Terrorism and Technology: The Front End
August 6, 2024
VOX-Pol Blog Post. ...
From image to function Automated analysis of online jihadi videos
September 18, 2023
The strategy of jihadist groups is based on objectives that are sometimes global. Specifically, many of these groups argue that Muslims, wherever they live, should fight for the establishment of an Islamic state or, at least, for such a state to be possible elsewhere. Therefore, taking advantage of the emergence of the Internet, they initiated ...
The Fission of the Forbidden: The Popularity of Video Content in an Online Right-Wing Extremist Environment
September 18, 2023
Video platforms such as YouTube provide an environment where the blurred duality between content dissemination and creation facilitates the generation of social networks. Research into online violent extremist environments has often noted the prominence of video-sharing platforms as a means of distributing propaganda and cultivating social networks for purposes of recruitment. This paper draws from ...
The Fission of the Forbidden: The Popularity of Video Content in an Online Right-Wing Extremist Environment
September 18, 2023
Video platforms such as YouTube provide an environment where the blurred duality between content dissemination and creation facilitates the generation of social networks. Research into online violent extremist environments has often noted the prominence of video-sharing platforms as a means of distributing propaganda and cultivating social networks for purposes of recruitment. This paper draws from ...
It’s a Man’s World: Carnal Spectatorship and Dissonant Masculinities in Islamic State Videos
September 18, 2023
Islamic State videos have often been associated with savage violence and beheadings. An in-depth scrutiny however reveals another striking feature: that female bodies are absent, blurred or mute. Examining a few Islamic State videos in depth, the article suggests that the invisibility of women in tandem with the ostentatious visibility of male bodies enable gendered ...
The homogeneity of right-wing populist and radical content in YouTube recommendations
September 18, 2023
The use of social media to disseminate extreme political content on the web, especially right-wing populist propaganda, is no longer a rarity in today’s life. Recommendation systems of social platforms, which provide personalized filtering of content, can contribute to users forming homogeneous cocoons around themselves. This study investigates YouTube’s recommendations system based on 1,663 German ...