VOX-Pol Newsletter 11(2) February 2024

Posted on February 13, 2024 (February 13, 2024)

Welcome to Volume 11, Issue 2 of the monthly VOX-Pol Newsletter.

VOX-Pol SUMMER EVENTS

Swansea University is delighted to, once again, host the VOX-Pol Summer School in 2024. This week-long course will run from Monday 10 to Friday 14 June 2024 (from 9am-5pm) and is designed to provide early career researchers with an expert-led curriculum on the role of the Internet in violent extremism. 

Click here for the Call for Participants and information on how to apply. The deadline for applications is 1 March 2024.

We are excited to announce the inaugural VOX-Pol Next Generation Network Conference. The Conference will take place on Monday, 17 June 2024 in the Richard Price Building, Swansea University Singleton Campus. The conference is open to MA students, PhD students, post-doc researchers, and those 1-2 years into their academic or other relevant careers. A wide array of ground breaking research on online extremism and terrorism will be delivered at the conference by early career researchers (ECRs) to other ECRs. There is no registration charge for conference participation. 

The Call for Participants is HERE and the deadline for applications is 14 March 2024.

The Terrorism and Social Media Conference 2024 will be hosted in the Great Hall on Swansea University’s Bay Campus on 18 and 19 June 2024. It will bring together a range of researchers, policy-makers and practitioners, from a number of different countries and disciplinary backgrounds. The first day of the conference will focus on extremist and terrorist use of online platforms. Day two will focus on questions of response. Find out more about the conference HERE. 

The call for posters is open until 28 March. Registration is open until 10 June 2024. 

NEW VOX-Pol REPORT

The newest VOX-Pol Publication, The Last Twitter Census by JM Berger, is now available free-to-access on the VOX-Pol Publications page.

This report compares two large random samples of Twitter accounts that tweet in English: one taken just before Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October 2022, and one taken three months later, in January 2023. It also examines several related datasets collected during the period following the acquisition, a period in which, the study found, new accounts were created at a record-breaking pace. Some extremist and conspiracy networks created accounts faster than the baseline rate, probably because changes to Twitter’s trust and safety policies had been announced. In the context of these policy announcements, the study examines some reinstated accounts, with mixed results.

A video of the launch event, which includes a discussion with J.M. Berger, Dr Alastair Reed and Prof Maura Conway, can be watched now on the VOX-Pol YouTube channel.

All VOX-Pol Publications are available free-to-access on the VOX-Pol Publications page. Some are also available in hard copy, and can be requested.

NEW ON THE VOX-Pol YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Two recent online workshops have been added to the VOX-Pol YouTube Channel. Find them at these links: 

The YouTube channel contains playlists for all our workshops, and guest lecture series recordings.

IN THE MEDIA

News and analysis by and featuring VOX-Pol Members.