reports of mind control and group stalking" are "an extreme community that may encourage delusional thinking" and represent "a dark side of social networking. They may reinforce the troubled thinking of the mentally ill and impede treatment."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/fashion/13psych.html?fta=y|title=Sharing Their Demons on the Web|last=Kershaw|first=Sarah|date=12 November 2008|newspaper=]|access-date=1 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/10/AR2007011001399.html|title=Mind Games|last=Weinberger|first=Sharon|date=14 January 2007|newspaper=]|publisher=Nash Holdings LLC|location=Washington DC|access-date=1 August 2010}}</ref> A 2020 study established a framework to classify and examine the phenomenon of individuals who suffer the subjective experience of being gang stalked, confirmed the subsequent "serious" ] of their experience, and recommended further research.<ref name="Sheridan 2020">{{cite journal |last1=Sheridan |first1=L |last2=James |first2=DV |last3=Roth |first3=J |title=The Phenomenology of Group Stalking ('Gang-Stalking'): A Content Analysis of Subjective Experiences. |journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |date=6 April 2020 |volume=17 |issue=7 |page=2506 |doi=10.3390/ijerph17072506 |pmid=32268595|pmc=7178134 |doi-access=free }}</ref> One cause for the rise in reports of gang stalking is Internet connectivity.<ref name="Dietrich 2015">{{cite journal |last1=Dietrich |first1=Elizabeth |title=Gang stalking : internet connectivity as an emerging mental health concern |url=https://scholarworks.smith.edu/theses/702 |journal=Theses, Dissertations, and Projects |publisher=Smith College |date=1 January 2015}}</ref> As distressed people are able to share information throughout the community, more people report their own impressions.<ref name="Dietrich 2015"/> There are online forums where people who believe to be targeted share their experiences among each other.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tait |first1=Amelia |title="Am I going crazy or am I being stalked?" Inside the disturbing online world of gangstalking |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/08/07/1006109/inside-gangstalking-disturbing-online-world/ |website=MIT Technology Review |language=en |date=7 August 2020}}</ref> News reports have described how groups of Internet users have cooperated to exchange detailed ] involving gang stalking.<ref name="McPhate 2016"/> Some psychiatrists and psychologists say "Web sites that amplify reports of mind control and group stalking" are "an extreme community that may encourage delusional thinking" and represent "a dark side of social networking. They may reinforce the troubled thinking of the mentally ill and impede treatment."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/fashion/13psych.html?fta=y|title=Sharing Their Demons on the Web|last=Kershaw|first=Sarah|date=12 November 2008|newspaper=]|access-date=1 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/10/AR2007011001399.html|title=Mind Games|last=Weinberger|first=Sharon|date=14 January 2007|newspaper=]|publisher=Nash Holdings LLC|location=Washington DC|access-date=1 August 2010}}</ref> A 2020 study established a framework to classify and examine the phenomenon of individuals who suffer the subjective experience of being gang stalked, confirmed the subsequent "serious" ] of their experience, and recommended further research.<ref name="Sheridan 2020">{{cite journal |last1=Sheridan |first1=L |last2=James |first2=DV |last3=Roth |first3=J |title=The Phenomenology of Group Stalking ('Gang-Stalking'): A Content Analysis of Subjective Experiences. |journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |date=6 April 2020 |volume=17 |issue=7 |page=2506 |doi=10.3390/ijerph17072506 |pmid=32268595|pmc=7178134 |doi-access=free }}</ref>


== Persecutory delusion == == Persecutory delusion ==

Revision as of 19:28, 4 January 2022

Persecutory belief system "Targeted individual" redirects here. For assassinations, see Targeted killing. For survelliance operations, see Targeted surveillance. For delusions of electronic harassment, see Electronic harassment. For bullying of an individual by a group, see Mobbing.

"Gang stalking" is a novel persecutory belief system experienced by individuals who believe they are being followed, stalked, and harassed by a large number of people. The term is associated with the "targeted individual" (T.I.) virtual community formed by like-minded individuals who claim their lives are disrupted from being stalked by organized groups intent on causing them harm.

Emergence of the term

People began reporting gang stalking after the year 2000. "Stalking" itself was a socially new concept which people began to report starting in the 1980s. Both of these experiences are culture specific, so people talk about them differently in different times, places, and circumstances. Following and targetting, in fact stalking, is being common and easy with the developments of cell phones, the possibility of texting and communicating througout cities and to recognize a target has become easy but laws have not forgot that increase of possibilities. In Canada, the article 264 of the criminal code says that it's illegal to follow a target numerous times. In Belgium following someone is not considered as an offense even in a criminal context. That is why police themselves, use this legal vacuum to search other offenses and crimes commited by people following. This way of doing have been confirmed by Michel Reynewaeter of the SPF interior in Belgium who disappeared in troubled circumstances in 2009.

A 2016 article in The New York Times estimated that more than 10,000 people were participating in online communities "organized around the conviction that its members are victims of a sprawling conspiracy to harass thousands of everyday Americans with mind-control weapons and armies of so-called gang stalkers". The article identified a 2015 paper by Sheridan and James entitled "Complaints of group-stalking ('gang-stalking'): an exploratory study of their nature and impact on complainants" as the only scientific study of the topic at the time.

"Targeted Individual" community

One cause for the rise in reports of gang stalking is Internet connectivity. As distressed people are able to share information throughout the community, more people report their own impressions. There are online forums where people who believe to be targeted share their experiences among each other. News reports have described how groups of Internet users have cooperated to exchange detailed conspiracy theories involving gang stalking. Some psychiatrists and psychologists say "Web sites that amplify reports of mind control and group stalking" are "an extreme community that may encourage delusional thinking" and represent "a dark side of social networking. They may reinforce the troubled thinking of the mentally ill and impede treatment." A 2020 study established a framework to classify and examine the phenomenon of individuals who suffer the subjective experience of being gang stalked, confirmed the subsequent "serious" sequelae of their experience, and recommended further research.

Persecutory delusion

Those who believe they are victims report that they believe the motivation for the gang stalking is to disrupt every part of their lives. The activities involved are described as involving electronic harassment, the use of "psychotronic weapons", and other alleged mind control techniques. These have been reported by external observers as being examples of belief systems, as opposed to reports of objective phenomena. Among the community of targeted individuals, gang stalking is described as a shared experience where the gang stalkers all have coordination to harass individuals, and the individuals share their victim experiences with each other.

A study from Australia and the United Kingdom by Lorraine Sheridan and David James compared 128 self-defined victims of 'gang-stalking' with a randomly selected group of 128 self-declared victims of stalking by an individual. All 128 'victims' of gang-stalking were judged to be delusional, compared with only 3.9% of victims of individual-stalking. There were highly significant differences between the two samples on depressive symptoms, post-traumatic symptomatology and adverse impact on social and occupational function, with the self-declared victims of gang-stalking more severely affected. The authors concluded that "group-stalking appears to be delusional in basis, but complainants suffer marked psychological and practical sequelae. This is important in the assessment of risk in stalking cases, early referral to psychiatric services and allocation of police resources."

One report found that some who claimed to be targeted individuals have acted out with violence, sometimes extreme.

See also

References

  1. Lustig, A; Brookes, G; Hunt, D (5 March 2021). "Linguistic Analysis of Online Communication About a Novel Persecutory Belief System (Gangstalking): Mixed Methods Study". Journal of Medical Internet Research. 23 (3): e25722. doi:10.2196/25722. PMC 7980115. PMID 33666560.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  2. ^ Mcphate, Mike (10 June 2016). "United States of Paranoia: They See Gangs of Stalkers". The New York Times. New York City. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  3. Flatley, Joseph (2 February 2017). "Paranoid delusions in the police state".
  4. ^ Sheridan, L; James, DV; Roth, J (6 April 2020). "The Phenomenology of Group Stalking ('Gang-Stalking'): A Content Analysis of Subjective Experiences". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 17 (7): 2506. doi:10.3390/ijerph17072506. PMC 7178134. PMID 32268595.
  5. Sheridan, Lorraine P.; James, David V. (3 September 2015). "Complaints of group-stalking ('gang-stalking'): an exploratory study of their nature and impact on complainants". The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology. 26 (5): 601–623. doi:10.1080/14789949.2015.1054857. S2CID 143326215.
  6. ^ Dietrich, Elizabeth (1 January 2015). "Gang stalking : internet connectivity as an emerging mental health concern". Theses, Dissertations, and Projects. Smith College.
  7. Tait, Amelia (7 August 2020). ""Am I going crazy or am I being stalked?" Inside the disturbing online world of gangstalking". MIT Technology Review.
  8. Kershaw, Sarah (12 November 2008). "Sharing Their Demons on the Web". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  9. Weinberger, Sharon (14 January 2007). "Mind Games". The Washington Post. Washington DC: Nash Holdings LLC. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  10. Kiberd, Roisin (22 July 2016). "The Nightmarish Online World of 'Gang-Stalking'". Motherboard. Vice.com. Archived from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  11. Pierre, Joe (20 October 2020). "Gang Stalking: Real-Life Harassment or Textbook Paranoia?". Psychology Today.
  12. Pierre, Joe (October 31, 2020). "Gang Stalking: Conspiracy, Delusion, and Shared Belief". Psychology Today.
  13. Pierre, Joe (November 16, 2020). "Gang Stalking: A Case of Mass Hysteria?". Psychology Today.
  14. ^ Sheridan, Lorraine P.; James, David V. (3 September 2015). "Complaints of group-stalking ('gang-stalking'): an exploratory study of their nature and impact on complainants". The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology. 26 (5). Abingdon, England: Routledge: 601–623. doi:10.1080/14789949.2015.1054857. ISSN 1478-9949. S2CID 143326215.
  15. Sarteschi, Christine M. (March 2018). "Mass Murder, Targeted Individuals, and Gang-Stalking: Exploring the Connection". Violence and Gender. 5 (1): 45–54. doi:10.1089/vio.2017.0022.

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