• U.S. Mired in “Heightened Threat Environment”: DHS

    DHS, in its updated National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin released Monday, says that the prevalence of conspiracy theories and bad or misleading information, online and in social media forums, is keeping the United States in a state of heightened alert when it comes to possible terror attacks. DHS warns that while many of the top threat streams have changed little over the past year, almost all of them are being amplified by the information environment.

  • Battling Disinformation

    Counterspeech is a strategy to oppose hate speech and falsehoods online. It works by flooding a post that is hateful or misleading with comments that are positive or that reinforce the facts. Citizens are the drivers of counterspeech and can even form special groups to coordinate their efforts.

  • Cyber Activists Confront Russian Information Operations

    Russian information operations against the Western democracies will grow in number, scale, and sophistication in the coming years. A new study examines the role of cyber activists in Western societies in fighting back against the growing problem of Russian disinformation.

  • How to Support a Globally Connected Counter-Disinformation Network

    From undermining democracy to inciting genocide, the global dangers of disinformation on social media are now well known. Kevin Sheives writes that despite countless calls for better legal regulation or intensified content moderation, the efforts of governments and social media companies to combat this threat have proven either woefully inadequate or dangerous to democratic practice. “Civil society, not governments or social media companies, can best diminish disinformation,” he writes.

  • For Accurate Health Information: Mainstream News More Reliable Than Social, Alternative Media

    New study finds that accurate and truthful health-related information has been found by individuals who rely more on mainstream news. Meanwhile, people who depend on social media or less-established forms of “alternative” health media are more likely to subscribe to false beliefs about health.

  • Radicalization Pipelines: How Targeted Advertising on Social Media Drives People to Extremes

    Behind-the-scenes mechanisms feed an item you search for on Google, “like” on social media, or come across while browsing into custom advertising on social media. Those mechanisms are increasingly being used for more nefarious purposes than aggressive advertising. The threat is in how this targeted advertising interacts with today’s extremely divisive political landscape. As a social media researcher, I see how people seeking to radicalize others use targeted advertising to readily move people to extreme views.

  • The Metaverse Offers a Future Full of Potential – for Terrorists and Extremists, Too

    The metaverse is an immersive virtual reality version of the internet where people can interact with digital objects and digital representations of themselves and others, and can move more or less freely from one virtual environment to another. As terrorism researchers, we see a potential dark side to the metaverse. Although it is still under construction, its evolution promises new ways for extremists to exert influence through fear, threat and coercion. Considering our research on malevolent creativity and innovation, there is potential for the metaverse to become a new domain for terrorist activity.

  • Leveraging Social Media During a Disaster

    During a disaster, many people turn to social media seeking information. But communicating during disasters is challenging, especially using an interactive environment like social media where misinformation can spread easily.

  • What Will 2022 Bring in the Way of Misinformation on Social Media? 3 Experts Weigh In

    At the end of 2020, it seemed hard to imagine a worse year for misinformation on social media, given the intensity of the presidential election and the trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic. But 2021 proved up to the task, starting with the Jan. 6 insurrection and continuing with copious amounts of falsehoods and distortions about COVID-19 vaccines.

  • Moral Echo Chambers on Social Media May Boost Radicalization: Study

    As Congress continues to investigate the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, psychologists are examining how online communities can foster radical thoughts and intentions. A new study finds that that social media echo chambers can create a strong bond and increase the likelihood of radicalization.

  • Problems in Regulating Social Media Companies’ Extremist, Terrorist Content Removal Policies

    The U.S. government’s ability to meaningfully regulate major social media companies’ terrorist and extremist content removal policies is limited.

  • Foreign Disinformation Effort Raises Fears of Violence in U.S.

    Foreign intelligence services and global terrorist organizations are engaged in a broad effort to seed the United States with disinformation, and this effort appears to be working, raising new fears of a terrorist attack in the coming weeks, according to a senior DHS official.

  • Antisemitism Disseminated Across Social Media Platforms

    Gab, a self-described “free speech” platform, has a long history as a haven for antisemites, extremists and conspiracy theorists. On Gab, and on Gab’s Twitter account, extremists promote a range of antisemitic tropes, such as Jews having dual loyalty to the U.S. and Israel, that Jews are to blame for the crucifixion of Jesus and that Jews control the U.S. government.

     

  • Hate Speech on Social Media Fueled By Users’ Shared Values, Moral Concerns

    People whose moral beliefs and values align closely with other members of their online communities — including those on social networks Gab and Reddit — are more prone to radicalization, according to new research.

  • Finding Clues to Why False News Snowballs on Social Media

    The spread of misinformation on social media is a pressing societal problem that tech companies and policymakers continue to grapple with. But why and how does false news spread? A new model shows that the more polarized and hyperconnected a social network is, the more likely misinformation will spread.