Blog

By Francesca Gentile and Isabella Gomez O’Keefe Our recent research, presented at the VOX-Pol Next Gen Conference in Prague, explored how far-right extremist accounts on TikTok use coded language to evade content moderation systems in order to establish and reinforce in-group and out-group identities; recruit, radicalise, and mobilise individuals; and spread disinformation, conspiracy theories, and ...

The 2026 VOX-Pol Summer School is taking place at Swansea University, Singleton Campus, from Monday 22 to Friday 26 June 2026. Call for participants Swansea University is delighted to, once again, host the VOX-Pol Summer School in 2026. This week-long course will run from Monday 22nd to Friday 26th June 2026 (from 9am-5pm) and is ...

VOX-Pol has published a new report ‘Negotiating Responses to Online Terrorism Threats in the EU: State-Platform Diplomacy 2015 – 2019’, written by Marguerite Borelli.  The report was launched online on 17 November 2025 where Valère Ndior (Professor of Law at the Université de Bretagne occidentale in France) and Gavin Sullivan (Reader in International Human Rights Law at the ...

By Keighley Perkins and Nuria Lorenzo-Dus Across the summers of 2024 and 2025, demonstrations and riots linked to the far-right reignited tensions over immigration and cultural belonging in the UK. Heated debates on our screens spilled onto the streets, exposing how radical right narratives are no longer confined to the fringe but are seeping into ...

Welcome to Volume 12, Issue 11 of the monthly VOX-Pol Newsletter. UPCOMING VOX-Pol PUBLICATION & LAUNCH EVENT VOX-Pol is launching a new report titled ‘Negotiating Responses to Online Terrorism Threats in the EU: State-Platform Diplomacy 2015 – 2019‘ by Marguerite Borelli on Monday 17 November. An online launch event will take place from 14:00 to 15:00 GMT ...

By Mohamed Elgayar Introduction With over 100 million YouTube views on its most recent trailer, the latest instalment of the Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto Series, GTA VI, is quickly becoming the most anticipated title of 2026. The franchise has thrived because it provides a rare opportunity to explore social behaviours without real-world consequences. The ...

Nicholas A.R. Fraser, Senior Research Associate, Toronto Metropolitan University Most of us, whether we admit it or not, engage in a great deal of passive scrolling through social media daily. And while the platforms have proliferated for years, experts are only now beginning to demonstrate their full impact on our attention, mental health, spending habits and politics. Despite the benefits, social ...

By Gerard Gill Introduction The Porepunkah shootings in the Australian state of Victoria have ignited a wave of conspiracy theories and rhetoric, with many in online communities framing the accused killer, Dezi Freeman, as a hero and martyr of the Freedom Movement. Freeman has become the subject of various commentaries, including claims of government persecution, ...

In November, VOX-Pol launches the new Work in Progress Seminar Series. These seminars are open to members of the VOX-Pol Network only. The objective of the series is to provide a space for researchers within the network to share projects and papers which they currently working on but are not finished. The aim is for peers to provide members ...

By Ashreet Acharya In May 2025, a terrorist attack in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir tragically claimed the lives of 26 civilians. This escalated military tensions between Indian and Pakistan and underscored the continuous and evolving challenge of terrorist financing under pressure. Directly responding to the attack, the Indian defence services launched targeted missile strikes against ...