-
There Is a Lot of Antisemitic Hate Speech on Social Media – and Algorithms Are Partly to Blame
Antisemitic incidents have shown a sharp rise in the United States. There were 2,717 incidents in 2021. This represents an increase of 34% over 2020. In Europe, the European Commission found a sevenfold increase in antisemitic postings across French language accounts, and an over thirteenfold increase in antisemitic comments within German channels during the pandemic. Contemporary antisemitism manifests itself in various forms such as GIFs, memes, vlogs, comments and reactions such as likes and dislikes on the platforms. The continuous exposure to antisemitic content at a young age, scholars say, can lead to both normalization of the content and radicalization of the Tik-Tok viewer.
-
-
An Elusive Shadow: State-by-State Gun Ownership
Policy-makers are faced with an exceptional challenge: how to reduce harm caused by firearms while maintaining citizens’ right to bear arms and protect themselves. Meaningful legislation requires an understanding of how access to firearms is associated with different outcomes of harm, but this knowledge also calls for accurate, highly-resolved data on firearm possession, data that is presently unavailable due to a lack of a comprehensive national firearm ownership registry.
-
-
U.S. Youth Firearm Mortality Increases Over the Past Decade --Trends Differ Significantly Across States
In 2020, firearms were the leading cause of death in children in the United States. Four states with stricter laws restricting gun access successfully reversed upward trajectories in youth gun deaths over the past decade.
-
-
Alarming Trend Toward Political Violence
A new report reveals alarming trends in attitudes toward violence, including political violence, in the United States. The survey is the first of its kind to explore the participants’ personal willingness to engage in specific political violence scenarios.
-
-
NIST Updates Guidance for Health Care Cybersecurity
In an effort to help health care organizations protect patients’ personal health information, NIST has updated its cybersecurity guidance for the health care industry. The revised draft publication aims to help organizations comply with HIPAA Security Rule.
-
-
Global Supply Chains Remain Resilient in the Wake of Natural Disasters
International trade links bind countries together in ways that are difficult to untangle following a crisis. While many U.S. policy makers are calling for reshoring and nearshoring to combat trade disruptions caused by COVID-19, new research suggests retrenchment of global supply chains is unlikely to happen in the post-pandemic context.
-
-
Further Indications of Iran’s Renewed Interest in Maraging Steel for its Nuclear Enrichment Program
Maraging steel bellows are well known to be used in the IR-2m centrifuge, but Iran has not made any of these centrifuges in years, leading to speculation that the bottleneck was the maraging steel. A recent report has revealed Iran’s renewed interest in metal bellows in its advanced centrifuges.
-
-
Does Germany's Special Network to Prevent Islamist Extremists' Attacks Work?
Political and religious extremism has long been seen as a threat to democracy in Germany. The Counter Terrorism Center is where agencies and police network to prevent Islamist extremist attacks. Is it effective?
-
-
New Tool Helps Distinguish Different Psychological Traits of Violent Extremists
Researchers have developed and validated a new tool known as the Extremist Archetypes Scale to help distinguish different psychological traits found among people engaged in violent extremism. Dimensions of extremist archetypes include “adventurer”, “drifter” and “misfit”, among others.
-
-
Calls Rise in Congress to Designate Russia a State Sponsor of Terrorism
As Russian attacks on civilian sites are reported on a near-daily basis, pressure is mounting on the Biden administration to officially designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.
-
-
Google/Apple's Contact-Tracing Apps Susceptible to Digital Attacks
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists and health authorities have relied on contact-tracing technologies to help manage the spread of the virus. Yet there’s a major flaw in a framework that many of these mobile apps utilize – one that attackers could exploit to ramp up false positive notifications.
-
-
Strengthening U.S. Government’s Enhanced Potential Pandemic Pathogen Framework, Dual Use Research
Group of scientists, public health experts, policy researchers propose strengthening of U.S. government’s policies regarding enhanced potential pandemic pathogen framework and dual use research of concern.
-
-
Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories May Not Be Increasing
A new analysis contradicts popular thinking about beliefs in conspiracy theories, suggesting that such beliefs may not have actually increased over time. The new findings challenge widespread perceptions by the public, scholars, journalists, and policymakers.
-
-
2021: More than 400 Were Convicted of Terrorism Offenses in EU Countries
EUROPOL the other day published the European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2022 (TE-SAT). It provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date intelligence picture on terrorism in the European Union. In 2021, European courts convicted 423 individuals for terrorist offenses, while EU law enforcement authorities arrested 388 suspects for terrorism-related offenses.
-
-
China Escalating Campaign of Intimidation, Harassment of Chinese Dissidents in U.S.
Last week, the U.S. Justice Department announced the indictment of one former and one current DHS agents who were recruited to help the Chinese government’s campaign of harassment targeting U.S.-based critics. This was not the first Chinese operation of its kind inside the United States. But it marked the first time that China has recruited federal agents in support of their effort, reflecting what U.S. authorities regard as Beijing’s increasingly brazen intrusion into other countries.
-
The long view
Kinetic Operations Bring Authoritarian Violence to Democratic Streets
Foreign interference in democracies has a multifaceted toolkit. In addition to information manipulation, the tactical tools authoritarian actors use to undermine democracy include cyber operations, economic coercion, malign finance, and civil society subversion.
Patriots’ Day: How Far-Right Groups Hijack History and Patriotic Symbols to Advance Their Cause, According to an Expert on Extremism
Extremist groups have attempted to change the meaning of freedom and liberty embedded in Patriots’ Day — a commemoration of the battles of Lexington and Concord – to serve their far-right rhetoric, recruitment, and radicalization. Understanding how patriotic symbols can be exploited offers important insights into how historical narratives may be manipulated, potentially leading to harmful consequences in American society.
Trump Aims to Shut Down State Climate Policies
President Donald Trump has launched an all-out legal attack on states’ authority to set climate change policy. Climate-focused state leaders say his administration has no legal basis to unravel their efforts.