Online Library

VOX-Pol Guest Lecture Series, Autumn 2023

Name: Dr Anthony Richards

Title: Conceptualising Terrorism: Challenges and Implications

Outline: “Why is it important to generate an agreed definition of terrorism? What are the challenges that confront this and to what the extent can we view terrorism as an analytically distinctive concept?”

This workshop focusses on the phenomenon of extremism and especially online extremism in the context of sub-Saharan Africa. This workshop brought together academics researching extremism and Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) interventions in sub-Saharan Africa where both Islamist militant groups and far-right and alt-right groups operate. The workshop explored how extremist groups and individuals use the internet in the region, how counterterrorism/P/CVE strategies are designed to address this problem and the challenges of implementing these strategies bearing in mind global and local politics and the local governance systems in place.

Chair: Miraji H. Mohamed, Swansea University.

Panellists:

1. Prof Christi van der Westhuizen, Nelson Mandela University.

2. Prof Freedom C. Onuoha, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

3. Dr Halkano Abdi Wario, Egerton University.

4. Dr Christopher Anzalone, Marine Corps University (The views expressed here do not represent those of the U.S. Marine Corps, Department of Defense, or any part of the U.S. government)

Content takedowns have emerged as one of the central pillars in the global fight against disinformation and extremism. Despite their increasing ubiquity as disruptive tools in political processes, their true efficacy remains up for debate. We ‘know’, for example, that takedowns had a strong disruptive effect on Islamic State-supporting networks online, but we do not know whether constraining avenues for expression may ultimately accelerate offline acts of violence. We also know that extreme-right networks have weaponised content takedowns as evidence of victimisation and the steadfast erosion of ‘free speech’, often underpinning calls to (violent) action. There is much to understand about the efficacy of content moderation with regard to accelerationism, democracy and (violent) extremism: this event seeks to address these issues in an open forum for discussion.

Chair: Dr. James Fitzgerald (Dublin City University)

Presentation 1: Moderating Borderline Content whilst Respecting Fundamental Values Dr Katy Vaughan (Swansea University)

Presentation 2: Recommending Instead of Taking Down: YouTube hyper-partisan content promotion amid the 2022 Brazilian general elections Profs. Rose Marie Santini, Débora Salles, & Bruno Mattos (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro)

Presentation 3: Wellness and Conspiracy Theories: The promise and peril(s) of content takedowns Dr. Vivian Gerrand (Deakin University) and Dr. James Fitzgerald (Dublin City University)

VOX-Pol Lecture Series, Spring 2023

Title: Emerging Methodologies Panel: Researching the Metaverse.

Chair: Dr Suraj Lakhani (University of Sussex)

Speaker 1: Dr Rachel Kowert

Outline: “The Metaverse” is a phrase that is used often despite the fact that there is no clear consensus on how to define this space. In this short talk, we will explore the various interpretations of the metaverse and put forward a new definition of “metaverse-like spaces” and explore how these environments are not something to expect in a dystopian future, but are present here and now. We will also discuss the challenges and practicalities facing researchers who wish to study these environments.

Speaker 2: Dr Elizabeth Pearson

Outline: Online extremism and terrorism research has been going on for at least two decades now: although there was some earlier coverage (Lowe 1985), the academic sub-field had its genesis in the late 1990s and early 2000s (Arquilla, Ronfeldt, and Zanini 1999; Conway 2002; Denning 1999). Despite this, understanding its impacts on the people who collect and analyse data on online extremism and terrorism, and who publish their findings, is a relatively new concern. Lizz Pearson discusses the new VOX-Pol report from the REASSURE project, exploring how researchers are harmed, how they prevent harm and what institutions are doing to help. Based on interviews with researchers, we look at how research in the metaverse might change these findings, and how institutions need to adapt to the ever-changing research environment to protect academics.

VOX-Pol Guest Lecture Series, Spring 2023

Speaker: Dr. Erin Saltman

Title: Cross-Platform Approaches to Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism Online

Outline: This presentation reviews advances in cross-platform solutions advanced through the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT). GIFCT was founded in 2017 by technology platforms to give structure and support for countering terrorism and violent extremism online. This includes workstreams for (1) multi stakeholder knowledge-sharing, (2) developing action-oriented research, (3) building cross-platform tech solutions, and (4) managing shared incident response protocols. The presentation reviews the state of play in adversarial shifts by violent extremist groups online and what this means for the evolution of counter measures in the online space. It is followed up by a Q&A covering topics such as transparency, the technical aspects of the Hash Sharing Database, and the ethics of funding.

The focus of this workshop was individuals’ experiences of, and engagement with, extremist ideas and beliefs – both jihadist and far-right – in a variety of different settings. Panellists explored the role of video games, music, humour and the occult in normalising extremism and assessed the extent to which this plays a role in radicalisation trajectories and desensitises individuals to violence. The reverse process – in which extremist actors adopt mainstream culture to expound their message – was also considered.

Panellists:

Dr Suraj Lakhani (University of Sussex)

Dr Weeda Mehran (University of Exeter)

Prof Jonathan Pieslak (The City College of New York, CUNY)

Dr Ashton Kingdon (University of Southampton)