Blog

By Reem Ahmed This article summarises a recent paper published in Studies in Conflict & Terrorism that forms part of a special issue on the practicalities and complexities of (regulating) online terrorist content moderation. The special issue contains papers that were presented at Swansea University’s Terrorism and Social Media Conference 2022. As part of its ...

Welcome to Volume 10, Issue 3 of the VOX-Pol Newsletter. UPCOMING EVENT A launch event for the Tech Against Terrorism Europe (TATE) project takes place in Paris on Thursday, 28 September 2023, from 14:30 to 20:30. The event will bring together relevant actors in countering the terrorist use of the internet, in particular the diverse stakeholders involved in implementing ...

The VOX-Pol Blog publishes weekly articles on the topic of online extremism and terrorism. This year’s VOX-Pol Blog posts have covered issues with a global reach, such as incels, the far right, disinformation, online regulations, and platforms. The Blog also covered research-related concerns such as researcher welfare and interdisciplinary collaboration. This year we featured four book ...

By Felix Lippe “I want to write a book to prevent other young people from going to Syria and joining the so-called Islamic State!“ It is with that statement from a former who initiated the project Jamal al-Khatib – My Path!, that we (the members of the Vienna-based CSO turn), usually start our presentations, workshops ...

By Jing Zeng, Utrecht University and Daniela Mahl, University of Zurich The last few years have seen the west swept by political polarisation, much of which has played out online. Debates around race, gender and freedom of speech have splintered democracies, spread conspiracy theories and sparked a series of culture wars. One byproduct of this ...

By Amy-Louise Watkin This article summarises a recent paper published in Studies in Conflict & Terrorism that forms part of a special issue on the practicalities and complexities of (regulating) online terrorist content moderation. The special issue contains papers that were presented at Swansea University’s Terrorism and Social Media Conference 2022. Tech platforms have already ...

By Ashton Kingdon & Briony Gray The cost of misinformation can be deadly during crisis. Undermining public trust, emergency response effectiveness and potentially life-saving activities, misinformation has become an increasing trend in the aftermath of natural disasters that has spread like wildfire across a global audience. The expansion in the use of intelligence systems has ...

A Book Review by Joe Whittaker It is often said that online terrorism research has a data problem. While there is a sizable empirical literature into the “supply” of extremist content, such as propaganda videos, social media analyses, or jihadist magazines, we still know very little about how actual terrorists act. This data problem is, ...

by Jonathan Collins This article summarises a recent paper published in European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research The rise of harmful far-right narratives and the increasing reliance on social media platforms for socialising have created a fertile breeding ground for radical ideological movements and social divisions during the (and “post”) pandemic. However, there is ...

By Camille Antunes Online platforms and social media channels have given new opportunities for terrorists to reach more audiences, significantly enhancing their ability to radicalise and recruit. As a result, online monitoring has become vital to prevent the dissemination of violent extremist and terrorist content online that can contribute to radicalisation, and counter-terrorism operations. As ...