Blog
The Ethics of Engaging Former Extremists to Counter Violent Extremism Online
September 25, 2019
“It is my belief that there is and should be an end to the label, as in my own case […] I am more than what I once was; I am more than a former. Ethically sound CVE practitioners should see me as a person with a future, not just a past.” ~ Brad Galloway By ...
Events
Lunch Briefing Series 2019 hosted by VOX-Pol & EC-REP
September 19, 2019
This Autumn, the VOX-Pol Network of Excellence invites you to a series of Lunchtime Briefing Seminars, each exploring a different aspect of Violent Online Political Extremism. This is the third lunch briefing series following on from events in 2015 and 2016. The 2019 Lunch Briefing Series takes place in October and November, and is a joint ...
Blog
Analysis: The Use of Open-Source Software by Terrorists and Violent Extremists
September 18, 2019
Why global coding collaboration benefits everyone – including terrorists and violent extremists. Summary Much of the software that powers the internet and decentralised platforms currently depends on software that was developed under the “open-source model” – not to be confused with Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) – in which the source code is available to the general public for use or ...
Blog
From Telegram to Twitter: The Lifecycle of Daesh Propaganda Material
September 11, 2019
By Mohammed Al Darwish A typical Daesh propaganda release goes through multiple phases on its journey from Telegram to reach more popular social web platforms like Twitter.1 This transition from Telegram to a wider audience on a more accessible platform requires the intervention of “fanboys” who dedicate their time and effort to spreading the propaganda ...
Blog
Web 3.0: The Decentralised Web Promises to Make the Internet Free Again
September 4, 2019
One of our Top 4 Blog posts of 2019 was Loránd Bodó’s Decentralised Terrorism: The Next Big Step for the So-Called Islamic State (IS)? Today’s post presents the pros and cons of what’s sometimes called ‘Web 3.0.’ [Ed.] By Edina Harbinja and Vasileios Karagiannopoulos Have you recently considered deleting your Facebook account, boycotting Amazon or ...
Newsletter
VOX-Pol Newsletter 6(3) September 2019
September 3, 2019
Welcome to Volume 6 Issue 3 of the VOX-Pol Newsletter. If you have colleagues or friends who may be interested in the content of our newsletter, or any events or research carried out by VOX-Pol, please forward this to them and encourage them to subscribe via our website. Follow us on Twitter @VOX_Pol for live updates ...
News
Top 4 Most Popular Blog Posts of 2019
August 29, 2019
The VOX-Pol Blog is now in its 6th year, with just over 380 posts having been published to-date. We always welcome original posts, we cross-post with permission, and can also accept posts that have been published elsewhere in languages other than English and have them translated. Please email info@voxpol.eu with submissions and/or questions. Each year during August we take ...
News
VOX-Pol’s ‘Down The (White) Rabbit Hole’ (2014) Article Now Open Access
August 15, 2019
VOX-Pol is pleased to make the article Down the (White) Rabbit Hole: The Extreme Right and Online Recommender Systems, published in 2014 in the Journal Social Science Computer Review open access. The research is a multidisciplinary collaboration between University College Dublin School of Computer Science & Informatics and Dublin City University School of Law & ...
Blog
Informal Internet Censorship: The UK’s Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU)
July 31, 2019
By Jim Killock The CTIRU’s work consists of filing notifications of terrorist-related content to platforms, for them to consider removals. They say they have removed over 300,000 pieces of extremist content. Censor or not censor? The CTIRU consider its scheme to be voluntary, but detailed notification under the e-Commerce Directive has legal effect, as it ...
News
New VOX-Pol Open Access Article: Engaging with Online Extremist Material
July 26, 2019
VOX-Pol is pleased to present a new, open access research article by former VOX-Pol Fellow Zoey Reeve. The study, titled Engaging with Online Extremist Material: Experimental Evidence was published in the journal Terrorism and Political Violence online on 24 July 2019. ABOUT THE ARTICLE Despite calls from governments to clamp down on violent extremist material in the online ...