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Terrorists and violent extremists are manipulators seeking to exploit stress factors in our societies. The Covid-19 pandemic, its ensuing lockdown measures, as well as the spread of related mis- and disinformation online, thus represented an almost ideal opportunity for malevolent actors to exploit. Far-right violent extremists, in particular, quickly jumped on the opportunity offered by the Covid-19 crisis to anchor their hateful ideas into the mainstream and recruit new members. Whilst manifesting itself mostly online, this exploitation was not limited to the online sphere. It materialised in real world events as violent extremists blended themselves into anti-lockdown protests and as terrorists’ plans were eventually thwarted. Whilst the tech sector promptly responded to the wave of mis- and disinformation, the rapid changes in content moderation policy bear important consequences for the future of content moderation and freedom of expression online. Indeed, the global tech sector, especially social media and content-hosting platforms, was particularly quick to respond to the spread of Covid-19 disinformation and conspiracy theories. In this insight piece, Tech Against Terrorism analyses how far-right violent extremists exploited the instability caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and what the tech sector’s response means for online freedom of expression and platforms’ accountability.

Les terroristes et les extrémistes sont avant tout des manipulateurs qui cherchent à exploiter les facteurs de stress présents dans nos sociétés.La pandémie de Covid-19, les mesures de confinement qui en ont découlé ainsi que la propagation de la mésinformation et de la désinformation en ligne qui y sont liées sont donc des conditions idéales à exploiter pour certains acteurs malveillants. Les partisans de l’ultradroite, en particulier, ont rapidement saisi l’occasion offerte par la crise du Covid-19 pour ancrer leurs idées dans le débat public et recruter de nouveaux membres. Bien qu’elle se manifeste principalement en ligne, cette exploitation ne s’est pas limitée à la sphère virtuelle et s’est matérialisée dans des événements réels, par exemple lorsque des extrémistes violents se sont mêlés aux protestations contre le confinement et les restrictions sanitaires et que des plans d’attaques terroristes ont été contrecarrés. Alors que le secteur technologique a rapidement réagi à la vague de désinformation, les changements rapidement apportés aux politiques de modération des contenus en ligne ont déjà des conséquences importantes pour l’avenir de la modération de contenus et de la liberté d’expression en ligne. En effet, le secteur technologique mondial, notamment les réseaux sociaux et les plateformes d’hébergement de contenus, a réagi particulièrement rapidement à la propagation des théories de désinformation et de conspiration liées au Covid-19. Dans cette note, Tech Against Terrorism analyse comment les partisans de l’ultradroite ont exploité l’instabilité causée par la pandémie de Covid-19, et ce que la réponse du secteur technologique signifie pour la liberté d’expression en ligne et la responsabilité des plateformes.

This exploratory study examines the narrative space of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Specifically, we developed a methodology to gather, archive, and analyze ISIL’s online presence in social media. Our sample was drawn from transient websites (N = 8308) collected between August 2015 and October 2015. From this pool, we coded a random sample of 100 English-only articles for violent, pragmatic, and ideological themes. Exploratory factor analyses revealed two constructs: violence and ideological rationality. Our findings offer insight into the messaging and organizational dynamics of ISIL. We conclude with implications and future directions.

Discourse of terrorism and social media are often discussed the last few years, discussions related to the issue of terrorism is often associated with social media is considered to be one of the tools used to spread the ideology of terrorist networks even recruiting members. Terrorist networks utilizing social media to conduct ideological campaign covertly or overtly and massive. The definition of terrorism employed here is the selective use of fear, subjugation, and Intimidation to disrupt the normal operations of a society. All social system seek ethical and legal norms that satisfy the conditions for continued human survival without giving offence to the major ideological premises on which these respective societies have come to rest. Consequently, while different social systems react differently to terror in accordance with their vision of self interest, no surviving society can be indifferent to the problems raised by terrorism. Terrorist activities have been aiming for and take advantage of ideology and religion for the world community in favor of the claim that their struggle. Genealogy religious radicalism emerged for several reasons. As the pressure of the political regime in power and the failures of the secular ideology of the regime, so the presence of radicalism considered as an alternative ideological only in the fight against oppression and adversity caused by the secular regime so that a group of radicalism assumed that it had no other option but to commit acts of terrorism to counter secular regime. The polarization of political behavior and the fragmentation of political belief are well illustrated in the current rhetoric concerning. Attitudes toward the uses of terror and the functions of terrorist range from a gratuitous belief in terror as the only possible means to bring about social changes to a view of terror and terrorist. The range of views extends from terrorists as the only authentic heroes in notably unheroic age to their demotion as petty criminals who coat their venal act with an ideological gloss.

This project examines the uses of social media for policing domestic extremism and
disorder in the UK. The collection and analysis of social media data for the purposes
of policing forms part of a broader shift from ‘reactive’ to ‘proactive’ forms of
governance in which state bodies engage in big data analysis to predict, preempt and
respond in real time to a range of social problems. However, there is a lack of
research that accounts for the ways in which different state bodies are making use of
big data, and how big data is changing the way states research, prioritize and act in
relation to social and political issues.

VOX-Pol Blog post.