• 

  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.

  Read more
• 

  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.

  Read more
• 

  Online Antisemitism: A Toolkit for Civil Society

  This toolkit from ISD and B’nai B’rith, in partnership with UNESCO, provides insights to help drive civil society responses to online antisemitism.

  Read more
• 

  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.

  Read more
• 

  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’.

  Read more
• 

  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.

  Read more
• 

  ‘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.

  Read more
• 

  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.

  Read more
• 

  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.

  Read more
• 

  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.

  Read more

Latest

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

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.

ISD’s Julia Smirnova features in ‘Putin, Peace and Plandemic’, the first episode of Interferenzen

ISD's Julia Smirnova discusses the relationship between the far right and the conspiracy ideology scene in Germany, and among Russian state propaganda.

ISD’s Christian Schwieter on the dangers and realities behind alternative media outlets

ISD's Christian Schwieter features in this documentary speaking about the extent and dangers relating to alternative media spaces.

Documentary: The Russian-German perspective on the War in Ukraine

ISD analyst Julia Smirnova features in this documentary for SWR about the role of Russian-language propaganda amongst Russian-Germans.

Vovan and Lexus: Pranksters or political actors?

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.

Putin’s “infowar” over Ukraine creates a “perfect environment” for fake content

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.

Expert: Russia’s propaganda efforts in Ukraine date back to 2014

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.

Auf Odysee: Die Rolle von Blockchain-Technologie für die Monetarisierung im rechtsextremen Onlinemilieu

Verfassungsfeindliche Inhalte verbreiten und damit sogar Geld verdienen? Über schwankende Kryptowährungen, die Sehnsucht nach Regulierungsfreiheit und den besonderen Reiz der Video-Plattform Odysee auf Rechtsextreme, »Querdenker« und Verschwörungsideolog:innen

Stoppt Antisemitismus jetzt: ein Leitfaden für die Zivilgesellschaft

Dieser Leitfaden behandelt Antisemitismus in Deutschland, indem er ihn in den Kontext anderer digitaler Bedrohungen stellt und sich auf das Ausmaß und die verschiedenen Formen konzentriert, die dieser gruppenbezogene Hass auf einer Reihe von Plattformen annimmt.

Im toten Winkel – Konferenzbericht zur Jahreskonferenz 2021

Dies ist der Konferenzbericht zur Fachtagung »Im toten Winkel«, die das ISD zum Thema Rechtsextremismus auf alternativen Online-Plattformen organisiert hat.