Tech Against Terrorism

This week, we’re exploring the topic of researcher safety and mental health, focusing on the particular difficulties facing those working with terrorist or violent extremist content. We ask whether there’s enough awareness around the subject, and what can be done, both individually and institutionally, to protect the emotional wellbeing and safety of counterterrorism researchers and practitioners.Join Anne Craanen as she speaks to Olivier Cauberghs, Head of Textgain Academy, and Kesa White, Lead Trends Analyst and Program Manager at the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) at the American University.  You can read a transcript of this episode here.If you want to find out more about Tech Against Terrorism and our work, visit techagainstterrorism.org or follow us on Twitter, where you can find resources on this topic. 

This week on the Tech Against Terrorism podcast, we’re taking you behind the scenes to learn more about the work of our Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) Analysts who are responsible for tracking, analysing and alerting terrorist and violent extremist activity online.We share what a typical day in the life of an OSINT analyst looks like, some of the safety, ethical and mental health considerations around their work, plus we hear what skills you need for a career in OSINT. We also weigh up the potential risks and benefits of self-taught OSINT and discuss the future of OSINT. Join Anne Craanen and Archie Macfarlane as they speak to Arthur and Rory from the Tech Against Terrorism OSINT team. If you’re interested in learning more about Open-source Intelligence, check out the resources at OSINTCurious, OSINTJobs and Bellingcat. You can read a transcript of this episode here.If you want to find out more about Tech Against Terrorism and our work, visit techagainstterrorism.org or follow us on Twitter @techvsterrorism, where you can find resources on this topic. 

This week on the Tech Against Terrorism podcast we’re exploring the decentralised web. We discuss what the decentralised web is, its potential benefits for users, and whether terrorists and violent extremists are exploiting these technologies. We also consider future threats relating to exploitation of the decentralised web, and how tech companies building this technology can mitigate this by developing trust and safety mechanisms early on.  Join Anne Craanen as she speaks to Dr. Inga Trauthig, a Senior Research Fellow with the Propaganda Research Lab at The University of Texas at Austin, and Clara Tsao, Co-founder of the Trust & Safety Professional Association (TSPA) and Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council.You can read Inga’s full research paper “Emergent Technologies and Extremists:The DWeb as a New Internet Reality?” here. And learn more about Clara’s work at The Trust & Safety Professional Association here. You can read a transcript of this episode here. If you want to find out more about Tech Against Terrorism and our work, visit techagainstterrorism.org or follow us on Twitter @techvsterrorism, where you can find resources on this topic. 

This week on the Tech Against Terrorism podcast we’re exploring the threat of terrorist operated websites (TOWs). We discuss what TOWs are, what features they offer, and what role they play in wider terrorist and violent extremist exploitation of the internet. We also discuss why removing websites is so legally and ethically complicated and requires multi-stakeholder solutions. Finally, we outline what TAT is doing to combat TOWs, and consider what can be done by policymakers, infrastructure providers and other relevant stakeholders. Join Anne Craanen as she speaks to Ajith Francis, Director of the Data & Jurisdiction Program at the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network and Rory, an Open-source Intelligence (OSINT) Analyst at Tech Against Terrorism. You can read our full report on the threat of terrorist and violent extremist operated websites here. You can read a transcript of this episode here.  If you want to find out more about Tech Against Terrorism and our work, visit techagainstterrorism.org or follow us on Twitter @techvsterrorism, where you can find resources on this topic. 

Welcome back to the Tech Against Terrorism podcast. For our first episode back, we’re taking a deep dive into the dark web. We discuss what the dark web is, who’s using it, plus consider the extent to which it’s exploited by terrorist actors. We also discuss how the dark web is regulated, consider future threats and whether it’s an area the tech sector and policymakers should be prioritising. Join Anne Craanen as she speaks to Dr James Martin, a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Deakin University, Australia. And Arthur Bradley, Open-source Intelligence Manager at Tech Against Terrorism. If you want to find out more about Tech Against Terrorism and our work, visit techagainstterrorism.org or follow us on Twitter @techvsterrorism, where you can find resources on this topic. 

The Tech Against Terrorism podcast is returning on Thursday 13th October. Join us every other week as we unpick how terrorists and violent extremists are exploiting the darkest corners of the internet and what can be done to support the tech sector to disrupt this threat.

For the final episode of Season 2 of the podcast we’re taking a closer look at a tool developed by Tech Against Terrorism called the Terrorist Content Analytics Platform (TCAP). We learn what the TCAP is, why it was set up, and how it’s used to automate the swift detection and removal of verified terrorist content on tech platforms.During the episode, Mariusz Żurawek explains how he struggled to single-handedly moderate extremist content on his platform JustPaste.it. We discuss how terrorist exploitation of the whole online ecosystem, especially smaller platforms like Mariusz’, inspired the development of the TCAP.  We also chat to the TCAP team about the work they’re doing to add more functionality to the platform and about some of the processes that are in place to ensure it’s as transparent as possible to its stakeholders and the wider public. Join Anne Craanen as she speaks to Jacob Berntsson who’s the Head of Policy & Research at Tech Against Terrorism, Sophie Laitt who’s a Senior Product Manager at Tech Against Terrorism and Mariusz Żurawek, the founder of JustPaste.it - a website which uses the TCAP to help it take down potentially harmful terrorist content from its site. If you want to find out more about the TCAP, head over to the website at terrorismanalytics.org. And for those interested you can find our Transparency Report here. To find out more about Tech Against Terrorism and our work, visit techagainstterrorism.org or follow us on Twitter @techvsterrorism, where you can find resources on this topic. 

On this week’s episode, we’re exploring the role of automated solutions and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in tackling terrorist and violent extremist content and activity online. With the help of our expert guests, we delve into the historical use of machine learning algorithms for content moderation purposes, look at how they’ve developed over the last decade or so, and discuss their potential going forward. We consider some of the potential biases and ethical considerations around automated removal systems, such as the mistaken removal of war crime evidence or political speech in the Arabic language. Our guests explore how we can best utilise algorithms to tackle terrorist content, highlighting their potential for understanding patterns of terrorist behaviour online.This week, Anne Craanen speaks to Adam Hadley, Founder and Executive Director of Tech Against Terrorism. We also hear from Dia Kayyali, director for advocacy at Mnemonic where they focus on the real-life impact of policy decisions made by lawmakers and technology companies about content moderation and related topics. And Chris Meserole, a fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution and director of research for the Brookings Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative. Chris is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.To find out more about Tech Against Terrorism and our work, visit techagainstterrorism.org or follow us on Twitter @techvsterrorism, where you can find resources on this topic.

This week we’re bringing you a special episode investigating the conflict in Ukraine. We unpack the truth around violent extremist elements operating in Ukraine amid the online information war that’s been unfolding. We speak to experts who expose the Russian claims of denazification as state-sponsored disinformation, and interrogate the reality of the violent far-right presence and influence of foreign fighters in Ukraine. Join Anne Craanen as she speaks to Ukraine-based Olga Yurkova who is the Co-founder of StopFake.org, an educational platform which aims to teach people about the dangers of spreading false information. We also hear from Kacper Rekawek, a PhD, postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Research on Extremism at the University of Oslo. And finally, from Jason Blazakis who is a Professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) and former Director of the Counterterrorism Finance and Designations Office, Bureau of Counterterrorism, U.S. Department of State. We also get valuable insight from Arthur Bradley, a Senior OSINT analyst at Tech Against Terrorism, who explains the divergent reaction of the international far-right to the invasion online. Our experts reveal troubling links between the Russian state and far-right fighters in Ukraine exposing Kremlin narratives as not only false but contradictory.  How do you tell if a photo or video posted online is real or fake? Here's a simple video by the BBC's Disinformation team on how to check and verify content shared online about the war in Ukraine. Or you can find this article on Olga’s website StopFake.org on “How to recognise a fake.”To find out more about Tech Against Terrorism and our work, visit techagainstterrorism.org or follow us on Twitter @techvsterrorism, where you can find resources on this topic. 

On this week’s episode of the podcast, we’re looking at terrorist designation. We analyse different countries’ designation systems and discuss how they can be improved. We consider the role designation plays in the fight against terrorism and how it can be used as a tool to tackle terrorist content online. Anne Craanen is joined by two experts on designation, firstly Dr. Anna Meier who is an Assistant Professor of political science and international relations at the University of Nottingham. Anna studies counterterrorism in Germany and the United States, with a particular interest in white supremacist violence and proscription policy. Anne also speaks to Jason Blazakis, Professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) and former Director of the Counterterrorism Finance and Designations Office, Bureau of Counterterrorism, U.S. Department of State. Jason is also a Senior Advisor at The Soufan Group.Our other guest this week is David Shanks who is the Chief Censor of the New Zealand Classification Office. David’s role as part of this media regulator includes making determinations about the legality of the most extreme and violent terrorist content. He gives us a fascinating insight into some of the dilemmas this responsibility entails and on what can be done to better tackle terrorist content online. We also get insight from Archie Macfarlane, who is a Junior Research Analyst at Tech Against Terrorism, on the work TAT has been doing on designation.To find out more about Tech Against Terrorism and our work, visit techagainstterrorism.org or follow us on Twitter @techvsterrorism, where you can find resources on this topic.