Blog

By Joel S. Elson, Austin C. Doctor, and Sam Hunter The metaverse is coming. Like all technological innovation, it brings new opportunities and new risks. The metaverse is an immersive virtual reality version of the internet where people can interact with digital objects and digital representations of themselves and others, and can move more or less freely ...

By Jakob Guhl, Moustafa Ayad and Julia Ebner How Islamist extremists and the violent right wing interact and influence each other The interplay between Islamist extremists and the violent right wing has raised fears among policy makers and practitioners about a vicious cycle of escalating tensions between extremist movements. These dynamics do not merely present ...

By Antonia Vaughan The use of internet data in academic research without informed consent (covert research) is subject to a number of ethical quandaries. Here, the particular considerations that researching the radical right imposes are teased out, such as whether terms of service can be taken as a form of consent; whether internet data is ...

By Tech Against Terrorism Since the 2000s Ireland has emerged as the preferred destination for many leading tech companies, and for many members of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) – including all founding members: Meta, Twitter, and Microsoft1 – to establish their EU headquarters. This concentration of tech headquarters in Dublin places ...

This is part two of a two-part series. Read part I here [Ed.]. By Anne Speckhard And Molly Ellenberg In the summer of 2014, Khalifa got married to a Somali woman from Kenya whom he met online. She was studying medicine in Sudan before traveling to Syria. At the time of the interview in 2019, Khalifa ...

This is part one of a two-part series. Read part II here [Ed.]. By Anne Speckhard And Molly Ellenberg Mohammed Khalifa, otherwise known as Abu Ridwan al-Kanadi, is a Canadian citizen now facing federal prosecution in the United States for his participation in ISIS, particularly for his role in the terrorist group’s media department. The New York ...

By Carli Kulmar and Michael Jensen Even before extremist group activity in Australia’s 2021 anti-lockdown protests was exposed, concern about right-wing extremism in Australia was on the rise. ASIO and the US annual threat estimate have noted right-wing extremism in Australia is on an upward trend. Ideological extremism now makes up 40% of the ASIO caseload. Our research at the University ...

By Brett Solomon On October 28, 2021, before the United Nations Security Council, Access Now spoke on addressing and countering online hate speech and preventing incitement to discrimination, hostility, and violence on social media. The Security Council is the United Nations’ most powerful body, with “primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.” This ...

By Christian Vorre Mogensen Incels – people living in ‘Inceldom’ – define themselves by their inability to engage in romantic or sexual relations, despite strong wishes to do so. A true Incel is someone who has not, and never will, engage in any such activities or relationships. People referring to themselves as Incels are mostly ...

Welcome to Volume 8, Issue 4 of the VOX-Pol Newsletter. VOX-Pol CONTRIBUTION TO RECENT EVENTS 2021 AVERT RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM The 2021 AVERT Research Symposium took place from 3 to 5 November 2021. This year’s title was ‘Violent Extremism at the Crossroads: Persistence, Change & Dynamism’. The keynotes were given by Prof. Martha Crenshaw, Professor Emerita of Government at Wesleyan University, ...