Online Library

The article focuses on the role of social media platforms in the radicalization of domestic right-wing terrorists. It discusses a specific case of a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, where the shooter was radicalized online. It highlights the shooter’s use of social media platforms like 4chan, known for hosting extremist content, and the livestreaming of the attack, which is becoming a popular tool among terrorists to publicize their crimes.

In 1993, a largely forgotten neo-Nazi named Milton Kleim Jr. launched (what was yet to be called a website titled) “Aryan News Network” with the proto-internet platform USENET. Building upon more than a decade of revolutionary new communications technologies—embraced early and often by right-wing extremists—this peer-to-peer tool was intended as a form of ‘guerrilla warfare’ against the ‘main–stream media.’

VOX-Pol Blog Post.

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.

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.

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)