Report
The Incelosphere: Exposing pathways into incel communities and the harms they pose to women and children
September 18, 2023This new report, a product of the Center for Countering Digital Hate’s new Quant Lab, is a systematic study of over a million posts over the past eighteen months on the world’s leading incels forum. By stripping language down to mathematics, we can eke out trends that provide real insight into incel communities. Our Quant ...
Online Extremism in North Macedonia: Politics, Ethnicities and Religion
September 18, 2023The Strong Cities Network (SCN) conducted an online mapping exercise to investigate the main extremist narratives deployed in North Macedonia. Using a mixed method of automated collection and expert manual qualitative online research, SCN identified the main narratives across political, ethnic and religiously inspired extremist and hate groups. On the basis of these findings, SCN ...
Investigative Report on the role of online platforms in the tragic mass shooting in Buffalo on May 14, 2022
September 18, 2023The mass shooting in and around the Tops grocery store in Buffalo, New York on May 14, 2022 that claimed the lives of ten individuals and injured three others was all the more horrific because of the white supremacist ideological motivation that fueled it and the shooter’s meticulous planning. The disturbing reality is that this ...
The Terror Times: The Depth and Breadth of the Islamic State Alternative News Outlet Ecosystem Online
September 18, 2023This report highlights the networks, supporters, and the platforms of Islamic State disinformation disseminators, focusing on popular social media platforms as well as encrypted messaging applications. These disinformation networks are creating self-branded media outlets with followers in the tens of thousands, and often with innocuous names like “Global Happenings,” “DRIL” and “Media Center,” to evade ...
The Growing Power of Online Communities of the Extreme-Right: Deriving Strength, Meaning, and Direction From Significant Socio-Political Events ‘in Real Life’
September 18, 2023The role of online communities of the extreme-right in the radicalization of individuals involved in political violence has received increased public attention due to recent tragic events around the world. In this policy brief, we provide a systematic account of the psychological processes underpinning the formation and transformation of these communities. Our analysis is built ...
Radical Right Activities in Nusantara’s Digital Landscape: A Snapshot
September 18, 2023This study analysed three social media movements linked with extreme right‑wing activities online. Such activities were carried out by right‑wing extremists and those who support their philosophy of nationalism and religious conservatism, whether actively or passively. This study also investigated how themes and narratives from across the globe, such as US political discourse, Russian disinformation ...
Report: A Case Study in Neo-Fascist Accelerationist Coalition Building Online
September 18, 2023This report provides an overview of two seemingly new formations of online networks of accelerationist and neo-fascist entities that emerged in early 2021 and are self-described Atomwaffen Division spinoffs. It also provides an understanding of how they behave online and speaks to the threats of offline violence they pose. ...
Learning from Foes: How Racially and Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists Embrace and Mimic Islamic State’s Use of Emerging Technologies
September 18, 2023This report concerns itself with terrorist technical innovation, particularly with regards to terrorists’ incorporation of emerging technologies into their practices. More specifically, it investigates, through the elaboration of a theoretical learning framework, how terrorist groups can adopt the practices of ideological enemies operating in different security, ideological and political environments. It does so through a ...
Why They Do It: Counterspeech Theories of Change
September 18, 2023People who do counterspeech almost universally want to reach audiences, not the people spreading harmful speech. Drawing on over 50 interviews with counterspeakers, this paper reports on four primary theories of change as counterspeakers describe them, and discusses the implications of this for researchers. ...