Blog
Blog
Vital Human Rights Evidence in Syria is Disappearing from YouTube
November 22, 2017By Dia Kayyali and Raja Althaibani So much of Syria’s history has been purposefully erased by ISIS in recent years. And now, we’re seeing another erasure of history– this time on YouTube. Thousands of videos showing human rights abuses in Syria, as well as the channels that feature these videos, are being removed by YouTube. ...
Blog
New digital methods can be used to analyse linguistic terms and better understand Reddit communities
November 15, 2017By Tim Squirrell Reddit is now the fourth most visited website in the US. Yet, surprisingly, given its position as an extremely large community, it has been the subject of relatively little research. Tim Squirrell has developed methods of studying the genealogy, spread, and use of particular words on Reddit, as demonstrated by this case ...
Blog
Self-regulation of Internet Intermediaries: Public Duty Versus Private Responsibility
November 8, 2017By Paul Bernal Internet intermediaries – the social media companies, search engines and internet service providers who supply ways for audiences to find and access online content – are under scrutiny regarding their crucial role in the flow of digital information. Google and Facebook attracted one fifth of global advertising spend in 2016, and concerns ...
Newsletter
VOX-Pol Newsletter 4(4) November 2017
November 8, 2017Welcome to Vol. 4 Iss. 4 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 and ...
Blog
We Should Pay More Attention to the Role of Gender in Islamist Radicalization
November 1, 2017By Elizabeth Pearson and David Sutcliffe One of the key current UK security issues is how to deal with British citizens returning from participation in ISIS in Syria and Iraq. Most of the hundreds fighting with ISIS were men and youths. But, dozens of British women and girls also travelled to join Islamic State in Syria ...
News
VOX-Pol Workshop on Countering Violent Extremism Online and the Impact on Civil Liberties
October 31, 2017VOX-Pol convened an invitation-only workshop titled ‘Countering Violent Extremism Online and the Impact on Civil Liberties’ Berkman Klein Centre for Internet and Society at Harvard University on 23 – 24 October 2017. The purpose of the workshop was to explore the challenges and opportunities facing actors engaged in countering violent extremism online, particularly the impact of content ...
Blog
The Sound of an Echo
October 25, 2017By Joe Whittaker In the aftermath of a terrorist attack, a series of events can ostensibly be relied on. As we mourn, the media frantically try to gather information about the attacker(s) and, upon learning that they used social media for some part of their activity, it is suggested by journalists, politicians, and pundits that ...
News
VOX-Pol Workshop On Online Jihadism: Beyond The English-Language Literature
October 18, 2017A VOX-Pol workshop, organised in collaboration with ICSR, entitled ‘Online Jihadism: Beyond the English-Language Literature’ was hosted at King’s College London on 16 – 17 October. Contributors included counter-radicalisation experts, anthropologists, political scientists, and Islamic Studies scholars. Over 90 attendees registered for the two-day event. Simultaneous translation was provided in Arabic and French throughout. Social scientists have approached online ...
Blog
The UK Extreme Right on Twitter: Restricting Access to Extremist Content Online
October 18, 2017By Lorand Bodo In recent years, governments and companies have had to respond to the phenomenon of terrorists and other violent extremists using the Internet, especially social media platforms, to propagate their messages and as a tool for radicalisation. For example, the UK government recently proposed to tighten the law concerning the viewing of violent ...
Blog
Industry Efforts to Censor Pro-Terrorism Online Content Pose Risks to Free Speech
October 11, 2017By Sophia Cope, Jillian C. York, and Jeremy Gillula In recent months, social media platforms—under pressure from a number of governments—have adopted new policies and practices to remove content that promotes terrorism. As the Guardian reported, these policies are typically carried out by low-paid contractors (or, in the case of YouTube, volunteers) and with little to ...