Blog
Using Twitter as a Data Source: An Overview of Social Media Research Tools (2021)
June 23, 2021
By Wasim Ahmed When I wrote the original version of this post back in 2015, and the revised versions in 2017 and 2019, I wasn’t sure how long Twitter would provide access to its data. This was because after a string of public scandals other platforms such as Facebook had been closing or limiting access. Fast-forward to 2021, and something ...
Blog
Jacinda Ardern Calls for ‘Ethical Algorithms’ to Combat Online Extremism. What This Means
May 26, 2021
By Nathalie Collins New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern has called for “ethical algorithms” to help stop online radicalisation. She made her call at the second summit of the “Christchurch Call” for action to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. The first Christchurch Call summit was convened by Ardern and French president Emmanuel Macron ...
Blog
Social Media Extremism Can Also Be Asymptomatic: Policy Recommendations
October 21, 2020
By Mark Dechesne At a time when world news headlines are dominated by Covid-19, we must not forget that for the past decade, the nations of Europe have been plagued by another fast-spreading and often deadly epidemic: the circulation of socially corrosive, extremist language via social media. This type of social media communication has helped ...
Blog
The Effects of Censoring the Far-Right Online
July 15, 2020
By Ofra Klein Since 2016, censorship of far-right groups and individuals on social media platforms has been the subject of much public discussion. With the implementation of laws to counter hateful speech, such as the German Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) and the EU code of conduct, social media companies are now much more responsible for regulating ...
Blog
Wie Extrem ist die Rechte in Europa: eine Twitter-Analyse
May 20, 2020
Read in English Dieser Blogeintrag enthält einen Abschnitt aus dem vollständigen Bericht, verfügbar in englischer und deutscher Sprache [Ed.]. Von Reem Ahmed und Daniela Pisoiu Insgesamt 381.912 Tweets wurden über die Twitter-API (Programmierschnittstelle) von 175 EU-weiten Accounts gesammelt, die als rechtsextremistisch  identifiziert wurden (insbesondere Accounts mit offen neo-nazistischen und White Supremacist Themen). Die Tweets wurden ...
Blog
How Extreme is the European Far-Right: A Twitter Analysis
May 20, 2020
Read in German This blog post presents an edited section from the full report, available in both English and in German [Ed.]. By Reem Ahmed and Daniela Pisoiu A total of 381,912 tweets were collected through the Twitter application programming interface (API) from 175 EU-wide accounts that were identified as right-wing extremist (specifically, accounts with ...
Blog
Comparing Topic and Tone of Tweets by Far-Right Political Parties Versus Right-Wing Extremist Movements in the Netherlands, UK, and Germany
May 13, 2020
By Suzanne Mos The Internet is a good place to get a sense of what topics certain groups or movements deem important. In this Blog post, I present the findings of comparative mixed methods research addressing the question ‘How does the use of Twitter by far-right political parties differ from right-wing extremist movements in terms ...
News
Jetzt auch auf Deutsch „Wie Extrem ist die Rechte in Europa?”
May 11, 2020
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 ...
Blog
Is ISIS Dead or Alive?
March 4, 2020
By Moign Khawaja It has been almost two years since the Islamic State, also known as IS or ISIS, lost its final stronghold in eastern Syria and four months since its leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi was killed in a US military raid. Have these two game-changing events led to the demise of the group ...
Blog
From the French Revolution, the First Amendment and the Third Reich to Twitter and Facebook: The Impact of Legal Histories on the Fight Against Online Extremism – Part 2: The United States
February 19, 2020
By Nery Ramati The need to develop legal tools in order to cope with the dangers of online extremism and terrorism has been an issue that has kept legislators, government officials, and security forces around the globe very busy in recent years. In liberal democracies, the legal challenges are intensified due to the obvious dangers ...