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VOX-Pol’s Coordinator, Professor Maura Conway, was interviewed for a new report on Online Extremism by the UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST). POST produces peer-reviewed and impartial scientific research briefings for the UK Parliament in the form of four-page POSTnotes, which are informed by literature reviews and stakeholder interviews. This POSTnote describes how ...

Hier bei VOX-Pol freuen wir uns mitzuteilen, dass der neueste Bericht unserer Serie, „Wie Extrem ist die Rechte in Europa? Untersuchung von Überschneidungen in der deutschen Rechtsaußenszene auf Twitter” von Reem Ahmed und Daniela Pisoiu, jetzt auch auf Deutsch verfügbar ist. Über den Bericht Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, die Überschneidungen in der Rechtsaußenszene auf ...

By Louise Laing and Maura Conway One of the questions we get asked quite often at VOX-Pol—by not just PhD students and early career researchers, but established scholars too and, in fact, that we quite often ask ourselves! — is ‘what are appropriate academic journals for publication of research on online extremism and terrorism?’ A generic ...

By Dr. Alton Chua and Dr. Snehasish Banerjee Terrorism remains a persistent challenge worldwide. While portrayed as a threat to society and human civilisation by mainstream media, terrorists sell terrorism as freedom fighting via social networking sites and private messaging platforms. However, the actual workings of terrorism are largely shrouded in secrecy. For the curious, a ...

By Anne Speckhard “If I was going to die at least I could die helping children. [It’s] illogical that you are entering a war zone that you don’t know anything about … I felt if I did something good it would overwrite the bad that had happened.” — Canadian 46-year-old Kimberly Pullman, speaking about her decision ...

By Tech Against Terrorism Transparency reporting is an important way for the tech sector to increase awareness of its internal content moderation decision-making processes. Reporting can also increase transparency around information and takedown requests made of tech platforms by external entities, such as law enforcement agencies or governments. With regards to terrorism and online terrorist ...

By Elise Thomas Online radicalisation has been a significant point of focus for the national security community in recent years. Much of this attention has been directed, rightly, at the risks posed by Islamic extremism, far-right extremism and white supremacist movements. However, far less attention has been paid to an equally dangerous and arguably more ...

By Tom Ascott Everyone has seen a meme, whether they know it or not. They’re everywhere on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The most popular ones make it off the Internet and show up in newspapers, television shows or films. You’ve almost certainly seen Pepe the Frog, and if you haven’t seen the classic ‘Woman yelling ...

Read in German Introducing the REASSURE Project Academic research into online extremism and terrorism carries unique risks. The first is repeated exposure to distressing content, such as the detailed analysis of thousands of videos or images produced by ISIS. The second is the potential to be targeted by illicit actors, online and offline, through doxing, ...

By Jason Pielemeier and Chris Sheehy Since 2010, a small number of European governments have created formal, government structures for flagging alleged terrorist content directly to companies for voluntary removal under their respective terms and conditions. A review of these Internet Referral Units (IRUs) conducted by the Global Network Initiative, with help from Harvard Law ...