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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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 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.

This report is an evaluation the Shared Endeavour Fund, an £800,000 civil society funding scheme supporting projects designed to address intolerance, hate and extremism.

In this investigation, ISD looks at abortion misinformation on social media and platform policies in the post-Roe sphere.

This bi-monthly data snapshot overviews key trends in US-based violent extremist activity online, providing an up-to-date picture of the evolving digital threat landscape.

This report provides a summary of the first annual expert conference "Im toten Winkel - Wie Rechtsextreme alternative Online-Plattformen zur Radikalisierung nutzen" (In the blind spot - How right-wing extremists use alternative online platforms for radicalisation), which took place as part of the project "Radikalisierung in rechtsextremen Onlinesubkulturen entgegentreten" (Countering radicalisation in right-wing extremist online subcultures), funded by the German Federal Ministry of Justice (BMJ).

Telegram has become the central alternative platform for German language right-wing extremists. Over time, the messenger service has adopted social media functions that turned it into a hybrid platform. The promised anonymity and lack of moderation makes the platform attractive for extremists. This report researches, how the far-right online milieu in the German-speaking world is using Telegram.

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

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

Shared Endeavour Fund Call One Evaluation Report

Analysis of Social Media Platforms’ Response 100 Days After US Supreme Court Decision Overturning Roe v. Wade

Violent Extremism in the United States Monitor

In the Blind Spot – How right-wing extremists use alternative platforms for radicalisation

Telegram as a Buttress: How far-right extremists and conspiracy theorists are expanding their infrastructures via Telegram