Contemporary terrorism is no longer driven by structured ideologies, but by a radical form of nihilism that finds its ultimate purpose in violence itself. From online communities that fuel desensitisation to attacks conceived as viral performances, a scenario emerges in which subversion and chaos become ends in themselves, stripped of any political project. But what happens when destruction loses all purpose and turns into a language? In this new article from the “Strong Words” column, Pietro Cattaneo analyses the phenomenon of Nihilistic Violent Extremists, exploring its cultural and digital roots while questioning the role of the media in an ecosystem that risks amplifying its reach.