Blog
Drawing the Line Between Free Speech and Online Radicalisation
July 29, 2015
by Jacob Mchangama The global spate of terrorist attacks has brought the phenomenon of online radicalisation to the forefront. Governments and intelligence services warn that extremist groups use social media to recruit new adherents and potential terrorists. From the perspective of human rights, this raises a question – where should the line be drawn between ...
News
Nico Prucha interview on ISIS’ successful use of videos as propaganda
July 23, 2015
VOX-Pol Research Fellow, Dr Nico Prucha, and Principle Data Scientist, VORTEX, University of Vienna, Ali Fisher, gave an interview to SciDev.Net last week on how the ‘media mujahideen’ of ISIS use modern technology to create films that work so effectively as propaganda for the group. “The main characteristics of the ISIS content is a clear ...
Blog
Pop Terrorism: ISIS’ Media Campaign
July 22, 2015
By Sam Garin In a video entitled “There is no Life without Jihad,” young men shaded by verdant palm trees empathetically assure their audience that they understand their struggle as Muslims in a western country. The video shows English-speaking members of the Islamic State give calm, earnest testimonies urging Muslims in the West to join the terrorist ...
News
Public Lecture by UCL’s Paul Gill on ‘Lone Actor’ Terrorism
July 17, 2015
Dr. Paul Gill, Senior Lecturer in Security and Crime Science at VOX-Pol partner institution University College London, gave a fascinating presentation of his award-winning research into ‘Lone Actor’ terrorism on Wednesday 15 July at VOX-Pol partner ICSR at King’s College London. Dr. Gill focused on the empirical realities of ‘Lone Actor’ terrorism, how a single ...
Blog
Extremist Forums Provide Digital OPSEC Training
July 15, 2015
by Aaron Brantly and Muhammad al-`Ubaydi The average netizen has terrible digital hygiene. We click on random links, open emails from unknown individuals, use public WiFi hotspots, leave computers and devices unsecured, and often do not even use basic anti-virus packages. Most Chief Information Systems Officers’ largest problem is not a talented nation state, but ...
Blog
IS’ Social Media Strategy Leverages Convergence Culture
July 8, 2015
by Yannick Veilleux-Lepage Although there is nothing new in violent extremist groups quickly adopting new technology, what has hardly any precedent is the breadth of the communication strategy implemented by IS. Not only does IS use new technology to create the content which it releases, it also utilizes new technologies innovatively in the dissemination of ...
News
Public Lecture at ICSR by VOX-Pol Fellow Nico Prucha on IS’ Online-Mediated Ideological Narratives
July 7, 2015
VOX-Pol Research Fellow Dr. Nico Prucha, is currently being hosted by ICSR at King’s College London, a VOX-Pol partner institution. On Monday, 6 July, Dr. Prucha delivered an hour-long lecture on the ideological narratives of Islamic States as presented through their online media output at KCL’s Strand Campus. The session was chaired by ICSR’s Dr. ...
News
VOX-Pol attends Radicalisation Awareness Network meeting
July 7, 2015
VOX-Pol Programme Manager Lisa McInerney is speaking at a meeting of the Radicalisation Awareness Network at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue in London today. The meeting, ‘Bringing together industry partners and CVE practitioners – Innovative cooperation to counter extremism online’ is being held to engage private sector partners in the counter-narrative challenge and to organise ...
Blog
Review: Terrorism in Cyberspace: The Next Generation
July 1, 2015
By Joshua Sinai In the United States, Canada and Western Europe, dozens of al Qaeda, al-Shabab- and ISIS-related terrorist plots have been thwarted by government counterterrorism agencies through electronic surveillance of terrorist operatives’ suspicious activities on the Internet. While their activities were likely also monitored “on the ground,” the fact that terrorists of all extremist ...
News
VOX-Pol participates in CEU Summer School
June 30, 2015
VOX-Pol Programme Manager Lisa McInerney is participating in Central European University’s CMDS Summer Program on Advanced Topics in Internet Governance, Civil Society and Communication Policy Advocacy. The CMDS Summer Program is being held from 28 June to 4 July at CEU’s School of Public Policy in Budapest. The week-long program includes a range of sessions on ...