Publications

SCN Publications Resources Digital Dispatches

Under-Moderated, Unhinged and Ubiquitous: Al-Shabaab and the Islamic State Networks on Facebook 
This report outlines networks of Somali, Kiswahili and Arabic pages and profiles on Facebook which are supportive of al-Shabaab and the Islamic State. It serves as a a case study into the moderation blind spots of the platform in languages outside of English, and illustrates how terrorist supporters are exploiting these gaps.
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The Vladimirror Network: Pro-Putin Power-Users on Facebook
This briefing outlines the mechanics, narratives, and linkages of the pro-Putin power users — those that produce content at a high-rate day in and day out since the start of the invasion — on Facebook to pro-Kremlin groups and pages, painting a picture of a coordinated, seemingly inauthentic campaign intended to buttress the image of Putin in a range of languages and geographies.
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Conspiracy Clickbait: This One Weird Trick Will Undermine Democracy
This report uses case studies to examine the growth of conspiracy theories as clickbait, which will supercharge existing problems of disinformation and polarisation.
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Islamogram: Salafism and Alt-Right Online Subcultures
This report provides an ethnographic deep dive into an emerging online Salafi ecosystem, referred to by its members as ‘Islamogram’.
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Policy Paper: Mainstreamed Extremism and the Future of Prevention
This policy paper considers the paradigm shift in prevention approaches required to respond to today's extremism challenges, focusing on a human rights based approach.
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Hatescape: An In-Depth Analysis of Extremism and Hate Speech on TikTok
This research examined how TikTok is used to promote white supremacist conspiracy theories, produce weapons manufacturing advice, glorify extremists, terrorists, fascists and dictators, direct targeted harassment against minorities and produce content that denies that violent events like genocides ever happened. Furthermore, the report includes analysis of how users seek to evade takedowns by TikTok.
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Gamers Who Hate: An Introduction to ISD’s Gaming and Extremism Series
This report serves as an introduction to ISD's Gaming and Extremism series, which explores the use of the gaming-related platforms Steam, Discord, Twitch and DLive by the extreme right, concentrating specifically on the UK. The series provides snapshot analyses designed to identify key trends and patterns which can provide the groundwork for future analysis.
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Bankrolling Bigotry: An overview of the Online Funding Strategies of American Hate Groups
Hatred is surging across the United States, threatening the safety, security and wellbeing of minority communities, and societal harmony writ large. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) and Global Disinformation Index (GDI) have analysed the digital footprints of 73 US-based hate groups, assessing the extent to which they used 54 online funding mechanisms.
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Hosting the ‘Holohoax’: A Snapshot of Holocaust Denial Across Social Media
This briefing brings together the observations of a coalition of organisation who monitored the 2019 European Parliamentary Elections to identify distortion, disruption or interference campaigns and the technology companies response to them. You can read more about ISD's work monitoring the 2019 EU Elections in our interim report, published 24th May 2019.
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The Genesis of a Conspiracy Theory
This briefing paper provides an overview of the key trends in activity around the QAnon conspiracy theory from 2017 to 2020. Crucially it points to major spikes in QAnon activity in March 2020, suggesting both an increase in activity to promote the conspiracy theory and the spread of this conspiracy to new audiences.
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Latest

This study is the first of six papers that aim to provide insights into the online landscape of hate speech and misogyny in Jordan.

This toolkit empowers individuals to confront antisemitism online and offline by offering strategies to challenge hate and build digital resilience.

This report explores the nature of online violence targeting women candidates on TikTok during the French legislative election campaign, held from 9 June to 7 July 2024.

ISD finds that women candidates for the 2024 EU election faced more misogynistic abuse on TikTok than men, creating barriers to political participation.

In its fourth call, the Mayor of London’s Shared Endeavour Fund’s Call Four reached 58K+ Londoners, boosting resilience to extremism and intolerance.

This report examines how German far-right actors use generative AI, the narratives on which they concentrate, and the tactics they employ to disseminate this content.

This report looks at TikTok's search algorithms and how it fails to detect hateful terms, reinforcing biases against marginalised groups.

ISD analysis found misogynistic rhetoric in Hungarian TikTok relationship advice, normalising stalking, violence and harmful gender stereotypes.

This brief examines encryption's role in online safety, balancing privacy with mitigating terrorism, extremism, hate and disinformation.

This paper outlines challenges of online antisemitism and proposes practical, pan-European policy steps based on insights from 42 interviews.

Under-Moderated, Unhinged and Ubiquitous: Al-Shabaab and the Islamic State Networks on Facebook

The Vladimirror Network: Pro-Putin Power-Users on Facebook

Conspiracy Clickbait: This One Weird Trick Will Undermine Democracy

Islamogram: Salafism and Alt-Right Online Subcultures

Policy Paper: Mainstreamed Extremism and the Future of Prevention

Hatescape: An In-Depth Analysis of Extremism and Hate Speech on TikTok

Gamers Who Hate: An Introduction to ISD’s Gaming and Extremism Series

Bankrolling Bigotry: An overview of the Online Funding Strategies of American Hate Groups

Hosting the ‘Holohoax’: A Snapshot of Holocaust Denial Across Social Media

The Genesis of a Conspiracy Theory

Latest

Online Hate Speech In Jordan: The Suppression Of Women’s Voices

The CCOA Toolkit: Mainstreaming digital human rights in education and civic action to combat online antisemitism

Votes and Vitriol: Online Abuse Targeting Women Candidates in the 2024 French Legislative Elections

Crushing Comments: Gendered Harassment During the 2024 EU Parliament Elections on TikTok

Shared Endeavour Fund: Call Four Evaluation Report

Generative AI and the German Far Right: Narratives, Tactics and Digital Strategies

Recommending Hate: How TikTok’s Search Engine Algorithms Reproduce Societal Bias

Toxic Tips: Misogynistic Narratives on TikTok in Hungary

Online Safety Regulation & Private Online Communications: The State of Play and Ways Ahead for Addressing Terrorism, Extremism, Hate, and Disinformation

Mainstreaming Digital Human Rights: A pan-European Policy Roadmap to Combat Online Antisemitism