Click here to read our latest report “Transmisogyny, Colonialism and Online Anti‐Trans Activism Following Violent Extremist Attacks in the US and EU”

Insights

Insights

  • Nov022020

    From ShamiWitness to QMap: The Movement of ‘One’ in Online Radicalisation

    The development of the right-wing conspiracy ecosystem known as QAnon in and around the US elections has been witnessed with…

  • Oct302020

    Rethinking Bioterrorism Post COVID-19

    COVID-19 has demonstrated the need for greater strategic and operational integration between public health and national security agencies. It has…

  • Oct292020

    What’s in a Meme? The Rise of “Saint Kyle”

    The media has been captured the past two weeks with the news of the FBI and Michigan police pressing charges…

  • Oct282020

    Examining the Developmental Pathways of Online Posting Behaviour in Violent Right-Wing Extremist Forums

    Researchers, practitioners, and policymakers have paid close attention to the presence of terrorists and extremists online in recent years, with…

  • Oct272020

    Digital Dunes and Shrublands: A Comparative Introduction to the Sahelian Jihadi Propaganda Ecosystem

    The Sahel comprises some of the world’s poorest countries. Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger are undergoing several crises that together…

  • Oct262020

    LOL Extremism: Humour in Online Extremist Content

    Humour is a staple of life found in in-person interactions and in virtual environments. Many of us have viewed, shared,…

  • Oct222020

    Hindutva Vigilantism: Online Hate, Offline Harms

    India is witnessing a steep rise in ethno-religious majoritarianism, and social media is playing a significant role in empowering Hindu…

  • Oct212020

    Revisiting the Ecosystem of Islamic State’s ‘Virtual Caliphate’

    The current ‘post-caliphate’ era of Islamic State (IS) has been widely discussed in recent years, following the organisation’s loss of…

  • Oct192020

    French Jihadism on the Internet: A Quantitative Overview

    France has been one of the most-targeted Western countries by jihadist organisations in the past 5 years and one of…

  • Oct162020

    Jihadi Media and Online Secrecy as Doctrinal Values

    The significant role of jihadists stationed in online battlefields was reflected as early as 2006 in the communicative philosophy of…

  • Oct142020

    Online White Supremacy: Looking for a Place to Spread Hate in the Age of Multiple Communication Platforms

    Introduction A study by the Anti-Defamation League, which was published in early 2020, has found that American right-wing extremists were…

  • Oct122020

    Macron’s Plan for Fighting Islamist Radicalisation – Offline

    On 2 October French president Macron presented a 5-point plan to address Islamist radicalisation. It is one of the most…

  • Oct092020

    Lessons for 2020 from the Islamic State Online Fanclub

    In 2015 one of the key problems for social media platforms was the rise of Islamic State (IS), their supporters…

  • Oct072020

    A Comparison of Australian and Canadian Right-Wing Extremist Facebook Group Pages

    It’s well known that social media platforms play a significant role in facilitating right-wing extremist support networks and propagating extremist…

  • Oct052020

    Conspiracy Extremism and Digital Complexity – Where to Start?

    As the global COVID-19 pandemic rolls on, conspiracy theories are fuelling protests, altercations between citizens and law enforcement, property damage…

  • Oct022020

    Toxic #Cybercampaigns: The Muslim Cyber Army versus Militant Pluralism

    Social media campaigns are exacerbating a lurch towards polarisation in Indonesia. Fissures in Indonesian society brought about by large-scale ethnic…

  • Oct012020

    Online Subcultures and the Challenges of Moderation

    Introduction To those who grew up on the Internet, chan culture is nothing new – nor is it immediately synonymous…

  • Sep292020

    Exposing Terror, Building Resilience: Harnessing Citizen Journalists and Social Media to Confront Terrorism

    “I can’t report”; “I don’t trust the security forces to report”; “I have reported before, but he–the terrorist–was released”; “reporting…

  • Sep252020

    Geographically Contextualising Right-Wing Extremism for Tech Platforms: A Perspective From India

    A rise in right-wing extremism in the United States has forced the FBI to call out a domestic terrorism threat.…

  • Sep242020

    Increased Visibility of Far-Right Movements in Australia During the COVID-19 Pandemic

    Australia, once touted as a model for a considered and sustainable approach to COVID-19 is now in an interesting position…

  • Sep222020

    Diaries of Female Jihadists Imprisoned in Al-Hol Camp: An Analysis

    Al-Hol Camp is located in Northern Syria, and shelters close to 70,000 people; mostly women and children who previously lived…

  • Sep212020

    Part 2: Algorithmic Agency in Online Extremism: The Bigger Picture

    The rapid pace of technological evolution and tactics of adversarial attacks confer epistemic authority to data scientists. These experts play…

  • Sep182020

    Striking Similarities Between Islamist Terrorism and Violent Right-Wing Extremism

    In his book Identity: Contemporary Identity Politics and the Struggle for Recognition (2018), Francis Fukuyama describes nationalism and Islamism as…

  • Sep172020

    No Child’s Play: The Identitarian Movement’s ‘Patriotic’ Video Game

    On 15 September, the German-speaking branch of the Identitarian Movement (Identitäre Bewegung; IB) released its first video game: A classic…

  • Sep152020

    Part 1: Algorithmic Deconstruction in the Context of Online Extremism

    Threats to cyberspace typically arise from intentional agents as well as systemic threats that emanate from the innate unpredictability of…

  • Sep142020

    An Insider Perspective: What the Internet Means to UK Jihadists

    September 2016, just hours before I was due to interview the radical Islamist leader Anjem Choudary, I received a text.…

  • Sep112020

    Hate Speech in the Context of Mass Atrocity Crimes

    The May 2020 arrest of Félicien Kabuga brought an end to a manhunt spanning 26 years and two continents. Among…

  • Sep102020

    Digital Resiliency and OPSEC Strategies Amongst Clandestine Networks

    In June 2020, I detailed some of the operational and digital security (OPSEC) practices of English-language far-right networks as they…

  • Sep082020

    Indian States, Deradicalisation and Online Platforms

    Like many other countries, India has embarked on systemic deradicalisation programs over the past few years as part of its…

  • Sep072020

    ‘Normal’ Authority? – Who’s Got the Power in a Democratic Information Environment

    “Online, we do not yet have a tradition of the rule of law. We are not certain how to apply…

  • Sep042020

    Balancing Online Content Moderation and the Rule of Law

    Heated debates have continued to spring up around the world focusing on the growing role of technology companies in moderating…

  • Sep032020

    Understanding the Full Spectrum of Hate

    Extreme violence garners most attention. But the problems start much earlier, both in the real world and online. What is…

  • Sep022020

    Islamic State’s Use of Gamification and Low-Tech Terror Tactics

    Islamic State (IS) and other violent extremist organisations continue to proliferate on online platforms despite efforts from major online platforms…

  • Sep012020

    Technology and Extremism in the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda

    This fall marks the 20th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, the first of ten resolutions comprising the backbone…

  • Aug272020

    An Interview on Islamic State’s Media Work in 2014 – Five Questions with Medyan Dairieh Part 2

    Sitting down with Medyan Dairieh, a journalist who has personally travelled to  Islamic State in 2014, has so far been…

  • Aug252020

    “I Will Tell You a Story About Jihad”: IS’s Propaganda and Narrative Advertising

    The question of IS’s remarkable propaganda success became a topic of major interest for many researchers in the last five…

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