Petra RegeniAccelerationism Meets Gamification: A Look at the Convergence in the Framing of Online Narratives
Petra Regeni is a member of the Extremism and Gaming Research Network (EGRN). EGRN brings together world-leading counter-extremism organisations to develop insights…
Dr. Gerard GillOnline Incitement and Small-Scale Terrorism: Violent Rhetoric from the Freedom Movement on Facebook
Introduction Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Director-General Mike Burgess recently warned that the next terrorist attack in Australia is likely…
Mona ThakkarThe State of Play: Islamic State Khorasan Province’s Anti-India Propaganda Efforts
Introduction The Islamic State in Khorasan province (ISKP), operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan, has emerged as Islamic State’s (IS) most…
Robin O'LuanaighCo-opting Cottagecore: Pastoral Aesthetics in Reactionary and Extremist Movements
A young woman wearing a modest gingham dress sits in an apple orchard reading a book. A woven basket is…
Ninian FrenguelliMy Wish to be a #Tradwife: An Introduction to #tradwife Memes on Whisper
Introduction Research into online extremist behaviour is centred around Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, 4chan, Telegram, and Gab. Studies focusing on platforms…
Daniël JurgInside the Cult of Stefan Molyneux: A Historical Exploration of Far-Right Radicalisation on YouTube
Introduction On June 29, 2020, YouTube removed 25,000 channels, including several prominent white supremacist figures such as David Duke, Richard…
Meili CriezisThe Allen, Texas Mass Shooting: An Examination of Misogyny, Anti-Asian Racism, and Internalised Racism
Introduction Following the mass shooting in Allen, Texas on 6 May, rumours quickly began circulating about the shooter’s background and…
Ye Bin WonAnalysing Harmful and Supremacist Narratives on Gab Homeschooling Groups
Introduction In January 2023, VICE news reported on a Telegram channel dedicated to sharing white supremacist homeschooling curricula with other…
Eliza MarksThe Revitalisation of Christian Identity Content on YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok
Introduction The last five years have witnessed the revitalisation of the Christian Identity (CI) movement in the modern extremist landscape.…
Jakob GuhlChristgram: White Christian Extremism on Telegram
This Insight focuses on white Christian extremist communities on Telegram, which have been growing in the context of a renewed…
Jon DeedmanThe Internet Consortium for Online Safety: How Collaborative Tech, Not Legislation, Could Prevent Harmful Content Proliferation
Introduction Countering violent extremism (CVE) in a digital context sees practitioners grappling with the enterprise of removing terrorist and violent…
Linda SchlegelAri’s Mission: Educating Young Audiences on Conspiracy Theories Through Fictional Narratives
Introduction Narrative campaigns against extremism and conspiracy theories are popular and widely used tools to prevent and/or counter (violent) extremism…
Jonathan LewisThe Lineage of Violence: Saints Culture and Militant Accelerationist Terrorism
In the aftermath of the March 2019 Christchurch attack in New Zealand, shooter Brenton Tarrant was quickly ‘sainted’ by militant accelerationist…
Meili CriezisWilayat Facebook and Instagram: An Exploration of Pro-IS Activities on Mainstream Platforms
Introduction Previous research has greatly contributed to establishing and building our understanding of IS spaces on Telegram, Twitter, Facebook, and…
Miron LakomyThe Return of the Virtual ‘Caliphate’? Mapping the Evolution of the Islamic State’s Information Ecosystem
Introduction The Islamic State’s (IS) shock and awe campaign launched at the turn of 2014 proved to be one of…
Archie MacfarlaneTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP): Operating with Impunity Online
This entry is part of a series of monthly blogs dedicated to TCAP expansion, explaining the reasons for the inclusion…
Dr. Chamila LiyanageExtremist NFTs: How Does Blockchain Immortalise Extremism?
Introduction Blockchain allows users to preserve unique art, games, and photographs. One of the famous examples is the art collection…
Manfredi PozzoliViolent Assemblages: Rethinking Screens, Media, and Lone Wolf Terrorism
Introduction Terrorist acts often confront the public with gruesome images and unthinkable suffering. Understanding the motivations of terrorist attacks is…
Kit Rickard25 Years After the Good Friday Agreement: Persistent Violence and the Role of Digital Platforms in Northern Ireland Today
Introduction 10 April marked the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement, the peace deal that brought…
- Dr. Matteo Vergani
From Blaming China to Attacking Domestic Elites: The Evolution of Hate Speech in a Telegram Channel during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Introduction Prior research has found that the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a wave of online hate speech against targets such as…
Joshua MolloyTerrorwave: The Aesthetics of Violence and Terrorist Imagery in Militant Accelerationist Subcultures
Joshua Farrell Molloy is a research fellow of the Accelerationism Research Consortium (ARC). ARC is dedicated to a collaborative, empirical…
Abdullah AlrhmounTerrorist Bots: How Islamic State has Automated Management of its Online Community on Telegram
Abdullah Alrhmoun, Charlie Winter and János Kertész Introduction It’s well known that terrorists have been using the internet to plan…
Clara May‘Telegram is King’: Extremist Foreign Fighters in the Russo-Ukrainian war
In January 2023, Meta removed the Azov Regiment from its list of dangerous individuals and organisations. The Ukrainian regiment became…
Bàrbara Molas‘Tomatoes for Tanks’: Humour and Violence in Post-Brexit Meme Culture
In 2022, the humanitarian organisation World Vision published a report warning about the spread of anti-refugee messaging, in particular as…
Primitivo III Cabanes RagandangYouths Challenging Violent Extremism through Digital Platforms in the Philippines
Introduction “They tolerated the ISIS in Marawi. ISIS sympathisers!” “They deserve it. They were handlers of killers, carnappers, drug lords…
Catherine TebaldiGranola Nazis: Digital Traditionalism, the Folkish Movement and the Normalisation of the Far-Right
Introduction Digital traditionalist women carefully cultivate winsome images on Instagram: harvesting fields of beets with the folds of muslin dresses…
Khalil BoughaliFrank James: The New York Subway Shooter’s Radical Discourse on Social Media
Introduction On April 12, 2022, Frank R. James carried out a shooting in the New York City Subway, injuring ten…
GNET TeamUnpacking the Incelosphere: In-group Categorisation, Incel Purity, and Competition
Introduction In the near-decade since the first publicly recognised act of incel violence in 2014, at the hands of 22-year-old…
Emilia LounelaDiscourses of Violence in Incel Online Discussions After the Plymouth Shooting
Introduction In August 2021, a young man attacked and killed his mother in Plymouth, UK. He then left his home,…
Sarah DalyUnderstanding Incels’ Online Behaviour and Perceptions of Hateful Content
Introduction Recent years have seen an increase in awareness and concern about incels, or involuntarily celibate men, particularly because of…
Rutger SjoertsIncel PR: The Rebranding of the Incel Community & the Role of Media and Academia
Certain usernames and names of forums have been removed to avoid amplifying their voices and platforms. In August 2021, Jake…
Dr Alta GrobbelaarCan ‘Cyberterrorism’ Really Exist in Africa?
Introduction Since the 1990s and the end of the Cold War, Africa has experienced a strong upward trend in ICT…
Meili CriezisSoliciting Online Bayʿat: Pro-Islamic State Responses to Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi’s Death
On 30 November 2022, the official Islamic State spokesman, Abu Omar al-Muhajir, confirmed the death of Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi…
Lucas WebberThe Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan’s Enduring Influence on IS-Khurasan
The Islamic State’s Khurasan Province (ISKP) has drastically expanded its propaganda apparatus in recent months, releasing a steady flow of…
Kenneth YeoRebranding the East Asia Knights: A Reflection of Dawlah Islamiyah’s Effort to Learn
What is the East Asia Wilayah? On 8 January 2023, the main Southeast Asian Islamic State media channel, the East…
Arthur BradleyTrends in Terrorist Use of the Internet in 2022
Terrorists were resilient online in 2022 and have continued to adapt their methods to ensure content remains available, such as…
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