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
Tactical Exploitation of Online Services
Memes
Tactical Exploitation of Online Services
Online terrorism and violent extremism comes in many forms and platforms are equally exploited in a variety of ways. Terrorist and violent extremist groups and individuals, like average users, use a mixture of platforms to further their aims. This cross-platform approach facilitates in storing content, holding private or confidential conversations, e-commerce for buying and selling goods as well as fundraising, recruitment, and the amplification of propaganda and messaging to the public. These signals, trends and adversarial shifts around this exploitation are highlighted by global experts.
Memes
Electronic ethnographic research reveals that the appeal of humourous content, including memes, has been exploited by terrorist and extremist groups online. Along with the grim innovation of performing gamified violence intended for consumption by social media audiences, the attackers’ use a unique set of memes in their manifestoes and overall online communication. In particular, the Christchurch attacker also called upon others to “create memes, post memes, and spread memes. Memes have done more for the ethno-nationalist movement than any manifesto.”
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13th July 2022Ideological Nihilism and Aesthetic Violence: Mass Shooters and Online Antisocial SubculturesSimon Purdue
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08th June 2022‘Victims of Feminism’: Exploring Networked Misogyny and #MeToo in the ManosphereValerie Dickel
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23rd May 2022Examining Incel Subculture on RedditBrenna Helm, Dr. Ryan Scrivens, Dr. Thomas J. Holt, Dr. Steven Chermak and Dr. Richard Frank
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09th May 2022Differentiating Online Posting Behaviours of Violent and Non-Violent Right-Wing ExtremistsDr. Ryan Scrivens, Dr. Thomas W. Wojciechowski, Dr. Joshua D. Freilich, Dr. Steven Chermak and Dr. Richard Frank
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05th April 2022From Orange to Red: An Assessment of the Dark MAGA Trend in Far-Right Online SpacesHampton Stall and Daniel Grober
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31st August 2021Erstwhile Allies and Community Convergence: A Preliminary Study of Online Interactions Between Salafi-Jihadists and White SupremacistsMeili Criezis and Brian Hughes
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20th August 2021Memes in Far-Right Digital Visual CultureJordan McSwiney, Dr. Michael Vaughan, Dr. Annett Heft, and Dr. Matthias Hoffmann
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18th January 2021Beyond the “LULZ:” Memifying Murder as ‘Meaningful’ Gamification in Far-Right ContentAshley Mattheis