Glen Wise’s Post

Linda Yaccarino responds to EU: 700 Community Notes, 5K+ images shared on Israel-Hamas war, “thousands” of pieces of content removed X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, came under fire earlier this week in Europe, when European Commissioner Thierry Breton sent a stark open letter to the company warning it of its failure to clamp down on disinformation and illegal content on the platform circulating in the aftermath of the deadly Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. Today, X responded with a letter long on pages, but relatively short on numbers and direct acknowledgement of its stumbles. A letter signed by X CEO Linda Yaccarino notes that company has “redistributed resources” and “refocused teams”. The letter stays, in Yaccarino’s words, “high level”, which means that it is light on specific numbers. “Shortly after” the attack (no exact timing), a leadership group was assembled to consider X’s response; “tens of thousands” of pieces of content have been removed, and user-generated Community Notes are now on “thousands” of posts, and “hundreds” of accounts linked to terrorist groups or violence or extremism have been removed. She does not give any estimate of how much content it’s facing overall that still needs moderating and checking. If you want to learn more join us at ycoproductions.com

Terrorist and violent extremist actors are constantly evolving their behaviors, tactics, and use of emerging technologies. Consequently, platforms, policymakers, and practitioners need to adapt approaches to respond. GIFCT is pleased to be taking part in The International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ)'s roundtable on Addressing Emerging Technology within the Realm of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremism (REMVE). Discussions on how #REMVE actors leverage #emergingtechnologies -- and how those working to prevent and counter terrorism and violent #extremism can employ such technology in their work -- are critical to building our collective capacity to respond to these heightened threats.  Our Executive Director Naureen Chowdhury Fink will be sharing perspectives and recommendations over the two-day event alongside tech companies, governments, practitioners, and civil society. Find related reports from GIFCT's Red Teaming Working Group here: https://lnkd.in/eN96CM3P Access the latest research from GIFCT's academic research arm, the Global Network on Extremism & Technology (GNET), including related Insights and publications, here: https://gnet-research.org/

Fascinating insights about tackling terrorist content online (#TCO) from Professor Stuart Macdonald, Director of the Cyber Threats Research Centre - Swansea University and partner in the Tech Against Terrorism Europe initiative published in Policing Insight. The white paper is an excellent example of knowledge sharing and #collaboration in action between #EU funded #security projects being co-authored by the NOTIONES Project network of #intelligence agencies and Tech Against Terrorism Europe. View the white paper here: https://lnkd.in/e_VSaGms #terrorism #ai #ai4trust #police #propaganda #radiclaisation FRISCO EU project, ALLIES EU-Project, Counter Terrorism Policing, CounteR Project, Counter Extremism Project (CEP)

Social media platforms identify and remove huge volumes of online terrorist and violent extremist content on a daily basis, with much of the detection relying on artificial intelligence and automated processes; a new white paper by the Tech Against Terrorism Europe and NOTIONES Projects examines the scale of the problem, and suggests steps that could improve and expand the response to such potentially damaging content, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports. ❝Most terrorism arrestees are profoundly engaged in expressing and consuming violent and hateful material online, and that online encouragement can be troublingly effective at promoting violence in others.❞ - Jonathan Hall, UK Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation ❝In 2021 alone, Facebook removed more than 34 million items of terrorist propaganda, YouTube removed 513,908 videos for the promotion of violence and violent extremism, and Twitter suspended 78,668 accounts for the promotion of terrorism.❞ - Tackling terrorist content online white paper ❝Even with the development of AI-based tools for detecting terrorist and violent extremist content, human decision-making remains essential.❞ - Tackling terrorist content online white paper ❝The combined effect of implementing the white paper recommendations would significantly strengthen current efforts by all stakeholders engaged in global challenge of tackling terror online.❞ [SUBSCRIBER ARTICLE] https://lnkd.in/ebidwkuT #lawenforcement #policing #police #socialmedia #extremism #terrorism #technology #artificialintelligence

Our TASM (Terrorism and Social Media) colleagues have released their Call for Papers for the 2024 International TASM Conference at Swansea University, UK, 18-19 June 2024. For full details and to access the Call for Papers, visit the website: https://www.tasmconf.com/ ABOUT THE CONFERENCE The TASM conference will bring together a range of researchers, policy-makers and practitioners, from a number of different countries and disciplinary backgrounds. It will be hosted at the Great Hall on Swansea University’s Bay Campus on 18-19 June 2024. As well as keynote presentations from leading experts, attendees will also have the opportunity to choose from a wide variety of breakout sessions. The first day of the conference will focus on extremist and terrorist use of online platforms. Topics to be considered include: uses of new technologies and Web3; current trends in uses of gaming platforms and visual media; and, polluted information and malign influence campaigns. Day two will focus on questions of response, including: evaluations of regulatory regimes; uses of AI to identify extremist and terrorist content; and, respecting human rights, including free speech, privacy and transparency.

QAnon refers to an anti-establishment conspiracy theory that is promoted by a decentralized online community and has morphed into a real-world movement. Originating on online message boards, the conspiracy that is credited with the formation of QAnon largely began with a post called “the Calm Before the Storm” by an anonymous user known as “Q.” The individual claimed to be a high-level government official with a security clearance level Q who had access to classified information. Though the ideology has evolved over time, central to the QAnon conspiracy theory is the belief that the world is run by a cabal of global elites who engage in satanic rituals and maintain a child sex-trafficking ring. QAnon narratives are constantly expanding to incorporate conspiracies about current events – including election results, the COVID-19 pandemic, and 5G technology – that are then woven into the QAnon master-narrative. The following document outlines federal criminal cases involving QAnon adherents. Many cases involving individuals associated with QAnon have resulted in state-level criminal charges. Source: National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE) https://lnkd.in/ecjXHVfa #extremism #extremists #violentextremism #conspiracytheory #violence #highthreat #threat #threats #resource #online #tactics #ideology #nationalsecurity #homelandsecurity #technology #tech #pandemic #COVID19 #research

https://lnkd.in/e2F96P9v "Extremist groups are experimenting with generative AI to flood social media with propaganda and misinformation, researchers at Tech Against Terrorism have told WIRED. A new report from the group details how, in recent months, terrorists and other extremist organizations have been using artificial intelligence to manipulate imagery and thwart content moderation. As platforms have struggled to keep up with this flood of extremist content, a new tool called Altitude, built in collaboration between Tech Against Terrorism and Google, is seeking to address the problem. The tool centralizes the collection of verified terrorist content, allowing companies to easily vet posts shared to their platforms."

Let’s hope Altitude is as effective at identifying foreign and domestic extremist disinformation and propaganda from governments, political parties, corporations, and special interest groups. Because terrorists are late to the game of information warfare compared to those groups. ‘Tech Against Terrorism’ should broaden their scope and rebrand as ‘Tech Against Manipulation’. #misinformation #disinformation #propaganda #informationwarfare #terrorism #manipulation #extremism

GIFCT is inviting applications to be a part of our Year 4 Working Groups! Since 2020, we have convened these multi-stakeholder groups to facilitate dialogue, share best practices, and publish resources, reports, handbooks, and explainers that directly support our mission of preventing terrorists and violent extremists from exploiting digital platforms. Year 4 Working Groups will be focusing on the following themes: ▶ Hash Sharing Working Group: Evolving Inclusion Parameters  ▶ Incident Response Working Group: Future-proofing GIFCT’s Incident Response Framework ▶ Gaming Community of Practice: Supporting Gaming Tech Safety The deadline for applications is April 8, 2024. Please find more information on Working Group plans for this year, including expectations around participation, timelines, projected outputs, and a link to our application form, here: https://lnkd.in/gDaVbUAd #tech #trustandsafety #counterterrorism

We are excited for our research arm, the Global Network on Extremism & Technology (GNET), to kick off its fourth annual conference that delves into pressing issues at the intersections of terrorism, violent extremism, and #technology! Over the next two days, leading international experts from diverse industries and disciplines will share their insights and expertise on the following panels: ▶ Global Trends, New Frontiers: Updates on the Non-State Online Threat Landscape Explore the latest non-state online threat landscape developments with Erin Saltman, PhD, Dr Beatriz Lopes Buarque, Devika Shanker-Grandpierre, Lucas Webber, and Aaron Y. Zelin, Ph.D. ▶ AI and Violent Extremism: Threats, Opportunities and Ethical Approaches Learn about the threats posed by #AI, potential opportunities, and the ethical considerations that must guide our approaches with Meili C., Daniel Siegel, Dr. Ashley Mattheis, and Jake Okechukwu Effoduh. ▶ The Innovation Paradox: Emerging Technologies in the Evolving Terrorist Ecosystem Hear how emerging technologies are both exploited by terrorist groups and utilized to combat them with Fola Aina, Rajan Basra, Jessica Davis, Dr Julia Ebner, and Dr. Francis Okpaleke. ▶ Preserving Electoral Integrity in the Digital Age: Mitigating Extremist Interference in Democratic Processes Discover strategies to protect democratic processes from extremist interference in our increasingly digital world with Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, Benjamin Mok, John Sunday Ojo, and Jacob Ware. ▶ Digital Playgrounds: Addressing Youth Radicalization in Gaming Communities Discuss the risks and interventions for preventing youth #radicalization within gaming communities with Belle Riley Thompson, Linda Schlegel, Suraj Lakhani, and Gab Gomes. Access the full schedule and more information at https://lnkd.in/e-W2u9Ka