Publications Archive

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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Ill Advice: A Case Study in Facebook’s Failure to Tackle COVID-19 Disinformation
This report aims to examine Facebook's efforts at tackling false information related to COVID-19 and vaccines on its platform by analysing the presence of a group called the World Doctors Alliance, whose members have spread various problematic, false and conspiratorial claims about the pandemic since March 2020.
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‘Climate Lockdown’ and the Culture Wars: How COVID-19 Sparked a New Narrative Against Climate Action
This report documents a new trend used to drive anti-climate debate online – ‘Climate Lockdown’ – focussing on English-language content within the UK and US contexts. It documents the emergence of this narrative in March 2020, spurred by the public health response to COVID-19, and the subsequent evolution and spread of content across social media.
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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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Latest

This report evaluates the second round of the Mayor of London’s Shared Endeavour Fund, a £600,000 civil society funding scheme to support projects addressing hate and extremism.

Die erste Dokumentation des Projektes »Plattform-übergreifende Identifikation, Überwachung und Modellierung von Verbreitungsmustern von Desinformation (NOTORIOUS)« umfasst eine Problemdefinition, die Herleitung von Begriffsdefinitionen, die technische Vorgehensweise, methodische Limitationen, sowie einen Use Case, um die Systeme und Arbeitsweisen zu testen.

ISD's investigation found that Etsy, Redbubble and other popular e-commerce sites, are not only facilitating the sale of products promoting hate and extremism, but they are also profiting from these transactions, directly going against their own guidelines.

Dieser Bericht untersucht wie die rechtsextreme Szene die Freie Software PeerTube nutzt, um eigene Videoplattformen zu erstellen. Er beinhaltet eine Netzwerkanalyse des Föderationssystems sowie datengestützte Untersuchung zur Nutzung dieser Videoplattformen. Zudem ordnet der Bericht PeerTube in der weiteren Diskussion um das sogenannte Fediverse ein.

This report examines the role of online crisis protocols in platform governance & makes key recommendations for safeguarding human rights in the context of the envisioned DSA crisis mechanism.

This report delves into the lessons learnt from monitoring disinformation & influence campaigns in the run-up to the 2022 French elections.

Dieser Bericht zeigt auf, wie algorithmische Ranking-Praktiken der Online-Plattformen unsere Diskurse und unser Verhalten beeinflussen und gefährden können. Die Analyse diskutiert methodische und epistemische Lücken bei der Auditierung von Algorithmen und untersucht zudem neue Ansätze, die darauf abzielen, algorithmisches Ranking für ein sicheres und transparentes Online-Umfeld zu nutzen.

This paper examines algorithmic ranking practices of online platforms and how they may (negatively) impact online discourses and behaviour. It considers methodological and epistemic challenges of algorithmic auditing and looks at emerging approaches toward rethinking current ranking practices to safeguard safe and transparent online environments.

This report investigates abuse targeting female political figures on TikTok and Instagram ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

Comprehensive resources for educating and training practitioners in countering terrorism and violent extremism, produced in collaboration with the McCain Institute.

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

Ill Advice: A Case Study in Facebook’s Failure to Tackle COVID-19 Disinformation

‘Climate Lockdown’ and the Culture Wars: How COVID-19 Sparked a New Narrative Against Climate Action

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

Latest

Shared Endeavour Fund Call Two Evaluation Report

Influencer:innen und Verschwörungsrapper – Eine erste methodische Exploration von Multiplattformerhebung im Projekt NOTORIOUS

Profiting from Hate: Extremist Merchandise on Redbubble, Etsy, Teespring, Teerepublic and Zazzle

Die Hydra im Netz: Herausforderung der extremistischen Nutzung des Fediverse am Beispiel PeerTube

Online Crisis Protocols – Expanding the Regulatory Toolbox to Safeguard Democracy During Crises

Monitoring Disinformation and Influence Campaigns in the 2022 French Elections: Lessons Learnt

News Feed, Reels & »Für Dich«: Wie algorithmische Ranking-Praktiken unser Online-Umfeld beeinflussen und schützen könnten

“Suggested for You”: Understanding How Algorithmic Ranking Practices Affect Online Discourses and Assessing Proposed Alternatives

Hate in Plain Sight: Abuse Targeting Women Ahead of the 2022 Midterm Elections on TikTok and Instagram

Prevention Practitioners Network Training Materials