Other definitions include terrorists who operated solely on their own, but also those who committed an act themselves while being directed by a larger organization, groups of two and small cells.
[7][5] Lone actor terrorists are ideologically driven, with political or religious motives, and are intended to create fear and influence public opinion.
Jenson says there were hundreds of violent anarchist incidents during this period most of which were committed by lone individuals or very small groups without command structures or leaders.
[17] According to the Financial Times, counter-terrorism officials refer to "lone individuals known to authorities but not considered important enough to escalate investigations" as "known wolves".
[22] This puts lone wolves as being 13.5 times more likely to suffer from a mental illness than a member of an organized terrorist group, such as al-Qaeda or ISIS.
[23] Mental health challenges are thought to make some individuals among the many who suffer from certain "psychological disturbances", vulnerable to being inspired by extremist ideologies to commit acts of lone wolf terrorism.
[24] An alternative explanation is that terrorist groups reject those with mental illnesses as they pose a security risk, creating a selection bias.
[25] Stochastic terrorism refers to political or media figures publicly demonizing a person or group, inspiring their supporters to commit a violent act against the target of the speech.
Unlike incitement to terrorism, this is done using indirect, vague or coded language, which allows the instigator to plausibly disclaim responsibility for the resulting violence.