As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its second month, ISD is focussing on the concurrent information war. Our research shows how pro-Kremlin narratives are seeping into the mainstream, slowly engraining into conspiracy groups, exploiting wedge issues to create a chaotic information environment and prevent public opinion hardening against Russia.

We’ve exposed how RT is circumventing social media restrictions with the assistance of their fanbase, and the Kremlin’s use of traditional Cold War propaganda in the form of ‘whataboutisms’. Our CEO Sasha Havlicek appeared on Radio 4’s Today discussing the last two decades of Western response to Putin, while Julia Smirnova helped the Washington Post debunk a viral video claiming the death of a German boy was caused by Ukrainian refugees, and Elise Thomas spoke with the New York Times about the Kremlin’s pragmatic approach to propaganda narratives. Also in this newsletter:

• QAnon’s imminent pro-China shift?
• Gettr’s failure to launch in France and Germany
• Anti-lockdown analysis: US and Italy
• New war, old Soviet propaganda tactic: ‘whataboutism’
• Why Western conspiracy influencers are promoting pro-Kremlin propaganda

ISD News:

• Webinar alert: The Strong Cities Network invites you to their next Together for Safety series webinar, Safe City Governance: The Role of Networks and Alliances, on 7 April. More info here.

For more of our ongoing Russia-Ukraine analysis, visit our regularly updated hub.

The ISD team has been mobilising its counter-disinformation operation around the unfolding human tragedy in Ukraine, which will shape our geopolitical landscape for decades to come.

We are providing continuous analysis across our areas of expertise, focusing on the spread of disinformation on TikTok, Facebook and Telegram, while also identifying pro-Kremlin influence operations on Twitter. Our CEO, Sasha Havlicek, joined Sky News’ ‘The Great Debate’ discussing the Ukraine/Russia conflict, while Julia Smirnova helped POLITICO understand how Telegram has become a central hub for Russian state narratives, and Ciaran O’Connor spoke to AP News about his research on pro-Kremlin disinformation on TikTok. Also in this newsletter:

• Hate and harassment during the 2021 German federal elections
• Conspiracy clickbait networks seize opportunity to run ‘Freedom convoy’ Facebook groups
• The problem with preprints

ISD News:

• Last call for our final session of the Be Internet Citizens programme
• Webinar alerts: Conversions & convergence: Side-switching extremists and the threat of reciprocal radicalisation (16 March); Safeguarding Local Democracies (17 March).
• Podcast: Jennie King talks to Stop Funding Heat about the latest trends in climate mis- and disinformation.

In this issue of Insights, ISD reports on two years of research on Australian political fringes, analyses identitarian mobilisation around the 2022 French presidential election, tracks growing online sales of fake COVID-19 health passes in France, and takes an in-depth look at German-language antisemitic YouTube video comments. Also in this newsletter:

• Measuring ‘toxicity’ in digital Salafist content
• How to register for Be Internet Citizens training sessions in March
• A retrospective report on digital threats during the 2021 German federal elections
• Open registration for a Strong Cities Network online panel discussion discussing the role of cities in addressing anti-minority protests
• ISD’s work in global media outlets
• New roles available at ISD

Events:

• Registration for the final sessions of the Be Internet Citizens programme with YouTube in partnership with Kate Daniels (PSHE Education)
• Join the Strong Cities Network for a webinar on the role of cities in addressing the rising threats posed by anti-minority and far-right activism in cities across the US, Europe and beyond. Registration is open here.

Media: 

• Ciarán O’Connor speaks to France 24 on the connections between the Canadian truckers’ convoy, the North American far right, and how that translates across the Atlantic.
• ISD’s CEO Sasha Havlicek featured on BBC Radio 4’s series ‘Death by Conspiracy’ to talk about the changing social media landscape, algorithms and the pressure the pandemic put on existing models.
• Elise Thomas features in Australia’s national broadcaster’s (ABC) 7.30 on the ‘Canberra Convoy,’ discussing the eclectic nature of the protests taking place in the country’s capital, a movement that may be small in numbers but loud in significance.
• Moustafa Ayad spoke to POLITICO about ISD’s research into online Islamist networks on mainstream social media, despite platform policies banning extremist content.

Highlights:

In this special issue, we share with you an exciting preview of what lies ahead in 2022 across our regional teams, research and programming, and hope you’ll join us as we continue to work for a brighter and more hopeful year! 

With 2021 now in the rearview, our teams are gearing up to bring you the latest analyses around disinformation, hate and extremism in numerous spheres and as many countries prepare for election years. We are particularly excited about the expansion of ISD-US in 2022, and the Strong Cities Network soon to be running regional hubs in the Balkans, West Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Here are some highlights from this issue:

• 2022 developments
• Our 2021 in review
• Mitigating new frontiers in disinformation: elections and more
• ISD’s policy and thought leadership
• Strong Cities Network in 2021
• ISD’s growing global footprint

Highlights:

In this issue of Insights, ISD breaks down the anti-lockdown movements in Canada and Ireland, releases a prototype taxonomy for classifying terrorist and violent extremist content, and lays bare a global network pushing to undermine women’s and LGBTQ+ rights in Hungary. Also in this newsletter:

• How German right-wing extremists and conspiracists are building their infrastructure on Telegram
• The Growth of the left-wing ‘gunstagram’
• The conspiracy consortium: examining discussions of COVID-19 among right-wing extremist Telegram channels
• Keep up with our Events, including Moustafa Ayad and Milo Comerford speaking to the GW Program on Extremism on Salafism and Alt-Right Online Subcultures
• ISD in the Media
• Our US programming is expanding in 2022, with vacancies across our team now open

Events:

• ISD’s Milo Comerford and Moustafa Ayad were hosted by the Program on Extremism at George Washington University for a virtual discussion event on Salafism and Alt-Right Online Subcultures.
• Jennie King, who recently led ISD’s efforts in tracking climate change misinformation during COP26, joins Kantar Public experts to discuss climate change disinformation.

ISD in the Media:

• Moustafa Ayad wrote an op-ed for WIRED about Gen-Z jihadists and the varying aspects that influence their outlooks and social media use as the post-September 11 generation.
• ISD’s Jacob Davey spoke with Sky News on their investigation into openly available antisemitic, racist, and generally extremist podcast material on Spotify.
• Aoife Gallagher features in this article by VICE News on the growing interconnectedness between the far-right and antivaccine movements in countries around the world.
• ISD’s Paula Matlach spoke with the Berliner Morgenpost on our findings from the 2021 German federal elections.

Highlights:
In this issue of Insights, ISD sheds light on a significant but little-known extremist ecosystem on Instagram, the German far-right’s tactics during the recent federal elections, and how to better detect hate speech on video platforms like YouTube. Also in this newsletter: 

• ISD co-hosts Summit for Democracy event with US and Canadian governments, and Strong Cities network convenes local and national leaders at Africa Summit
• How Mobilisation by Climate Sceptic Actors on Facebook During COP26 Undermined the Summit
• Online Extremism Index Series: Looking Ahead to the 2022 Elections in Kenya
• Pro-Russian Disinformation Outlet Evades Facebook Ban
• Keep up with our events
• ISD in the Media

Events:

• As part of the United States Summit for Democracy series, ISD brought together experts for a closed discussion on the issue of data provision from online platforms for research.
• Our Strong Cities Network hosted the virtual Africa Summit: Supporting City-Led Efforts to Address Hate, Polarisation and Extremism, alongside the County Government of Mombasa and the Kilindini Coalition. 
• On 1 December, ISD convened government officials and regulators from Five Eyes and European countries for a session of the Digital Policy Lab focused on threats to election integrity.
• As part of a project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV), ISD Germany recently held its first annual expert conference “In the Blind Spot – How Right-Wing Extremists Use Alternative Online Platforms for Radicalisation” in Berlin.

ISD in the Media:

• This piece by UnHerd draws on our report “Islamogram: Salafism and Alt-Right Online Subcultures” to explain the growing union between the online far-right and a subset of young Salafi Muslims
• Speaking with The Hill, ISD’s Chloe Colliver discusses how Twitter and other platforms dealt with a violent video directed at U.S. representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
• ISD’s Milo Comerford and Moustafa Ayad spoke with MEL magazine about our Islamogram report, part of our series Gen-Z & The Digital Salafi Ecosystem.
• Our Jennie King features in BBC’s The Denial Files where she speaks about how different groups and movements have repurposed and weaponised COVID-19.

Highlights:
In this issue of Insights, ISD takes a deeper look at the rapidly evolving online Salafi ecosystem, uncovers the re-emergence of a pro-Russian propaganda outlet on Facebook, and finds that TikTok is failing to tag almost 60% of COVID-19 vaccine-related content, while YouTube is failing to remove antivaxx misinformation more broadly. Also in this newsletter: 

• Our new report by the Strong Cities Network maps the online extremism space in Slovakia 
• The Threat of Conspiratorial COVID-Sceptic Extremism in Australia and NZ
• Get involved with: Youth Programming, an opportunity with Be Internet Citizens

Events:

• Our Head of Political Integrity and Digital Communication, Jiore Craig, joined global thought-leaders for the Global Progress 2021 Summit in Rome.
• SCN is hosting two virtual events in November and December: Africa Summit and the inaugural South Asia Summit

ISD in the Media:

• ISD’s Ciáran O’Connor spoke to NBC News about the latest viral “vaccine detox” theories.
• Our COP26 War Room monitoring unit is profiled in articles by Cities Today, NPR and The Guardian.
• Jennie King, who led our ‘War Room’ efforts in Glasgow, spoke with NPR about the weaponisation of climate change narratives by climate sceptic actors.
• Julia Ebner spoke to Refinery 29 about the urgency in recognising misogyny as a hate crime in the UK.

Highlights:

• ISD launches its COP26 War Room, providing real-time analysis of information threats across the whole of the climate conference; traces the origins of the Climate Lockdown conspiracy; explores the complex relationship white supremacists have with the U.S. military; and releases concerning findings on Facebook’s fact-checking model by analysing the World Doctors Alliance’s rise to fame.
• Reciprocal Dynamics Between Australia’s Political Fringes on Twitter
• Why are Online Book Retailers Recommending Anti-Vax Content to Buyers?

Speaking engagements:

• ISD’s Jennie King and Chloe Colliver joined the EU Disinfo Lab’s annual conference in their return to physical format in Brussels.
• Our Jacob Davey participated in the opening conference of RUSI’s Far-Right Extremism and Terrorism (FRET) Research Programme. Watch it here.

ISD in the Media:

• BBC’s Sunday Morning Live – Our CEO, Sasha Havlicek, discussed internet safety in the wake of MP David Amess’ killing, amid calls for a crackdown on social media abuse toward public figure.
• BBC specialist disinformation reporter Marianna Spring enlisted our Chloe Colliver to help investigate how online trolls can openly abuse her and so many other women without repercussions from platforms.
• Channel 4 – Jennie King speaks on our findings concerning the ‘Climate Lockdown’ conspiracy.
• Washington Post – Aoife Gallagher discusses our latest analyses on the World Doctors Alliance.