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This white paper maps these continually shifting dynamics, drawing on proceedings from meetings of the Academic and Practical Research Working Group of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), the work of the Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNET), and original desk research. In doing so, it identifies key emerging trends and research priorities related to violent extremism, counterterrorism, and the role of the internet in these spaces. The paper is divided into three sections that respectively examine innovations in violent extremism, new developments in extremist outreach and messaging, and new research and priorities as they relate to preventing terrorist use of the internet (PTUI).

The internet can leave users vulnerable to social challenges, which creates opportunities for extremism to spread. Users can be exposed to extremism in multiple ways, including through recruitment and socialisation. Extremist content may be found on mainstream social media sites and ‘alt-tech’ platforms, which replicate the functions of mainstream social media but have been created or co-opted for the unconventional needs of specific users. Automatic detection can be used to moderate extremist content on a large scale. However, this is prone to false positives and may disproportionately impact a particular group, which can fuel mistrust in the state. Many stakeholders believe that current counter-extremism responses are too focused on law and technology, and do not address the underlying reasons that people are drawn to extremist content. Individual and societal interventions aim to identify underlying socio-economic and cultural contributors and implement protective factors to reduce how many people develop extremist views.

The Redirect Method​ uses Adwords targeting tools and curated YouTube videos uploaded by people all around the world to confront online radicalization. It focuses on the slice of ISIS’ audience that is most susceptible to its messaging, and redirects them towards curated YouTube videos debunking ISIS recruiting themes. This open methodology was developed from interviews with ISIS defectors, respects users’ privacy and can be deployed to tackle other types of violent recruiting discourses online.

VOX-Pol Blog Post.

This report will outline some of the ways social media continues to be exploited 20 years on to promote misinformation, as well as conspiracies that advance bigoted and prejudiced beliefs and ideologies, especially anti-Semitism.

VOX-Pol Blog Post.