This report details the findings of ISD’s research on disinformation activities during the European Parliamentary Elections in 2019. It lays out the tactics and actors involved in covert disinformation campaigns, the targets of their activities, and what that might mean for the future of disinformation around elections and beyond.
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.
For this research, ISD’s digital analysis unit have been monitoring a network of 208 channels distributing white supremacist content on the encrypted messaging platform Telegram. In an analysis of over a million posts, this briefing unpacks how the platform is being used to glorify terrorism, call for violence, spread extremist ideological material and demonise minority groups.
ISD researchers have assessed the scale of Canadian right-wing extremist activity across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, 4chan, Gab, Fascist Forge and Iron March. Over the next year we will analyse extremism on these platforms in more detail, and incorporate additional digital forums into our study. This represents one of the most comprehensive efforts to date to assess the scale of right-wing extremist activity online in Canada.
Algorithms play a central role in social media platforms – and may contribute to systemic, structural challenges to democracy and human rights. As identified in the White Paper, through their decisions around the design of algorithms, the platforms have a significant impact on citizens’ rights to information and free expression, our rights not to be discriminated against or abused, and core democratic values.
The Young Digital Leaders curriculum consists of five sessions targeted at students aged 12-15 years old. In line with the Council of Europe definition of digital citizenship, the curriculum aims to support students.
This toolkit has been designed as a resource for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) whose missions focus on education, youth engagement, digital citizenship, online safety and/or social cohesion. Education practitioners working directly with young people in schools or youth centres may find aspects useful too.
This report presents the findings of a research project of ISD’s Digital Analysis Unit about the alternative online-ecosystem of the far-right, including alternative social media platforms and alternative media outlets.
This report presents the findings of a research project investigating the scale and nature of online hateful speech in France. It examines different categories of hateful speech, spanning race, gender, sexuality, religion and disability.
To help address the need for a more robust and youth-inclusive evidence base, ISD conducted a survey that was completed by 728 young activists globally to find out which barriers and opportunities had been most significant to their activism journey, as well as which skills they valued most.
