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
Radicalization
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.
Radicalization
When it comes to processes of radicalization, there have been significant concerns about the threat to online spaces and the role they play in this process. Overall, research shows that there may be a systematic bias in reporting of terrorism cases that prompt audiences to believe that the Internet plays a greater role than actually pertains. However, research also points to a mix of factors, ideologies, and platforms that all come together in this complex process.
-
20th February 2026Warning Behaviours for Right-Wing Violent Radicalisation on Online Platforms: Conceptual Challenges and Empirical FindingsDr. Robert Pelzer, Tobias Weidmann and Sina Weickgenannt
-
11th February 2026From Confusion to Extremism: How Deepfakes Facilitate RadicalisationGeorgia Lala
-
08th December 2025You Talkin’ to Me? Algorithmic Mirrors and Chatbot RadicalisationKye Allen
-
05th December 2025Could Chatbots Seduce Us into Extremism? Radicalisation Risks in an Age of AI Companions.Kye Allen
-
30th October 2025Islamic State Information Technology: The New “Security Tips Series” of Electronic Horizon FoundationAlessandro Bolpagni and Eleonora Ristuccia
-
03rd October 2025OSINT: The Digital Force-Multiplier for Extremist ViolenceTimothy Kappler
-
-
09th May 2025Platforming the Caliphate: Hizb ut-Tahrir’s Digital Strategy and Radicalisation RisksMuhammad Makmun Rasyid
-
11th April 2025Automated Recruitment: Artificial Intelligence, ISKP, and Extremist RadicalisationFabrizio Minniti