Projects → Countering Online Radicalisation

Countering Online Radicalisation

Aim: to identify the most innovative and effective strategies through which to counter radicalisation and recruitment on the Internet.

Political extremists and terrorists are increasingly using the internet as an instrument for radicalisation and recruitment. What can be done to counter their activities?

Countering Online Radicalisation examined the different technical options for making 'radical' internet content unavailable, concluding that all are either crude, expensive or counter-productive. 

It aimed to construct a new, innovative strategy which goes beyond 'pulling the plug', developing concrete proposals aimed at:

• Deterring the producers of extremist materials
• Empowering users to self-regulate their online communities
• Reducing the appeal of extremist  messages through education
• Promoting positive messages

Countering Online Radicalisation was the first systematic effort to bring together industry, experts and government on the issue of online radicalisation. Its insights and recommendations were described as 'essential reading for policymakers and analysts worldwide' by Dr. Thomas Hegghammer of Harvard University.

The project was carried out in partnership with the Community Security Trust.

 

First Reactions

'This report is a significant advance on all that has gone before, it opens a new dimension to debate...as though the adults had finally arived, and [the] squabbling children had been sent back to their respective naughty corners. (John Ozimek, The Guardian, 19 March 2009)

'I found this report particularly interesting... I served on the Harvard Berkman Center's Internet Safety Technical Task Force which, like this British study, came to the conclusion that technological tools - while promising - are not the best first line of defense against a problem that has its roots in the real offline world. (Larry Magid, CNet News, 11 March 2009)

'The solutions offered are correct. The problem is, they are not easy answers and whether we are looking at protecting personal information in a commercial organization or combating extremists, most institutions only want easy answers.' (Kent Anderson, Politically Motivated Computer Crime and & Hacktivism, 10 March 2009)

 

The completed report is now available for download here.

A short video featuring comments from the report's two authors can be found on the Independent's web site.

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Mission

Our mission is to challenge the growth of radicalisation and political violence by bringing together the world's most innovative thinkers from academia, politics and business.

ICSR is a unique partnership in which King's College London, the University of Pennsylvania, the Regional Centre for Conflict Prevention Amman (Jordan) and the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya (Israel) are equal stakeholders. ICSR affiliates include the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi and the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies in Islamabad.