NewsItems Archive

VICE
‘Self-initiated terrorists’ reference the ‘Great Replacement’ in far-right attacks
ISD's Tim Squirrell featured in the VICE documentary 'The Replacement Conspiracy Inspired Mass Shootings', discussing the role the 'Great Replacement' conspiracy has played in right-wing terrorism.
Read more
ABC's The Drum
ISD’s Jiore Craig on how voters can stay ahead of “US-exported” disinformation ahead of the elections in Australia
ISD's Head of Digital Integrity, Jiore Craig, speaks to Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) The Drum, about electoral mis- and disinformation ahead of the Australian federal election.
Read more
BBC
Tracking Putin’s “superfans:” An investigation by ISD and the BBC
Researchers at ISD joined a BBC investigation on a network of Putin “superfans” on Facebook committed to depicting the Russian president as “smiling, benevolent and peace-loving”.
Read more
Business Insider
TikTok snubs researchers while disinformation spreads
ISD's Ciarán O'Connor has shared insights and concerns over the role of Tiktok in spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda in an op-ed for Business Insider.
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AP News
Ciarán O’Connor: TikTok is at the forefront of Russia’s propaganda war
ISD's Ciarán O'Connor comments to AP News about the significance of TikTok in Russia's information war.
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USA Today
Experts come together to define ‘extremism’
ISD has joined with the Polarization and Extremism Research Innovation Lab (PERIL) at the American University in Washington to define 'extremism', USA Today reports.
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BBC Radio 4
Algorithms and pandemic pressure: the perfect storm on social media
ISD's CEO Sasha Havlicek went on BBC Radio 4’s series ‘Death by Conspiracy’ to talk about the effects of the changing social media landscape due to algorithms and the pressure the pandemic put on existing models.
Read more
France 24
The overlaps between the international far right and the spreading ‘Freedom Convoy’
Ciarán O’Connor goes on France 24 to talk about the connections between the Canadian truckers’ convoy, the North American far right, and how that translates across the Atlantic.
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BBC & more
ISD’s climate monitoring “War Room” keeps watch over misinfo activity during COP26
ISD and partners are maintaining watch over our Climate Dashboards during COP26, monitoring for any mis- and disinformation trends and attacks against the Summit.
Read more
BBC's Panorama
How misogynistic hate benefits from algorithms and propels through social media
ISD's Chloe Colliver joins journalist Marianna Spring's investigation on how social media algorithms promote hate toward women.
Read more

Recent mentions

August 4, 2022 | The Irish Examiner

ISD's Ciarán O'Connor wrote an op-ed on the different ways TikTok is being weaponised during election periods in countries all around the world.

August 4, 2022 | CNN

Tim Squirrell spoke to CNN about the groups behind the protests currently being held at Drag Queen Story Hour events in libraries across the UK.

August 3, 2022 | The Guardian

ISD's Julia Ebner and Jacob Davey spoke to the Guardian about the strategies and resources extremists are using to radicalise young people.

August 2, 2022 | PC Mag

PC Magazine has featured ISD's findings as outlined in the report Under-Moderated, Unhinged and Ubiquitous: Al-Shabaab and the Islamic State Networks on Facebook .

July 31, 2022 | WaPo

ISD's Moustafa Ayad spoke with the WaPo about the findings from our two-year investigation into the online media ecosystem of al-Shabaab and the Islamic State in Africa.

July 31, 2022 | Washington Post

ISD's Moustafa Ayad spoke to the Washington Post about the problem of extremist and terrorist content on Facebook in Kenya.

July 30, 2022 | Baltimore Sun

Ciarán O'Connor spoke to the Baltimore Sun about the growing online community of 'First Amendment auditors'.

QAnon supporter holding sign saying "Trust the plan"

July 30, 2022 | BBC

Melanie Smith spoke to BBC Trending about the evolving threat posed by QAnon and weaponised conspiracy theories in the episode 'QAnon at the Ballot Box'.

July 28, 2022 | POLITICO

ISD’s Moustafa Ayad shares with POLITICO evidence of a network of fake accounts pushing disinformation in Arabic in between images of conventionally attractive women.

July 26, 2022 | AD

ISD's Katherine Keneally spoke with the AD about why the Dutch farmers' protests are resonating in the US, particularly among the far-right and conspiracists.

July 25, 2022 | New York Times

ISD's Jared Holt spoke to the New York Times about how supporting QAnon in the US doesn't necessarily equate to a successful campaign ahead of the 2022 primaries.

July 21, 2022 | CODA

ISD's Lea Gerster features in this newsletter for CODA, commenting on why people turn to conspiracies in moments of desperation.

July 20, 2022 | El País

Leading Spanish-language outlet El País published an exclusive about how RT content is "tricking" the system in place.

July 20, 2022 | POLITICO

Kata Balint and Jordan Wildon speak to Politico about Russia Today's latest strategies to stay online in Europe.

July 18, 2022 | Axios

ISD's Jared Holt spoke to Axios about the challenges facing Twitter as it continues negotiating with Elon Musk, who recently attempted to pull out of the deal.

July 13, 2022 | Grid

Senior Analyst at ISD US, Katherine Keneally, spoke to Grid about the convergence of climate policies and conspiracies currently playing out in the Netherlands.

July 11, 2022 | VICE

ISD's Tim Squirrell featured in the VICE documentary 'The Replacement Conspiracy Inspired Mass Shootings', discussing the role the 'Great Replacement' conspiracy has played in right-wing terrorism.

July 8, 2022 | NBC

ISD's Head of Communications and Editorial Tim Squirrell spoke to NBC Chicago in the wake of the Highland Park shooting that left seven people dead.

July 7, 2022 | ARD Kontraste

ISD analyst, Julia Smirnova, spoke to Leading German investigative TV magazine ARD Kontraste about Russian 'comedians' Vovan and Lexus and their relation with the Russian state.

July 6, 2022 | NPR

ISD's Melanie Smith spoke to NPR about the online footprint and radicalisation trajectory of the Highland Park shooter and those like him.

July 3, 2022 | Bloomberg

ISD’s Moustafa Ayad spoke to Bloomberg about the pro-Kremlin narratives being deployed in Africa in attempts to redirect blame for the global food security crisis since its invasion of Ukraine.

July 3, 2022 | The Independent

ISD analyst Aoife Gallagher commented to The Independent about how current response efforts to misinformation are not enough.

June 30, 2022 | Washington Post

ISD's Ciarán O'Connor spoke to the Washington Post about the role of TikTok in the election campaign of Bongbong Marcos, the incoming president of the Philippines.

June 28, 2022 | AFP

ISD's Iris Boyer spoke with AFP about our findings on the resiliency of the French online ecosystem during the 2022 elections.

June 22, 2022 | LCP

ISD's Iris Boyer participated in a panel for a political segment on France's LCP discussing the spread of hate online and the role of social networks in the issue.

June 17, 2022 | Alsat TV

Albanian-language national broadcaster Alsat covered Young Cities' recent event, the Youth Policy and Engagement Forum, held last month in North Macedonia.

June 16, 2022 | Irish Examiner

ISD analyst Ciarán O’Connor wrote an op-ed for the Irish Examiner on the lasting effects of Donald Trump's voter fraud accusations and the 'big lie' conspiracy.

June 16, 2022 | Amnesty International Kenya

Amnesty International Kenya and HAKI Africa released a joint statement expressing "deep concern" over our findings about Facebook's failure in stopping terrorist content online and the threat this serves to digital democracies in Africa.

June 15, 2022 | BBC

ISD’s AMEA Executive Director Moustafa Ayad spoke to BBC's Focus on Africa programme to discuss our recent report into terrorist content on Facebook in East Africa.

June 15, 2022 | AP News

Our recent report documenting the unmoderated spread of terrorist content on Facebook in East Africa is featured by AP News.

June 13, 2022 | Spotify

This is the first safety-focused council of this sort to be created by a major audio company.

June 13, 2022 | The Guardian

ISD's report Deny, Deceive, Delay: Documenting and Responding to Climate Disinformation at COP26 and Beyond has been featured in The Guardian.

June 11, 2022 | Tech Policy Press

Our Head of Climate Disinformation, Jennie King, along with fellow Climate Change Coalition member Michael Khoo, discuss the climate disinformation ecosystem and how popular conspiracy narratives are only distracting and delaying urgent climate action.

June 10, 2022 | The BBC

ISD's Jacob Davey took part in an expert panel for The Real Story on BBC World Service discussing the dynamics driving the Great Replacement conspiracy theory into the mainstream.

June 9, 2022 | The Conduit

ISD’s Jennie King is a guest on The Conduit speaking about climate mis- and disinformation and the small, closing window for action we are facing.

June 9, 2022 | The Guardian

ISD’s head of climate disinformation, Jennie King, spoke with the Guardian about our findings around monitoring climate mis- and disinformation during COP26.

June 9, 2022 | Newsweek

Newsweek profiles our report on evidencing trends of mis- and disinformation identified around COP26.

June 7, 2022 | Radio Télé Suisse

Speaking to Radio Télévision Suisse during their French-language morning show, La Matinale, she offers analysis on "Twitter diplomacy" and observations ISD France has had since the beginning of the war.

May 29, 2022 | BBC News

ISD's Julia Smirnova features in this article for the BBC, explaining that Southern Front is "likely the latest Russian strategy to establish control over the occupied territories of Ukraine".

May 27, 2022 | Grid News

ISD's Melanie Smith comments to Grid News about how "conspiracy theories thrive" in moments of crises like the Uvalde school shooting.

May 26, 2022 | VICE News

ISD OSINT analyst Elise Thomas spoke with VICE News about the general conspiracist sentiment setting over Australia since the general elections in May.

May 21, 2022 | ABC News

ISD analyst Ciarán O'Connor features in this article for ABC News speaking about the uptick in online radicalisation since the pandemic.

May 20, 2022 | The Independent

ISD analyst Aoife Gallagher spoke to the Irish Independent about the significance of the Great Replacement theory among the Irish far right.

May 19, 2022 | L'Express

ISD’s Iris Boyer questions the balance between the right to privacy and transparency issues on social media, in light of Elon Musk conditioning his Twitter bid to the number of fake accounts on the platform.

May 19, 2022 | CNN Business

Some platforms like 4chan refuse to take down extremist content and "ruin it for everyone", ISD's Tim Squirrell said in conversation with CNN Business.

May 18, 2022 | Tortoise

Jacob Davey spoke to Tortoise about findings from ISD's Gaming and Extremism series in light of the mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.

May 17, 2022 | BBC World News

ISD's Tim Squirrell spoke with BBC World News about the 14 May shooting in Buffalo, New York, the theories that might've prompted the suspect's radicalisation online, and prevention methods moving forward.

May 17, 2022 | Bloomberg

Ciarán O'Connor told Bloomberg that videos capturing the attacker livestreaming the Buffalo mass shooting can still be found online across various platforms.

May 16, 2022 | VICE News

ISD's Tim Squirrell spoke with VICE News on how pro-Kremlin circles are misconstruing the shooter's profile to undermine support for Ukraine.

hands using computer keyboard with dark shadow effect

May 15, 2022 | NBC

ISD's Ciarán O’Connor spoke to NBC about the alleged shooter's involvement in online spaces, including forums and platforms, dedicated to extremist conversations.

May 13, 2022 | Channel 4 News

ISD’s Julia Ebner provided analysis to a Channel 4 investigation on the tactics and narratives used by the British white nationalist movement Patriotic Alternative (PA) to groom young people in the country.

May 12, 2022 | The Guardian

ISD's Jennie King spoke to the Guardian about the appointment of known climate change-sceptic, Alan McCormick, as GB News chairman.

May 9, 2022 | Al Jazeera

Tim Squirrell spoke to Al Jazeera on World Press Freedom Day, discussing the threats of disinformation and propaganda in the online space.

May 5, 2022 | POLITICO

Moustafa Ayad spoke with Politico about our findings on the origins behind the viral #IStandWithRussia hashtag that came about after the invasion.

May 4, 2022 | VICE World News

Kata Balint and Lukasz Janulewicz spoke to VICE World News about CitizenGO, an organisation that plays a key role in an international network attempting to restrict sexual and reproductive health rights.

May 1, 2022 | Al Jazeera English

Tim Squirrell spoke to Al Jazeera English about Cyber Front Z, a Russian troll farm accused of spreading pro-Kremlin misinformation on social media.

April 27, 2022 | SMH

In collaboration with Reset Australia, ISD researchers examined algorithmic recommendations on YouTube and YouTube Shorts and found that boys and young men in Australia are being targeted with misogynistic, anti-feminist and 'Manosphere'-content.

April 26, 2022 | Slate

ISD’s Iris Boyer spoke with Slate France on the non-neutrality of search engines in the aftermath of the Bucha massacre.

April 21, 2022 | Book

In the lead-up to the 2020 US election, ISD found evidence showing how women running for office were more likely to be targeted by online abuse than their male counterparts.

April 21, 2022 | The Guardian

Posts questioning the atrocities committed in Bucha were shared 208,000 times in the first week of April.

April 20, 2022 | VICE

ISD's Ciarán O'Connor shares insight with VICE on the intersection between the long-standing anti-government 'Sovereign Citizen' ideology and COVID-19 conspiracy movements in the UK.

April 20, 2022 | Le Figaro

ISD analysts Zoé Fourel and Sasha Morinière spoke with French Le Figaro about their findings around the support for RT France and Sputnik among French-speakers since the ban.

April 19, 2022 | ABC's RN Breakfast

ISD's Jiore Craig spoke with ABC's RN Breakfast show about disinformation and misinformation being spread ahead of the Australian elections, and what ISD is doing with partners to prevent false and misleading narratives from taking hold.

April 19, 2022 | Newsweek

ISD's Tim Squirrell spoke to Newsweek about Dark MAGA, a new aesthetic being promoted by both Trump supporters and more extreme political groups.

April 19, 2022 | SBS News

ISD's Head of Digital Integrity, Jiore Craig, spoke to SBS News about the Mosaic Project, a joint initiative between ISD, the Judith Nielsen Institute, and RMIT's FactLab.

April 18, 2022 | ABC's The Drum

ISD's Head of Digital Integrity, Jiore Craig, speaks to Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) The Drum, about electoral mis- and disinformation ahead of the Australian federal election.

April 16, 2022 | The Guardian

In a conversation with The Guardian, ISD’s Elise Thomas points out that “voter fraud rhetoric ‘imported’” from the US has been on the rise for months in Australia, in the lead up to national elections.

April 13, 2022 | BBC

Researchers at ISD joined a BBC investigation on a network of Putin “superfans” on Facebook committed to depicting the Russian president as “smiling, benevolent and peace-loving”.

April 8, 2022 | Jews News Syndicate

ISD- and B’nai B’rith International's, in partnership with UNESCO, guide on combatting antisemitism online was covered by the Jewish News Syndicate.

April 4, 2022 | VICE News

ISD analyst Julia Smirnova features in this article by VICE News where she explains how a Telegram channel is urging Russians to help boost pro-Kremlin content online by faking a "grassroots" movement.

March 31, 2022 | UnHerd

Tim Squirrell, ISD's Head of Communications, spoke with UnHerd about the far-right's splitting view of the Russia-Ukraine War, the "Balkanistation" of the ecosystem and the appeal of conspiracies in moments of human crises.

EU flag as brick wall with shadows of people

March 29, 2022 | The Arab Weekly

The war in Ukraine has caused over three million people to flee their homes, Jasmine El-Gamal has authored an op-ed for the Arab Weekly about the future of refugee interventions.

March 29, 2022 | All Africa

ISD's Dominic Pkalya spoke to All Africa about the growing threat of political gangs and militias in Kenya ahead of the national elections on 9 August 2022.

March 29, 2022 | Oireachtas TV

ISD’s Ciarán O’Conner appeared on Oireachtas Debates, a show on Oireachtas TV, an Irish public service broadcaster, as part of a panel interview discussing the war in Ukraine and spread of disinformation around the invasion, and misleading information from pro-Ukrainian parties.

graphic of magnet attracting users to mobile phone

March 24, 2022 | Business Insider

ISD's Ciarán O'Connor has shared insights and concerns over the role of Tiktok in spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda in an op-ed for Business Insider.

Jiore being interviewed by an NBC journalist

March 23, 2022 | NBC Nightly News

ISD's Jiore Craig was interviewed on Russian disinformation by NBC Nightly News, where she discussed the role of powerful actors in curbing the spread of disinformation.

March 23, 2022 | Washington Post

Analysis by Julia Smirnova was featured by the Washington Post, it looks at a viral Tiktok video spreading misinformation about violence directed at Russians in Germany.

March 20, 2022 | NYT

ISD researcher Elise Thomas features in an article for the New York Times, where she reminds us that Russia has always executed information attacks, but it's never been as easy as it is now in the age of the Internet and smart phones.

March 19, 2022 | BBC Radio 4

ISD's CEO, Sasha Havlicek, appeared on Radio 4's flagship news and current affairs programme, Today, to discuss the last two decades of Western response to Vladimir Putin.

March 16, 2022 | Mother Jones

ISD researcher Elise Thomas shares some insight with investigative magazine Mother Jones about her research surrounding the ongoing information battle between Russia and Ukraine.

March 12, 2022 | Al Jazeera

Tim Squirrell, ISD's Head of Communications and Editorial, appeared on Al Jazeera's Inside Story to discuss changes to Meta's content moderation policy temporarily allowing users in some countries to incite violence against Russian soldiers.

March 7, 2022 | Sky News

Sasha Havlicek joined Sky News' 'The Great Debate' during primetime as a panelist, debating the question: Can the West stop Vladimir Putin?

March 4, 2022 | AP News

ISD's Ciarán O'Connor comments to AP News about the significance of TikTok in Russia's information war.

March 4, 2022 | POLITICO

ISD analyst and Russia expert Julia Smirnova speaks with POLITICO on how far-right activity on Telegram has increasingly consisted in the sharing of banned-RT content.

March 3, 2022 | USA Today

ISD has joined with the Polarization and Extremism Research Innovation Lab (PERIL) at the American University in Washington to define 'extremism', USA Today reports.

March 2, 2022 | FAZ

ISD's Julia Smirnova, an expert on Russia, features in a podcast with renowned German newspaper FAZ about deliberate false reporting during the war in Ukraine.

February 27, 2022 | The Independent

In an interview for the Independent, Milo Comerford and Jacob Davey comment on the social effects COVID-19 will likely have after the pandemic in extremist, conspiracy groups.

February 22, 2022 | ABC

Elise Thomas talks to ABC's 7.30 about the Australian protests against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions taking place in the country's capital.

February 21, 2022 | BBC Radio 4

ISD's CEO Sasha Havlicek went on BBC Radio 4’s series ‘Death by Conspiracy’ to talk about the effects of the changing social media landscape due to algorithms and the pressure the pandemic put on existing models.

February 17, 2022 | France 24

Ciarán O’Connor goes on France 24 to talk about the connections between the Canadian truckers’ convoy, the North American far right, and how that translates across the Atlantic.

February 15, 2022 | The Canberra Times

Elise Thomas features in this episode of the Talk of the Times from the Canberra Times looking at the unifying nature of the "anti-" protests taking place around the city.

February 15, 2022 | France Inter

Leading French outlet France Inter covers our research on the sales of fake COVID-19 health passes in the French online space.

February 14, 2022 | POLITICO

Moustafa Ayad spoke to POLITICO about ISD's research into online Islamist networks on mainstream social media, despite platform policies banning extremist content.

February 14, 2022 | The Guardian

ISD's Zoé Fourel spoke with the Guardian about our findings on the online market for fake COVID-19 health passes that is spreading across the French online space.

February 13, 2022 | France Info

ISD’s Iris Boyer spoke with leading French TV information channel France Info on the portrayal of the freedom convoy in France.

February 8, 2022 | LBC

ISD's Tim Squirrell spoke to LBC about mainstreamed extremist narratives in the wake of the confrontation of Sir Keir Starmer outside of Parliament after accusations from Boris Johnson that he didn't do enough to prosecute Jimmy Savile.

February 6, 2022 | POLITICO

ISD's Ciarán O'Connor comments on how the support for the convoy from U.S. political figures and content creators gave the protests the push needed to appeal to a global audience.

February 4, 2022 | Wired

ISD's Jakob Guhl spoke to Wired about the diversity of groups that characterise the anti-lockdown movement in Germany.

February 4, 2022 | ZDF

ISD's Julia Smirnova speaks with ZDF about Russia's efforts to destabilise Ukraine with propaganda campaigns dating back to 2014 and the annexation of Crimea.

February 3, 2022 | Ouest France

ISD's Iris Boyer and Zoe Fourel were interviewed by Ouest France regarding their research of the sale of French COVID-19 vaccination certificates on social media platforms.

February 1, 2022 | Sitel TV

Simeon Dukic discusses leading ISD research on online extremism in North Macedonian during a television interview with Sitel TV.

January 20, 2022 | Le Soir

Iris Boyer spoke to Le Soir about ISD France's deep dive into Telegram during investigation into the sale of fake COVID-19 vaccination certificates on the platform.

January 10, 2022 | VICE News

Recent controversy around Novak Djokovic's vaccine status at the 2022 Australian Open has sparked online debate among conspiracists if the tennis star should be the new face of the "unvaxxed sperm" movement.

January 3, 2022 | The Guardian

ISD's Tim Squirrell speaks to The Guardian about the need for support services and not just securitised intervention when it comes to at-risk young men in online incel forums.

Richard Kuchta being interviewed by news program

January 2, 2022 | RTVS

Our Richard Kuchta stated to RTVS that social media bans are merely applied in repeated cases of community standards violations as the platforms attempt to retain users from going elsewhere.

December 21, 2021 | Radio Campus Paris

ISD France analyst Iris Boyer joins journalist Daphne Deschamps, on this podcast, discussing self-proclaimed ‘feminist’ politicians on the French far right ahead of the presidential elections next year.

Facebook notifications bar showing 26 friend requests, 3 messages, and 10 notifications.

December 20, 2021 |

Our Moustafa Ayad shared exclusively with POLITICO evidence exposing how several groups supporting the Islamic State and the Taliban managed to go undetected for months on Facebook.

December 17, 2021 | AP News

Speaking with AP News on his latest report, our Ciarán O'Connor explains how COVID-19 fears have ultimately been exploited by conspiracists to attract new recruits "whose loyalty may outlast the pandemic."

Graphic image showing three people using their mobile phones.

December 8, 2021 | WIRED

ISD's research discussing alt-jihadists features in this op-ed article by one of the report authors, Moustafa Ayad.

Smartphone displaying Spotify icon held by anonymous person.

December 3, 2021 | Sky News

ISD's Jacob Davey spoke with Sky News on their investigation into extremist material on the popular streaming platform Spotify.

December 1, 2021 | Berliner Morgenpost

During the 2021 German federal elections, ISD found that Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) was the party that most benefitted from the climate change debate on social media platforms.

Protestor holding sign outside Pfizer building.

November 29, 2021 | VICE News

Our Aoife Gallagher features in this article by Vice News on the growing interconnectedness between far-right and antivaccine movements around the world.

Cartoon frog looking sad, otherwise know as the meme Pepe the Frog.

November 24, 2021 | MEL Magazine

ISD's Milo Comerford and Moustafa Ayad spoke with MEL magazine about Gen-Z and the digital Salafi ecosystem.

Graphic of two face silhouettes, made up of other images, made up of other face silhouettes

November 23, 2021 | UnHerd

UnHerd cites our report "Islamogram: Salafism and Alt-Right Online Subcultures" to better explain the growing overlap between Salafi Gen Zers and the online far-right.

Graphic of woman using a laptop while shadow of face screams at her from behind.

November 19, 2021 | The Hill

Our Chloe Colliver spoke with The Hill about the handling by social media platforms in dealing with the video directed at AOC.

November 13, 2021 | BBC's The Denial Files

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-related language to instill fear among climate change sceptics.

November 12, 2021 | NBC News & The Guardian

Our Ciarán O'Connor spoke with NBC News about viral "vaccine detoxes" and how the very design of platforms like TikTok is helping promote potentially dangerous methods.

November 12, 2021 | NPR

Our Jennie King has been onsite at COP26 with partner organisations keeping watch over our monitoring dashboards analysing trends, posts and narratives on Facebook, Twitter and other websites that could potentially derail summit efforts.

November 8, 2021 | Refinery 29

The rise of the incels movement may be linked to the outbreak of the pandemic, according to our Julia Ebner.

November 5, 2021 | Tagesschau

Our research exposes the influence RT DE on YouTube and how it became one of the most shared sources within the COVID-19 sceptic community.

November 4, 2021 | BBC & more

ISD and partners are maintaining watch over our Climate Dashboards during COP26, monitoring for any mis- and disinformation trends and attacks against the Summit.

October 26, 2021 | BBC Sunday Morning Live

ISD's Sasha Havlicek participates in a panel on BBC's Sunday Morning Live about internet safety.

Facebook like icon on top of 100USD banknotes

October 25, 2021 | ABC News

ISD's Ciarán O'Connor spoke with ABC News about information revealed in the Facebook Papers.

October 25, 2021 | POLITICO

ISD assisted POLITICO in reviewing the Facebook Papers, a 59-page memo from late 2020 that evidenced that the platform's efforts to curb hate speech and terrorist content in the Arab world weren't working.

October 22, 2021 | Washington Post

ISD's Cécile Simmons speaks with the WaPo on the appeal of misinformation within the health and wellness community.

October 21, 2021 | The Economist

What makes TikTok so popular is also what makes some its content so toxic among younger users.

October 21, 2021 | The Guardian

ISD's Jacob Davey speaks to The Guardian in the wake of the killing of British MP David Amess about the increase in "harmful" activity relating to extremist issues since the beginning of the pandemic.

October 20, 2021 | The Washington Post

ISD's Aoife Gallagher spoke to the WaPo about our latest report "Ill Advice: A Case Study in Facebook’s Failure to Tackle COVID-19 Disinformation" focussing on the virality of the World Doctors Alliance.

Computer keyboard spelling 'hate speech'

October 20, 2021 | Mirror

ISD's Chloe Colliver speaks with the Mirror about how hateful posts and extremist content may be a mirror of the offline world, while also serving as a trigger within online communities.

October 19, 2021 | BBC's Panorama

ISD's Chloe Colliver joins journalist Marianna Spring's investigation on how social media algorithms promote hate toward women.

October 19, 2021 | Channel 4 News & more

ISD’s Jennie King spoke with Channel 4 News about our latest report “’Climate lockdown’ and the Culture Wars,” and comments on how the pandemic has ultimately been weaponised by climate change deniers and right-wing media outlets.

September 28, 2021 | Der Standard & Waz

ISD Germany and the Global Disinformation Index found that multiple well-known German far-right groups and actors are using well-known funding services like PayPal or Klarna to finance their activity.

September 20, 2021 | BBC Click

ISD's Jacob Davey spoke with BBC Click about far-right extremist activity on gaming platforms.

September 11, 2021 | Al Jazeera

The global War on Terror has further fueled extremist discourse around the world, according to ISD's Moustafa Ayad.

September 7, 2021 | Sky News

ISD's CEO, Sasha Havlicek, speaks with Sky News about the global implications that have resulted in the last 20 years when the U.S. embarked on what would be their longest war.

August 27, 2021 | New York Times

ISD’s Moustafa Ayad provides insight to the New York Times in this piece on "Right Wingers who Admire the Taliban."

August 25, 2021 | POLITICO Europe

Ciarán O’Connor’s research on the state of hate on TikTok is featured in articles by POLITICO Europe, USA Today, Jewish Insider, PBS and The Journal, among others.

August 12, 2021 | WIRED UK

Our findings on popular gaming platforms Steam, Discord, DLive and Twitch, are featured in this article for WIRED UK.

August 2, 2021 | POLITICO

ISD’s Moustafa Ayad shared with POLITICO various findings relating to the rapid exploitation of the recently launched social media network Gettr by Islamic State and jihadist groups.

July 20, 2021 | CBC News

Mackenzie Hart discusses the findings and implcations of ISD's new report: An Online Environmental Scan of Right-Wing Extremism in Canada.

July 14, 2021 | NBC News

ISD's Ciarán O'Connor spoke to NewsNation Now, NBC News and Reuters on his findings.

July 1, 2021 | BBC's Newsnight

ISD’s Chloe Colliver speaks with Newsnight about the risks of radicalisation, and radicalisation toward violence, after prolonged exposure to extremists and disinformation narratives like those being seen in the antivaxx movement.

June 28, 2021 | Morning Consult

Aoife Gallagher speaks with the Morning Consult about how QAnon believers often also follow antisemitic tropes.

June 18, 2021 | POLITICO

ISD's work monitoring a range of social media platforms in the lead up to the German Federal Election this September is featured in an article by Mark Scott for POLITICO.

June 18, 2021 | BBC News Africa

ISD's Aoife Gallagher is featured in a story by BBC News Africa following the death of George Nkencho and the misinformation storm that ensued.

June 16, 2021 | Wall Street Journal

ISD's CEO Sasha Havlicek is quoted in an article by Parmy Olson for the Wall Street Journal about the long-term effectiveness of Facebook's oversight panel.

July 12, 2021 | Alsat-M

ISD’s Emir Hasanovic is an in-studio guest at North Macedonia's most watched national station for a 30-minute interview on ISD's Strong Cities work in the Balkans.

May 5, 2021 | Tortoise Media

Jennie King writes an op-ed for Tortoise on how far-right extremists are turning their attention online to the alleged threat of the green agenda.

April 30, 2021 | VICE

In a VICE article which highlights the harmful misinformation spread about George Nkencho and his death by the far-right on Telegram, Aoife Gallagher is quoted on how Telegram has evolved among far-right groups and supporters in Ireland.

April 29, 2021 | USA Today

Chloe Colliver speaks to USA Today about the implications of an ISD research investigation which found Amazon’s algorithms recommending potentially harmful content to users.

April 11, 2021 | The Irish Times

Aoife Gallagher is quoted extensively in an article from The Irish Times about conspiracy theories and theorists in the digital age.

April 9, 2021 | WIRED

Moustafa Ayad and Ciarán O'Connor's research on Arabic-language COVID vaccine misinformation on Facebook is exclusively covered by WIRED.

March 29, 2021 | The Times

Milo Comerford is quoted in a Times article about the use of Facebook ads to promote conspiracy theories and anti-vaccine content on how the far-right weaponise many conspiracy theories to promote their own ideologies.

March 20, 2021 | BBC Sounds

This episode of the BBC Sounds Trending series, "The Anti-Vax Files: How anti-vax went viral," features insight from ISD's Chloe Colliver.

March 1, 2021 | RTÉ Radio 1

Aoife Gallagher discusses how the the Gardaí handled anti-lockdown protests in Ireland on Saturday, 27 February, on RTÉ Radio 1.

February 16, 2021 | SPLC

An article by the SPLC draws on analysis from ISD to explain the changing dynamics of right-wing extremist activity.

February 10, 2021 | Al Jazeera

Aoife Gallagher features in this episode of Al Jazeera's The Take: 'How did the QAnon conspiracy go global?'

January 28, 2021 | WIRED

Cécile Guerin writes for Wired about the increasing presence of conspiracy theories, anti-vaxx and QAnon narratives in the wellness community over the past year.

January 25, 2021 | Rolling Stone

Aoife Gallagher is quoted in a Rolling Stone article on why the increasing convergence between QAnon and the anti-government Sovereign Citizen movement is highly concerning.

January 18, 2021 | CNN

ISD's Chloe Colliver speaks on CNN's Don Lemon Tonight about the Capitol Hill riots and the role social media played in the event

January 14, 2021 | POLITICO

In the wake of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, Chloe Colliver provides insight to POLITICO about the continued concerning activity of right-wing extremists online.

December 29, 2020 | Slate

Amarnath Amarasingam outlines how pro-Trump conspiracy theories may have actually discouraged postelection violence in an op-ed for Slate Magazine.

December 18, 2020 | New York Times

Research from ISD and NewsGuard about the spread of QAnon narratives on Facebook is exclusively covered by the New York Times, and featured in articles from the Financial Times, Die Welt, Deutschland Funk, Turi2, and La Repubblica, and NBC News.

December 17, 2020 | GNET

Jakob Guhl writes about online extremism in German-speaking countries during the COVID-19 pandemic for the Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNET).

December 15, 2020 | ABC

Mario Peucker and ISD's Jacob Davey write for ABC (Australia) on whether Australia’s radical left pose a national security threat.

November 25, 2020 | IEP

Milo's Comerford's article for the Institute of Economics and Peace on the behaviour of extremist groups during the pandemic receives widespread media coverage, including from ITV, Arab News, Euractiv (DE), Metro and The Sun.

November 2, 2020 | The Forward

Chloe Colliver is quoted in The Forward on coordinated inauthentic behaviour on Faceboook.

October 27, 2020 | Politico

ISD's research work featured heavily in this article in Politico on how a small number of conservative users routinely outpace their liberal rivals and traditional news outlets in driving the online conversation.

October 27, 2020 | BBC Newsnight

ISD's Chloe Colliver appears on BBC's Newsnight to discuss how disinformation can spread, using the example of a fake announcement promoting the reopening of Woolworths stores in the UK.

October 27, 2020 | NBC News

NBC News provides exlcusive coverage of the research findings outlined in the new ISD report: Bankrolling Bigotry: An overview of the Online Funding Strategies of American Hate Groups.

October 16, 2020 | The Sun

In an op-ed for The Sun, Aoife Gallagher explains the QAnon conspiracy theory.

October 8, 2020 | Global News Canada

Mackenzie Hart discusses Facebook's ban of QAnon-related content on the platform.

October 7, 2020 | The Today Show (NBC)

Aoife Gallagher explains why QAnon can be considered a 'digital cult' on the Today Show.

October 5, 2020 | The Washington Post

The Washington Post provides exclusive coverage of the findings in ISD's new research report: Public Figures, Public Rage: Candidate Abuse on Social Media.

September 11, 2020 | CNN

As we approach another anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, Farah Pandith writes for CNN on how the terror threat in the U.S. has morphed over the last two decades.

September 8, 2020 | BBC Click

How ISD deputy director Moustafa Ayad discovered one of the largest collections of material belonging to the so-called Islamic State group ever found on the internet.

September 4, 2020 | BBC

In the latest episode of the The Real Story, a podcast from the BBC World Service, Aoife Gallagher provides expert opinion on why QAnon is "going global."

August 21, 2020 | First Draft

Chloe Colliver is quoted in this article on First Draft by Carlotta Dotto and Lydia Morrish on anti-masker conspiracy theories being amplified by Social Media.

August 11, 2020 | The Beacon

ISD's analysis of the key trends in activity around the QAnon conspiracy theory from 2017 to 2020 features in an article from The Beacon. Aoife Gallagher is quoted on the ongoing popularity of the conspiracy theory as well as the use of QAnon for electoral purposes by the Trump campign.

August 10, 2020 | CNN

CNN article based on our report on our case study of a pro-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Twitter network.

July 23, 2020 | BBC

Aoife Gallagher makes her BBC debut on video report about QAnon, coronavirus and the conspiracy cult.

July 12, 2020 | The Times

Moustafa Ayad, ISD Deputy Director for Technology, Communications, and Education, is extensively quoted in this article in The Times.

July 7, 2020 | CTED Trends Alert

In this Update to the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) Trends Alert from April 2020, CTED examines how extreme right-wing groups have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.

July 6, 2020 | BBC

Chloe Oliver, Head of Digital Policy and Strategy at ISD, is quoted in this BBC report on TikTok's problems with extremism.

July 2, 2020 | BBC

Chloe Colliver, head of the Digital Research Unit at ISD provides insights to this BBC story on 'False News' propagated on Facebook.

June 30, 2020 | CNN

Jakob Guhl talks to CNN about Telegram and its white supremacist problem.

June 30, 2020 | Coda

Jakob Guhl, Coordinator in Policy & Research, contributed to this story on Coda.

June 22, 2020 | ZDF Germany

Jakob Guhl, Coordinator in Policy & Research was interviewed for this ZDF exposé of right wing activity on the Telegram chat platform.

May 12, 2020 | POLITICO

Chloe Colliver is quoted in an POLITICO article about how COVID-19 is providing a global rallying cry for conspiracy theorists and far-right extremists.

May 11, 2020 | BBC Click

Chloe Colliver features in an episode of BBC Click that looks at the rise of disinformation during the coronavirus pandemic.

ISD in the Media