"Charting the increase in the use of games for the dissemination of extremist propaganda, radicalization, recruitment, and mobilization, this book examines the 'gamification of extremism.' Editors Linda Schlegel and Rachel Kowert bring together a range of insights from world-leading experts in the f
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ield to provide the first comprehensive overview of gaming and extremism. The potential nexus between gaming and extremism has become a key area of concern for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to prevent and counter radicalization and this book explores key trends and debates, future directions, and potential prevention efforts. This includes the exploration of how games and game adjacent spaces, such as Discord, Twitch, Steam, and DLive, are being leveraged by extremists for the purposes of radicalization, recruitment, and mobilization. Additionally, the book presents the latest counter-terrorism techniques and promising preventing / countering violent extremism (P/CVE) measures currently being utilized in the gaming sphere and explores the ongoing challenges, controversies, and current gaps in knowledge in the field. This text will be of interest to students and scholars of gaming and gaming culture, as well as an essential resource for practitioners working in prevention and counter-extremism, professionals working at gaming-related tech companies, and policymakers". (Publisher description)
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"This investigation employs the analytical framework established by Braddock and Horgan to conduct a comprehensive content analysis of 79 official English-language propaganda videos disseminated by ISIS, with the objective of quantifying the thematic composition and the evolutionary trajectory of IS
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IS’s international media operations and propaganda machinery from 2014 to 2017. The findings reveal that a predominant portion of the videos articulate narratives extensively centred around themes of the adversary and religious discourse, with the Sharia (Islamic law) emerging as the most prevalent theme. This research concludes that at a global scale, the propaganda apparatus of ISIS has orchestrated an intricate narrative, incorporating adversarial, theological, and emotional elements, thereby delineating the advanced sophistication of ISIS’s global propaganda endeavours." (Abstract)
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"The Taliban retook control of Afghanistan on Aug. 15, 2021 after two decades of fighting on the ground and manipulating narratives online, particularly on social media. Their tactical use of social media was more evident in 2021 when they were advancing their territorial gains and posting on social
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media to promote the idea of their impending return to power. This study aims to understand the (ab)use of social media by the resurgent Taliban 2.0 and to suggest ways young Afghans can utilize social media to navigate their lives under the new regime. The authors undertook a critical review of the literature to analyze the Taliban’s social media tactics in manipulating public narratives to portray themselves as the legitimate rulers of Afghans. The study finds that the Taliban’s adaptation of social media tools helped them retake control of Afghanistan by influencing public narratives in their favor. This study recommends promoting critical thinking abilities among young Afghans to utilize social media to express dissent and advocate for their rights." (Abstract)
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"Harmful actors use an ever-expanding range of digital spaces to spread harmful ideologies and undermine human rights and democracy online. Understanding their evolving ideas, online networks and activities is critical to the development of a more comprehensive evidence base to inform effective and
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proportional efforts to counter them. But generating that evidence base can challenge the technical capabilities, resources and even ethical and legal boundaries of research. We are concerned that these issues may be worsening just as the options for spreading harm online increase. This difficulty in conducting digital research systematically, ethically and legally results in a situation where trade-offs have to be made between competing priorities, including the desire to understand and mitigate harmful content and behaviours online, the preservation of privacy and the adherence to legal agreements. We argue in this report that this does not need to be the case; solutions are available, and actions should be taken as soon as possible to ensure a future-proof scenario in which researchers have the tools to monitor, track and analyse harmful content and behaviours systematically, ethically and legally. This report outlines the findings from the research phase of a project by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) and CASM Technology; it is funded by Omidyar Network. The aim of the project is to identify and test research methodologies for monitoring and analysing small, closed or hardly moderated platforms. The report provides applied examples and evidence for the limitations and dilemmas encountered by researchers. In three short research case studies, focusing on Telegram, Discord and Odysee (in German, English and French respectively), we seek to apply different methodological approaches to analyse platforms that primarily present technological, ethical and legal, or fragmentation barriers." (Executive summary)
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"This paper delves into the paramount significance of social media in contemporary warfare, shedding light on the critical need for effective measures to counter online radical narratives and prevent the spread of violent extremism. It explores how autocratic and repressive groups like the Taliban e
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xploit social media platforms to their advantage and how these platforms have become a fertile ground for violent extremist groups to establish a novel front in warfare by allowing them to directly engage with civilians and the public, thus effectively closing civic space. This direct engagement enables violent extremist organisations to disseminate their ideologies and propaganda, radicalise, brainwash, manipulate, recruit, mobilise support, and communicate with the international community and the world. The research design incorporated a comprehensive analysis, combining first-hand experiences of locals, documentation, and reporting of content on Facebook, with an examination of the Taliban's social media posts, tweets, and engagement on platforms like Twitter and Facebook. The primary data was further complemented with relevant secondary data and reports. The findings highlight the Taliban's effective weaponisation of violent content on social media, strategically employed to shape public opinion and behaviours, demoralise the military, and discourage resistance against them. This role in facilitating their military takeover of the country and later in establishing and advocating for the legitimacy of their autocratic rule. This paper argues for heightened vigilance and proactive measures to counter misinformation, glorification of violence, and radicalisation online, ultimately safeguarding the integrity of information dissemination and societal well-being." (Abstract)
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"The entanglement of Jihad, Political Violence, and Media has determined the lives of Muslims in Europe and the US over the past 20 years. This book unravels the nexus of these elements, to critically examine how their conjunction is perpetuated, reproduced, or disputed. In 16 case studies, the cont
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ributors critically reflect on the identification of jihad with political violence, address the academic, legal, political and broader public production of knowledge on this topic, examine the aesthetic formations involved in the mediation and reaffirmation of this narrow understanding, explore the experiential worlds of people whose ideas and actions are labelled as and affected by notions of violent jihad, and illuminate the institutional and media contexts (e.g. of archives) in which an entanglement of jihad and political violence takes effect, with profound consequences." (Publisher description)
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"This book analyses the marketing techniques that terrorist organisations employ to encourage people to adopt their ideology and become devoted supporters. The book's central thesis is that due to the development of digital technologies and social media, terrorist groups are employing innovative mar
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keting techniques and advertising strategies to foster an emotional connection with their audiences, particularly those in younger demographics. By conducting thematic and narrative analyses of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) propagandist magazines, as well as looking at the group's online communities, the book demonstrates that terrorist groups behave as commercial brands by establishing an emotional connection with their potential recruits. Specifically, groups and their potential supporters follow the logic of emotional choice. The book emphasizes that while ISIS became the first group that discovered and benefited from the power of marketing, it did not have a supernatural power and thus it is possible to find a response to it, which is particularly important now. The book eventually poses a question about whether terrorism has become the product of marketing in the same way as any mainstream consumer product is, and asks what can we do to battle the appeal of marketing-savvy terrorist groups." (Publisher description)
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"The study assesses the extent to which Taliban 2.0 utilised social media as a political mobilisation strategy and provides a response through discourse analysis and a literature review. The study results indicate that the tactical use of social media was more apparent in 2021 when they were promoti
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ng the notion of their impending return to power and advancing their territorial gains on social media. The Taliban 2.0's utilisation of social media underscores their strategies for comprehending public narratives to present themselves as the legitimate authorities of Afghanistan. The research reveals that the Taliban's utilisation of social media tools enabled them to regain control of Afghanistan by shaping public narratives in their favour. The study is unequivocal in its assertion that Taliban 2.0 must evolve into a political institution that is significantly more democratic and responsive. It is sufficient for it to relinquish the dynastic and undemocratic principles upon which it currently operates. Not only to enhance Afghanistan's governance in general but also to allow for a more favourable opportunity to capture the hearts and minds of the Afghan public. The Taliban 2.0 must transcend their identities to alter the ethnic narrative and eliminate inequalities. For the democratic system to progress in the appropriate direction, the nation requires a genuine and democratic opposition party or parties. The Afghan youth are the primary decision-makers in determining whether Afghanistan's democracy will continue to progress towards impactful growth or vice versa, as long as the Afghan public, particularly the youth and strong regional parties, fails to collaborate and present the electorate with viable and credible strategies against misgovernance and economic reforms that generate employment. This study suggests that young Afghans should be encouraged to develop critical thinking skills to use social media to advocate for their rights and convey dissent, as a means of communicating with the current government." (Abstract)
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"Over the last two decades, online platforms have been used to repackage racist, sexist and xenophobic ideologies into new sociotechnical forms. Digital hate is ancient but novel, deploying the Internet to boost its allure and broaden its appeal. To understand the logic of hate, Luke Munn investigat
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es four objects: 8chan, the cesspool of the Internet, QAnon, the popular meta-conspiracy, Parler, a social media site, and Gab, the "platform for the people." Drawing together powerful human stories with insights from media studies, psychology, political science, and race and cultural studies, he portrays how digital hate infiltrates hearts and minds." (Publisher description)
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"This report covers key trends and developments in terrorist and violent extremist (TVE) use of the internet over 2022. It aims to highlight the principal shifts in TVE behaviour and tactics online, and to inform more comprehensive, cross-industry responses to countering TVE exploitation of the inte
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rnet. TVE entities have expanded their exploitation of infrastructure providers through the ongoing creation and maintenance of terrorist and violent extremist operated websites (TOWs); despite the increasing prominence of TOWs in the online ecosystem, these service providers are frequently left out of the discussion of countering TVE exploitation of the internet. We have highlighted in this report some of our successes of 2022, which include domain level disruption of TVE entities online as well as our broader support for the entire tech ecosystem." (Introduction, page 4)
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"This study examines the digital practices and online discourses of Hamas on Twitter, with a specific focus on the Palinfoen account linked to the Palestinian Information Centre (PIC). The study examines 3,500 tweets related to events in Palestine, which were either tweeted or retweeted by the Palin
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foen account. To explore these practices, the researcher employs digital ethnography and a discourse-historical approach to analyze the collected tweets and retweets. The findings of the analysis show that the tweets revolve around key figures such as journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and Israel. Abu Akleh is portrayed as a courageous and esteemed senior journalist who became a victim of Israeli brutality. Israel, on the other hand, is depicted as a criminal entity, held responsible for the cold-blooded killing of Abu Akleh and the desecration of her coffin. The killing is presented as an inhumane and irrational act committed by Israel against a respected journalist. Additionally, the tweets from Palinfoen focus on the events at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israeli figures are described using terms like "genocidal Jews," "Israeli occupation forces," "enemy occupier gangs," and an "illegitimate regime," while Palestinian figures are referred to as "worshippers," "families," and "Muslims." The discourses promoted by Hamas on Twitter place agency and accountability on the Israeli side. In conclusion, this analysis unsurprisingly highlights how the Palinfoen Twitter account portrays Palestinian resistance as a legitimate reaction." (Abstract)
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"In November 2020, with support from Public Safety Canada, Tech Against Terrorism launched the Terrorist Content Analytics Platform (TCAP). The world’s largest database of verified terrorist content, collected in real time from verified terrorist channels on messaging platforms and apps, the TCAP
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is a secure and transparent online tool to detect and verify terrorist content and notify technology companies of the presence of such content on their platforms. The TCAP is developed using a transparency-by-design approach. This is the first TCAP transparency report, which is one of several initiatives Tech Against Terrorism has taken in compliance with our core principles. The report provides a detailed breakdown of the core metrics for the reporting period between 1 December 2020 and 30 November 2021, and of key TCAP policies and processes." (Executive summary, page 2)
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"Researchers at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) led a two-year investigation into the online media ecosystem of al-Shabaab and the Islamic State in Africa, analyzing the role of “independent news” outlets and their intersections with hundreds-strong networks of amplifier profiles on F
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acebook linked to a number of central pages identifying themselves as “media outlets” or “media personalities” operating in Somali, Kiswahili and Arabic. Researchers found that the network of support for al-Shabaab and Islamic State extended across several platforms, including decentralized messaging applications such as Element and RocketChat, and encrypted messaging platforms such as Telegram, as well as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. A qualitative cross-platform analysis showed the most active, networked, and multilingual ecosystem of support for al-Shabaab and the Islamic State existed on Facebook, where profiles and pages classified as “media outlets” were sharing terrorist content openly and eschewing private groups and profiles. The content that ISD researchers observed through the networks is often linked to “media” and “media personality” pages in Somali, Kiswahili and Arabic, and not only violates the platform’s community guidelines, but also points to language moderation blind spots that have been previously documented by journalists as well as whistleblowers." (Publisher description)
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"Since January 2021, Tech Against Terrorism has identifi ed 198 websites that we assess to be operated by terrorist actors, or by violent extremists that pose a credible and urgent threat to society. 79 of these sites relate to violent Sunni Islamist actors, 18 to violent Shia Islamist actors and 10
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1 linked to the violent far-right. In 2021 we facilitated the removal of 16 of these sites that linked to accelerationist neo-Nazi actors, the Taliban and the Islamic State. From a representative sample of 33 terrorist- and violent extremist-operated websites, we found that: 91% displayed audio/visual progaganda; 73% had an archive of historic content; 57% included a communication feature. The total average monthly visits to these 33 sites is 1.54 million." (Executive summary)
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