top of page

World-Renowned Researcher Julia Ebner to Lead Virtual Keynote at Copenhagen Panel

The seminar on The Hybridization of Conspiracy Theories, Misinformation, and Extremism on Social Media, scheduled for May 16-17 at the University of Copenhagen, is set to commence with a pre-seminar virtual keynote session with renowned researcher Julia Ebner. In this session, Dr. Ebner will provide insights into patterns of radicalisation across different ideologies as well as emerging global trends in extremist mobilisation.


Virtual Keynote Session Details:

  • Title: Radicalisation and Violent Extremism: Drivers, Trends, Solutions

  • Speaker: Julia Ebner, Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) and Oxford University

  • Date: May 15, 2024

  • Time: 2:30-4:30 pm

  • Platform: Zoom

  • Organizers: Line Nybro Petersen and Mikkel Bækby Johansen, UCPH and smidgeproject.eu.

To join the virtual keynote session, interested participants are invited to email socialmediaextremismseminar@gmail.com with the headline "Julia Ebner keynote" before May 1 to receive the meeting link.


Organized by the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) as part of the SMIDGE Project, the seminar aims to delve into the pressing issues surrounding radicalization and violent extremism in today's digital age.


Keynote Session Abstract


Incel, conspiracy theorist, and neo-Nazi movements once belonged on the fringes of the political spectrum. Today, their ideas are becoming more widespread, accelerated by global conflict, economic crisis, and rapid technological change. Extremists across the world have skillfully expanded their reach by using cutting-edge technologies. They have also attracted the youngest generations by gamifying their communication and impacted politics by entering surprising coalitions. In recent years, online campaigns to intimidate politicians, journalists, and activists, as well as online efforts to radicalise wider groups of people towards violence, have become increasingly common. Security experts have warned that both mainstream and fringe cyberspaces (so-called alt-tech platforms) have turned into hotbeds for viral hate and the inspiration of violence. This has often left security services overwhelmed with the sheer amount of potential threats to national security.


Yet, not everyone who makes explicit threats of violence will translate their words into action. Likewise, not everyone who will commit an act of extreme violence threatens to do so beforehand. Some will even intentionally scratch the boundaries of legality by using the rhetorical weapon of satire, leading intelligence officers into a tricky security-versus-freedom dilemma. Judgement on whether a user who engages in “shitposting” constitutes a risk to violence can be difficult; yet the stakes are high. The intersection of satire and hate has escalated in a new phenomenon of political violence: gamified terrorism. As we have been able to observe the growing relationship between trolling and terrorism, traditional counter-terrorism mechanisms have become increasingly unhelpful in assessing and dealing with this emerging threat.


Based on her research, Dr Julia Ebner will give insights into patterns of radicalisation across different ideologies as well as emerging global trends in extremist mobilisation. Throughout the seminar, she will address questions such as: Why have outlandish extremist ideas taken hold in liberal democracies and how do they spread online? What are the pull and push factors that drive radicalisation, and when do they pose a risk for national security? Can would-be perpetrators of extreme violence be reliably identified by the linguistic traces they unintentionally leave behind in their online communications? In closing, she will propose a set of solutions to tackle the spread of violent extremism and to prevent acts of terrorism.





Julia Ebner Biography


Dr. Julia Ebner is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) in London and a Postdoctoral Fellow at Oxford University's Calleva Centre of Evolution and Human Sciences. With a wealth of experience in policy and security research, Dr. Ebner has led numerous projects and undercover investigations into extremist groups across the ideological spectrum. She regularly advises government and intelligence agencies, tech firms, and transnational organizations on matters related to online radicalization and terrorism prevention.


Comments


bottom of page