Contextual
Resources
Once a government or tech company develops a definition of terrorism or violent extremism, it can be difficult to know how to apply these definitions to the variety of ways that terrorism and violent extremism manifests internationally and across online spaces.
This section of the site aims to highlight contextual resources on themes related to applying definitions to the online space. GIFCT funds the Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNET) to bring forward actionable insights from experts and practitioners around the world to better inform and give context to tech companies, governments, practitioners and other stakeholders in this field. Insights are curated here under context-based themes.
Filters
Regional Trends
Latin America
Fundraising
Regional Trends
While experts can point to overarching global trends in terrorism and violent extremism, we also know that there are significant regional and country-based variables in how these groups recruit, mobilize, propagandize, and coordinate attacks. There are also varying international trends in the types of platforms terrorists and violent extremists use in different parts of the world, their overarching aims and the ways their aims manifest online. GNET includes expert insights from academics and practitioners all over the world, feeding in the nuances and adversarial shifts they report on.
Latin America
Analyzing trends in Latin America, insights contextualize online violent extremism in both continental and country specific ways. Relevant research touches on the overall understanding of online extremism in Latin America along with continent-wide trends in the face of specific events such as COVID-19. Additionally, there has been a focus on country specific extremist group trends such as Mexican cartels’ use of social media, and the significance and use of cryptocurrencies in criminal enterprises across El Salvador.
Fundraising
Terrorists and violent extremists have used various online platforms to raise funds. The continued proliferation of crowdfunding campaigns among pro-ISIS networks suggests that the matter deserves more attention from policymakers, practitioners, and academics. The Australian far-right has used a diverse range of online tools to fundraise and solicit donations through the use of messaging apps to provide an entry point into a broader content and financial network, and facilitating international connections. In Latin America, cryptocurrency is used as a source of independent funding by mafia, drug cartels and human traffickers.
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11th June 2021Crime, Cryptocurrency, and El Salvador’s Big Bet on BitcoinDr. Alexis Henshaw