Contemporary Analysis from the Counter Extremism Project


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CEP Web Events Roundup

Contemporary Analysis from the Counter Extremism Project

 

The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) has conducted more than 10 web events in
2021 as part of its mission to inform the public, media, academia, business
leaders, and policymakers about the dangers posed by extremist ideologies and
movements, as well as their recruitment and operational tactics. Highlights of
these events may be viewedhere <[link removed]>.
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Tech & Terrorism



Dr. Hany Farid: How Algorithmic Amplification Pushes Users Towards Divisive
Content on Social Media Platforms
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On Wednesday, June 30, CEP hosted the first in a series of webinars
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with Dr. Hany Farid, senior advisor to CEP, and a professor at UC Berkeley.
Dr. Farid was joined by German MEP Tiemo Wölken, the coordinator for the
Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) at the European Parliament, and Prabhat
Agarwal, the head of the Digital Services and Platforms Unit for DG Connect at
the European Commission. Speakers explored the nature and extent of the global
phenomenon of misinformation, the role of algorithmic amplification in
spreading it, the consequences, and possible technological and regulatory
interventions for stopping it, including the upcoming EU Digital Services Act.
Dr. Hany Farid said: “Algorithmic amplification is the root cause of the
unprecedented dissemination of hate speech, misinformation, conspiracy
theories, and harmful content online. Platforms have learned that divisive
content attracts the highest number of users and as such, the real power lies
with these recommendation algorithms. Until thorough regulation is put in
place, controversial content will continue to be promoted and amplified
online.” Dr. Farid has also previouslyexplained
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The New EU Digital Services Act (DSA) – Will Social Media Users Be Safer in
The Future?
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The draft Digital Services Act (DSA), published by the EU Commission in
December 2020, seeks to build a safer and better Internet for all EU citizens.
Unfortunately, despite introducing some promising new elements like
transparency and auditing requirements, the draft potentially falls short of
its main objective. The tech industry has lauded the proposed legislation’s
continuation of its limited liability privilege, which essentially allows
companies to moderate harmful and illegal user content any way they deem fit
without being liable. The proposed compliance and content moderation framework
lacks procedural clarity and ignores major lessons learned from the German
NetzDG law as well as from (failed) auditing/compliance systems from the
financial sector. Research has shown that the harmful effects of many social
media and video sharing platforms, particularly hate speech and illegal
(terrorist) content, are systemic, rather than the unintended consequences of
an otherwise healthy business model. On June 1, CEP, in conjunction with Das
NETTZ, (networking initiative against hate speech, betterplace lab), conducted a
webinar
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where a distinguished panel of experts examined in-depth the positive and
negative aspects of the draft DSA and discussed whether the legislation was
capable of protecting EU citizens better from online harms.

 

Roundtable with Lord Walney: Disinformation, Conspiracy Theories, and
Solutions Without Censorship
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On May 4, CEP conducted a webinar <[link removed]>
entitledDisinformation, Conspiracy Theories, and Solutions Without Censorship,
featuring Lord Walney, John Woodcock, who was appointed as HM Government’s
independent adviser on political violence and disruption. Lord Walney, along
with a distinguished group of speakers that included Dr. David Jeffery,
lecturer on British politics, populism, and local government at Liverpool
University; Aaron Sibarium, reporter at the Washington Free Beacon; Naama
Kates, host of critically acclaimed INCEL podcast; and Liam Duffy, London-based
CEP advisor, explored the debate surrounding disinformation and conspiracy
theories.



Watch Highlights From Recent CEP Webinars
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Islamist Extremism

 

Western Foreign Fighters and the Yazidi Genocide
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In August 2014, ISIS attacked Sinjar, home to Iraq’s Yazidi religious
minority. More than 3,000 Yazidis are estimated to have been killed, many in
mass executions, while almost 7,000 Yazidi women and children were kidnapped
and kept as slaves throughout ISIS’s self-declared caliphate. Justice for the
crimes has never occurred. On March 16, CEP conducted awebinar
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to discuss the Yazidi genocide and launched its new report,Western Foreign
Fighters and the Yazidi Genocide
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, authored by London-based CEP Strategic Advisor Liam Duffy. Using archived
social media activity, interviews with captured or stranded foreign fighters,
and first-hand testimonies, the report collates evidence of Western foreign
fighters’ extensive involvement in the atrocities committed by ISIS against
Iraq’s marginalized Yazidi minority. Media coverage:The Spectator
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,Le Vie
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, The National
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, and La Libre
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.

 

The Current Threat Posed by ISIS Globally and European Threat Assessment
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On March 11, CEP conducted a webinar
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focused on the current status, capacities, and capabilities of ISIS globally
and in Europe, including Germany. Despite restrictions imposed by COVID-19,
ISIS supporters were able to carry out a string of attacks in France throughout
2020 and an attack in Vienna, Austria, on November 2, 2020, which killed two
and injured 23. On February 12, 2021, in Denmark and Germany, 14 members
belonging to an ISIS-connected network were arrested while preparing bomb
attacks. Featured speakers at the webinar included: Ambassador Edmund
Fitton-Brown, the Coordinator of the ISIL, al-Qaida and Taliban Monitoring
Team, advising the United Nations Security Council on the threat posed by these
organizations and on the development of global counter-terrorism sanctions; and
Dr. Guido Steinberg, a leading German terrorism analyst at the Stiftung
Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) who advises the German government on security
and terrorism related issues.

 

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Atmospheric Jihadism and The New Middle East Fault Lines – The Next Generation
of Terror
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Dr. Gilles Kepel, author of more than 20 books on contemporary Islam, the Arab
World, and Muslims in Europe, was the featured presenter at CEP’s April 28
webinar
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,Atmospheric Jihadism and The New Middle East Fault Lines – The Next Generation
of Terror.  Dr. Kepel discussed his most recent book of essays, The Prophet and
the Pandemic / From the Middle East to Atmosphere Jihadism, as well as Jihadism
in general and recent developments in the Middle East. Dr. Kepel is a tenured
professor at Paris Sciences et Lettres University and chairs the Middle East
and Mediterranean Excellence Program at the Ecole Normale Supérieure of Paris.
His book of essays was recently released in French, topping the best-seller
lists, and is now being translated into English and six other languages. An
excerpt from the essay,The Murder of Samuel Paty, was published in the spring
issue ofLiberties Journal.

 

Opening the Black Box – Inside France’s Deradicalization Program
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France has been a frequent target of Islamist terrorism both within and
outside its borders for decades, and the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty near
Paris in 2020 is but only one grisly example. Traditionally focusing on
security measures to counter this threat, France has only started to establish
prevention programs. Dr. Marc Hecker’s study“Once a Jihadist, Always a
Jihadist? A Deradicalization Program Seen from the Inside”
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provided the first comprehensive insights into the program PAIRS, in existence
since 2018. The study, based on an extensive field survey of staff,
participants, provided a nuanced assessment of the program’s disengagement and
deradicalization efforts. In a March 29webinar
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conducted by CEP, the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and the
French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), the study’s results and
implications for French and German prevention efforts were discussed in detail.
Media Coverage:The National
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.

 

Black Flags of the Caribbean – How Trinidad Became an ISIS Hotspot
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On March 31, CEP hosted a webinar
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and book discussion with Dr. Simon Cottee, senior lecturer in criminology at
the University of Kent and author of the recently publishedBlack Flags of the
Caribbean – How Trinidad Became an ISIS Hotspot. Dr. Cottee’s work analyzes how
and why ISIS came to amass such an unlikely, yet significant foothold in
Trinidad. On a per-capita basis, Trinidad was one of the largest providers of
volunteers for the caliphate. By 2017, over 240 Trinidadian nationals
(population 1.3 million) had traveled to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS. Another
unusual element was the high proportion of female Trinidadians recruited by
ISIS. Of 70 foreign fighters analyzed by Dr. Cottee, 40 percent of the adults
were women. This places Trinidad at the top of the list of Western countries
for female ISIS migrants.

 

Far-Right Extremism

 

The Threat Posed by Transnational Violent Right-Wing Extremism and Terrorism
in Europe and the United States
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The violent right-wing extremist and terrorist milieu in the United States and
Europe has developed a distinctly transnational character in its activities and
therefore presents an increasing security threat on both sides of the Atlantic.
In November 2020, CEP released its report, Violent Right-Wing Extremism –
Transnational Connectivity, Definitions, Incidents, Structures and
Countermeasures
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, commissioned by the German Federal Foreign Office. The report, also available
inGerman
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, focuses on the rise and metastasis of the violent extreme right-wing (XRW)
threat and analyzes its growing transnational connectivity between 2015-2020 in
Finland, France, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. CEP
hosted a series of webinars dedicated to sections of the report. The first
webinar
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concerned the current threat landscape and provided an overview and the main
findings of the report, while awebinar
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on January 18 was dedicated to the situation in France and Germany. The
February 9webinar
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was focused on the challenges facing the United Kingdom and the United States,
while the fourthwebinar
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on March 4 highlighted the risk environment in Finland and Sweden. Media
coverage:The New York Times
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,Lawfare
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, andHomeland Security News Wire
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.

 

Extremism Meets Paramilitarism in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe
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On April 20, CEP conducted a webinar
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focused on an in-depth examination of contemporary right-wing networks in
Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe, including in the Balkans, featuring
three eminent experts located in the region. Presentations focused on the links
between extremists in Europe with organizations in “the East,” including
Russian networks, and examined the phenomenon of right-wing extremists
traveling eastward, specifically to receive paramilitary training.
Additionally, experts discussed the extent to which activities like travel and
training are sources of revenue for the Eastern transnational violent extreme
right, in addition to music production and festivals, mixed martial art events,
the sale of merchandise, donations, and criminal activities. On June 30, CEP
published a new report,Looks Can Be Deceiving: Extremism Meets Paramilitarism
In Central And Eastern Europe
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. Authored by CEP affiliated researcher Kacper Rekawek, the report examines
case studies from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Ukraine
and outlines potential security risks as well as avenues to mitigate threats
associated with extremism in paramilitary groups throughout Central and Eastern
Europe (CEE).

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