1. (THREAD) So, it seems like the deplatforming debate is once again kicking off, so I thought I would introduce some of the earlier work that was done in this area back when ISIS was buck wild on social media. What have we learned over the last six years might be useful today:

2. One of the earliest studies that discussed the impact of suspensions of ISIS accounts was @intelwire and Morgan's piece: The ISIS Twitter Consensus.

They found that suspensions did have an impact on replies and retweets and overall dissemination. https://t.co/G12JUYtuzK
3. After suspensions, the die-hard supporters dedicated themselves to creating new accounts, but others whittled away: “it appears the pace of account creation has lagged behind the pace of suspensions”
4. On the specific question of how suspensions impact the Twitter network, see this piece by @intelwire and @IntelGirl111, which explores how suspensions impact these groups, including major disruptions to dissemination and decline in follower count: https://t.co/0IWInJ2Ncx
5. Another study by @Aud_Alexander similarly found that ISIS supporters were finding it hard to “gain traction” after Twitter took a harder stance on the group. https://t.co/eY5vbJal3D
6. Yet another study (I told you we’ve been talking about this for a while) is by @galwaygrrl and colleagues, which specifically seeks to measure the impact of takedowns on things like community breakdown: https://t.co/JhYbeIuH5L
7. Quick interlude: a piece I return to often. By Facebook’s @brianfishman. Hard to summarize in a tweet, but it is a superb piece touching on everything you want to know. He also has a mic-drop paragraph, which I try to remember in my own work: https://t.co/ZCA2parziG
8. For far-right specific research, there some stuff I would recommend as well: @intelwire published this in 2018, and noted that suspensions of far-right accounts were leading to migration to platforms like Gab. https://t.co/1QUwLhVLkL
9. Another important study looks at the 2015 ban on several hateful subreddits. The study found “Through the banning of subreddits which engaged in racism and fat-shaming, Reddit was able to reduce the prevalence of such behavior on the site.” https://t.co/j8qyrRwszc
10. On the differences between how social media companies deal with jihadist groups versus the far-right, see @galwaygrrl: https://t.co/uMgOeDH8Kk
11. One thing I want to end with is a kind of obsession of mine: the notion of “online community”.

You can read my thoughts on the Islamic State’s online community here: https://t.co/1qSfLBNkyf

Elizabeth pearson has also discussed this issue here: https://t.co/Yloq6pHVQJ
12. Much of this is also true for the far-right. They get immense amount of social and psychological benefits from being connected to like-minded people. Disrupting these networks is ultimately a good thing, but we need to think about how it impacts them and how they may respond
13. For individuals who receive an enormous amount of meaning and purpose from being a movement leader in the online space, having that disappear overnight could have unpredictable impact. One such case I’ve written about before: https://t.co/SEa5K8CsTO
14. And finally, with bizarre timing, we just published a piece on how ISIS supporters reacted to a major online campaign against them in November 2019. It seems we may be going through a similar watershed moment for the far-right today. https://t.co/4plUypyJLo
15/15. If I forgot any pertinent pieces on deplatforming, do post them here.

More from Internet

You May Also Like

Fake chats claiming to be from the Irish African community are being disseminated by the far right in order to suggest that violence is imminent from #BLM supporters. This is straight out of the QAnon and Proud Boys playbook. Spread the word. Protest safely. #georgenkencho


There is co-ordination across the far right in Ireland now to stir both left and right in the hopes of creating a race war. Think critically! Fascists see the tragic killing of #georgenkencho, the grief of his community and pending investigation as a flashpoint for action.


Across Telegram, Twitter and Facebook disinformation is being peddled on the back of these tragic events. From false photographs to the tactics ofwhite supremacy, the far right is clumsily trying to drive hate against minority groups and figureheads.


Declan Ganley’s Burkean group and the incel wing of National Party (Gearóid Murphy, Mick O’Keeffe & Co.) as well as all the usuals are concerted in their efforts to demonstrate their white supremacist cred. The quiet parts are today being said out loud.


The best thing you can do is challenge disinformation and report posts where engagement isn’t appropriate. Many of these are blatantly racist posts designed to drive recruitment to NP and other Nationalist groups. By all means protest but stay safe.