• DHS Blocked Circulation of a July Intelligence Bulletin Detailing Russian Disinformation Attacks on Biden

    DHS, in early July, blocked publication of a departmental intelligence bulletin which warned intelligence and law enforcement agencies of a broad Russian effort to promote “allegations about the poor mental health” of former Vice President Joe Biden, according to internal emails and a draft of the document obtained by ABC News. Critics of DHS’s decision say that the perplexing decision would fuel fears that U.S. intelligence is being politicized. “By blocking information from being released that describes threats facing the nation,” said John Cohen, the former undersecretary for intelligence at DHS under President Barack Obama, “it undermines the ability of the public and state and local authorities to work with the federal government to counteract the threat.”

  • How Do Terrorists Make Decisions?

    A new guide, released by CREST, focuses on the insights criminology can provide into terrorist decision-making. It looks at what terrorists do and how they do it. The guide addresses the following questions: How do men and women decide to commit an act of terrorism? Do they plan wisely? How do they choose their targets? How do they evaluate the risk of a single operation? How is decision-making affected by the emotions felt during planning and operational phases? Can law enforcement be usefully informed by what we know about the behaviors of those who commit other kinds of crimes?

  • Watchdog Warns of ‘Limited Progress’ in Africa Counterterror Fight

    Terrorist organizations appear to be tightening their grip on multiple regions of Africa, despite ongoing efforts by the United States and its allies to degrade their capabilities and limit their reach. The findings, part of a new report released Tuesday from the Defense Department inspector general, come as U.S.-led efforts have been forced to adjust, and in some cases, scale back activities because of the coronavirus making its way across the continent.

  • Why the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” Is Still Pushed by Anti-Semites More Than a Century after Hoax First Circulated

    Surely no outright forgery in modern history has ever proved itself more durable than the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, concocted by Tsarist police in the early twentieth century. Why is it that this demonstrably false document continues to hold sway today? Perhaps the simplest explanation is human irrationality, which neither education nor enlightenment has ever managed to defeat.

  • Antifa Protester Suspected of Killing Trump Supporter in Oregon

    For the first time, a self-identified member of the militant movement known as antifa has been implicated in a fatal shooting and is reportedly under investigation in the killing of a supporter of President Donald Trump on Saturday in Portland, Oregon. If Reinoehl is implicated in the case, it would mark the first time in recent years that an antifa supporter has been charged with homicide, said Brian Levin, an expert on terrorism and extremist movements. Gary LaFree, a University of Maryland criminologist, says “We’re getting these situations where people with opposing perspectives are going in as volunteers” to enforce their views in violent ways, while the police “are not exactly sure what to do in this circumstance,” he said. “I think it’s going to be inevitable if you keep having situations like this, things are going to get out of hand.”

  • What – or Who – Is Antifa?

    The movement called “antifa” gets its name from a short form of “anti-fascist,” which is about the only thing its members agree on. Antifa as a decentralized collection of individual activists who mostly use nonviolent methods to achieve their ends. There are more militant anti-fascists, too, who mostly engage in non-militant activism but are willing, at times, to use more confrontational tactics. These people are more open to counterprotesting, sabotage and the use of force, which includes acts of violence.

  • Something Is Happening Here: The Portland Killing, Pt. 1

    On Saturday, a follower of antifa allegedly shot and killed Aaron Danielson, a member of the far-right group Patriot Prayer. Experts on terrorism and extremist movements note that if the charges against the alleged shooter are proven, then, as far as can be ascertained, this will be the first killing by an antifa follower. The important question is whether the killing is a one-off, or whether it signifies something deeper and more menacing. Gary LaFree, a University of Maryland criminologist, said: “We’re getting these situations where people with opposing perspectives are going in as volunteers” to enforce their views in violent ways. “I think it’s going to be inevitable if you keep having situations like this, things are going to get out of hand.”

  • French Headscarf Ban Adversely Affects Muslim Girls

    New research has shown that the French ban prohibiting Muslim girls from wearing headscarves in public schools has had a detrimental effect on both the girls’ ability to complete their secondary education and their trajectories in the labor market. “In response to rising immigration flows and the fear of Islamic radicalization, several Western countries have enacted policies to restrict religious expression and emphasize secularism and Western values,” the co-authors write. “Despite intense public debate, there is little systematic evidence on how such policies influence the behavior of the religious minorities they target,” said one researcher.

  • Would You Fall for a Fake Video? Research Suggests You Might

    Deepfakes are videos that have been manipulated in some way using algorithms. As concerns about election interference around the globe continue to rise, the phenomenon of deepfakes and their possible impact on democratic processes remains surprisingly understudied.

  • COVID-19 Revealing the Impact of Disinformation on Society

    The COVID-19 pandemic has provided new evidence of the impact of disinformation on people’s behavior, according to a new report, which examines the causes and consequences of disinformation. The researchers also argue there has been too much focus on blaming social media for spreading false content, whist neglecting the spread of misleading content in traditional media by political actors.

  • Rise in Gun Purchases after Mass Shootings Tied to Fear of Firearm Regulations

    Surges in firearm acquisition after mass shootings is a well-documented phenomenon, but analytic research into the causes of this behavior — be it driven by a desire for self-protection, or a fear that access to firearms will be curtailed — is sparse. A new is applying a data science methodology to create a model of the “firearms ecosystem” to identify how decisions to buy guns are affected by individual, social network, and state-level factors.

  • Why Americans Are Buying More Guns Than Ever

    Americans have been on a record gun-buying spree in recent months. Gun sales typically have seasonal cycles, with more guns being sold in winter months, and increase in presidential election years and after high-profile mass shootings. However, the 2020 pandemic spurred a record-setting surge in demand for firearms. Gun sales first spiked in March, when lockdown orders began in the U.S. The figures jumped again in June following nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd. Our research examines American gun culture and offers insights into the complex relationship between Americans and guns. We believe there are three general reasons why people are purchasing firearms now.

  • Justice Dept. Never Fully Examined Trump’s Ties to Russia, Ex-Officials Say

    As Donald Trump seeks re-election, major questions about his approach to Russia remain unanswered. He has repeatedly shown an unexplained solicitousness toward Russia and deference toward Vladimir Putin, even as Russia, on Putin’s orders, has been systematically trying to subvert American democracy – and the democratic systems of allies of the United States. He has refused to criticize or challenge the Kremlin’s increasing aggressions toward the West, or even raise with Putin the issue of Russia paying bounties to Afghans who kill American soldiers. Michael S. Schmidt writes that one reason we still do not have answers to questions about the scope of Trump’s ties to Russia, and how these ties have influenced his perplexing attitude toward Russia and Putin, is because Rod J. Rosenstein, the former deputy attorney general, maneuvered to keep investigators from completing an inquiry into whether the president’s personal and financial links to Russia posed a national security threat.

  • Health Officials Call on U.S. Government to Reverse COVID-19 Test Guidelines

    Public health departments throughout the United States are calling on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reverse changes the federal agency recently made to its public coronavirus testing guidelines. Earlier in the CDC announced that it would recommend stopping testing people who have been exposed to the virus but are asymptomatic.

  • Germany: 1980 Oktoberfest Bombing a “Far-Right Attack”

    Investigators had initially thought the attacker’s personal stress led to one of the deadliest attacks in Germany’s post-war history. But authorities now officially say he was deeply involved with far-right extremism.