Blog

By Ninian Frenguelli It is increasingly difficult to access data from social media platforms. Researcher access to Meta platforms was removed in 2024 when CrowdTangle was shut down, but it was already being slowly restricted prior to this with Meta closing accounts of researchers in 2021. Researchers are in a difficult position: with no official ...

By Mark Peden Troubling trends in violent extremism are emerging that challenge traditional frameworks of classification and ideology. Amid accelerating digital revolution, ongoing permacrisis, and increasingly apocalyptic media narratives, nihilistic and apocalyptic violent extremism (N/AVE) is on the rise, frequently driven by mixed, unclear, and unstable (MUU) belief systems that defy conventional categorisation. Beyond ideological ...

By Alice Sibley and Joshua Bowes As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly integrated and embedded into social media platforms, wariness around its harmful exploitation has grown. As previous research has shown, malignant actors, ranging from misogynistic online users to extremists, have exploited AI to spread harmful conspiracy theories, share racist images and disseminate disinformation. Generative ...

Karmvir K. Padda, University of Waterloo Two years have passed since a 24-year-old former student walked into a gender studies classroom at the University of Waterloo and stabbed the professor and two students. The attack left the campus shaken and sparked national outrage. Many saw the attack as a shocking but isolated act of violence. ...

By Sören Henrich This blog is based on a recent publication which you can find here. Last October, MI5 Director General Ken McCallum expressed concern about a growing trend among radicalised individuals that was challenging preventive and policing bodies. A considerable number of reviewed cases presented mixed ideologies or lacked a clear ideological conviction. Furthermore, services ...

VOX-Pol published a new report titled ‘Gore and Violent Extremism: An explorative analysis of the use of gore websites for hosting and sharing extremist and terrorist content‘ on 9 July 2025, and launched at an online event with its authors on the same day. The report is written by Human Digital, with Dr Ali Fisher ...

Welcome to Volume 12, Issue 7 of the monthly VOX-Pol Newsletter. UPCOMING EVENTS You are invited to a VOX-Pol webinar taking place on Wednesday 9 July 2025, starting at 17:00 UK time. (16:00 UTC / 12:00 midday EDT). Register to attend by emailing info@voxpol.eu. This event is to launch a new report from Human Digital and VOX-Pol, titled, ‘Gore & Violent ...

By Tim Legrand, Nathan Manning, and Melissa-Ellen Dowling Young people worldwide are increasingly exposed to violent ideas and ideologies in web-based communities. According to national security agencies, children as young as 12 are adopting extremist beliefs, folding issues of child safeguarding into national security concerns. While we know that exposure to extremist ideologies in online ...

Dougal Sutherland, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington A new report from New Zealand’s Classification Office has revealed how young people are being exposed to harmful content online and what it is doing to their mental health. The Classification Office spoke with ten different groups of young people aged between 12 and 25 ...

The recent VOX-Pol webinar ‘Right- and left-wing violent extremist abuse of digital technologies in South America, Africa and Asia‘ is now available to watch on YouTube. This webinar, held on Wednesday 18 June 2025, accompanies the report of the same name, which is available to read online and for free on the VOX-Pol Publications page. ...