A look back on a crazy cool year here at Open Measures including some of our favorite research pieces, some of our media mentions, and new features we introduced to the research platform we’ve developed open.substack.com/pub/openmeas...

Since the Bondi Beach shooting, Australian neo-Nazis have been highlighting the attack to push anti-immigrant hate and call for “mass deportation” blog.openmeasures.io/p/bondi-beac...

Since the Bondi Beach shooting, Australian neo-Nazis have been highlighting the attack to push anti-immigrant hate and call for “mass deportation” blog.openmeasures.io/p/bondi-beac...

Guest bars from Open Measures in this one

Conspiracy theories about weather manipulation (chemtrails, etc.) have spread online in recent years, driving increased threats against public officials. In 2025, they were especially popular on Truth Social -- a platform run by the current head of US government. openmeasures.io/weather-cons...

We discovered videos on RuTube promoting junk "cheat tools" for Roblox that are actually vehicles for malware that can steal information off devices, like passwords and credit card info. The risks are particularly concerning given the game's popularity with children. openmeasures.io/rutube-roblo...

Amid US-based 'Active Clubs' and teen 'Youth Clubs' expanding their online presence, @openmeasures.bsky.social have also identified a new Youth Club targeting young men in the UK openmeasures.io/internationa...

NEW: We linked up with GIFCT to examine white nationalist “youth clubs” recruiting and propagandizing to teens on Telegram. They're affiliated with “active clubs,” decentralized racist groups cropping up in Canada and the US, and recently crossed over into the UK. openmeasures.io/internationa...

Open Measures senior researcher @jaredlholt.bsky.social joined @jimacosta.bsky.social to talk about Nick Fuentes’ rise in mainstream politics, our research on that front, and more. Check it out! m.youtube.com/watch?v=URCq...

This piece cites our research looking at suggestions in mainstream news outlets that Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist social media personality, has seen his audience grow in recent months. Our review of the data revealed a different picture. openmeasures.io/nick-fuentes...

A former Campbell's Soup executive described the company's food as "bioengineered" and disparagingly referred to its customers as "poor people," according to a lawsuit filed last month. The comments ignited outrage over Thanksgiving week. Some encouraged boycotts. openmeasures.io/campbells-bi...

ICYMI: Here's a look at the research our team published in November. We investigated: 🔍 Networks promoting an AI essay writing service on VK 🗳️ Last-minute smears in NYC's mayoral election 📊 Claims that Nick Fuentes' audience has recently grown 🕵️ Impersonation scams targeting Rumble users

NEW: We've been looking at suspicious activity on Rumble. Our latest looks at networks of accounts impersonating the platform's top content creators and trying to lure their audiences into suspicious Telegram chatrooms. The most-impersonated figure? Dan Bongino. openmeasures.io/dan-bongino-...

Recent news coverage of extremist media personality Nick Fuentes might give readers the impression his audience is booming in size. But after reviewing our data, our researchers have some serious doubts that’s the case. openmeasures.io/nick-fuentes...

Last-ditch efforts to damage Zohran Mamdani's reputation, led by pro-Israel and anti-Muslim groups, rehashed Islamophobic smears against the Council on American-Islamic Relations -- a Muslim advocacy group that supported Mamdani's candidacy. openmeasures.io/zohran-mamda...

Four years ago, far-right white male supremacist Nick Fuentes was deplatformed pretty much everywhere. Now he's back with a vengeance—and the online right can't stop fighting over whether to condemn him or welcome him. My story: wapo.st/4nJbt4M

Open Measures senior researcher @jaredlholt.bsky.social spoke to @willoremus.com for this article about the rising profile of extremist Nick Fuentes in mainstream conservative media circles and the turmoil it’s causing in the MAGA movement www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Our researchers investigated a network of VK pages promoting an essay-writing company based in Cyprus. The accounts appear to be running on generative AI and targeting prospective customers writing in English. The network posted more than 200k times in the last year. openmeasures.io/vk-pages-ess...

It's been a busy couple months at Open Measures -- so busy, if fact, that we forgot to send a monthly roundup of our research pieces last month! Here's nine stories worth checking out, covering everything from Syrian insurgent groups to Sydney Sweeney's jeans. blog.openmeasures.io/p/icymi-sept...

Thanks to @craigsilverman.bsky.social and @mantzarlis.com for shouting out our latest research on Rumble in their newsletter briefing this morning. Be sure to check out what Craig and Alexios are doing over at Indicator indicator.media/p/grokipedia...

Rumble, an alternative video platform, can be tricky to navigate and harder to research/investigate. That's where we come in. Our researchers looked closer at the Rumble data we have, starting with the platform's power users. What they found was eye-opening. 🧵 1/n openmeasures.io/rumble-power...

Users on Rumble -- a video-based alt-platform -- posted at least 4.4 million videos and 10.7 million comments last year. We looked closer at the most-active uploaders and commenters on the site. What we found was a mix of hateful, scammy, and suspicious. openmeasures.io/rumble-power...

Users on Rumble -- a video-based alt-platform -- posted at least 4.4 million videos and 10.7 million comments last year. We looked closer at the most-active uploaders and commenters on the site. What we found was a mix of hateful, scammy, and suspicious. openmeasures.io/rumble-power...

Earlier this month, we published research showing these concerns about Tylenol were not popular outside a fringe subset of Trump’s online base on Truth Social. When the White House amplified these dubious claims, the platform lit up with posts repeating them. openmeasures.io/tylenol-and-...

Trump’s executive order labeling “Antifa” a domestic terrorist group is echoing internationally. Hungary, the Netherlands, and Poland are exploring similar measures, framing left-wing activism as a security threat. Read more:

Our latest examines the ways two post-Assad insurgent groups in Syria have used Telegram to shape public perception. Both Saraya Ansar al-Sunna and the Coastal Shield Brigade show that today's conflict in Syria is as much a digital war as a ground war. openmeasures.io/syrian-insur...

Early voting the NYC mayoral election starts tomorrow. ICYMI -- We took a closer look at the surge of identity-based attacks against front-runner Zohran Mamdani that appeared after he won the Democratic primary in June. Read it here: openmeasures.io/zohran-mamda...

We'll be at Christchurch Hacker Con in New Zealand next week! Come see our Liv Rowley present on stolen credential markets on Telegram on Oct 31 (spooky!). 2025.chcon.nz/schedule/

Narratives about "Antifa" were largely dormant for most of Trump's current term in office, even on alt-platforms popular with right-wing communities. That all changed when a gunman killed activist Charlie Kirk and federal officials rushed to blame the "radical left" openmeasures.io/antifa-narra...

You can get the latest from Open Measures researchers delivered to your inbox by signing up for our free newsletter. openmeasures.substack.com

After the White House endorsed poorly supported claims that Tylenol is linked to autism last month, Truth Social users began to parrot the claims and engaged with posts that supported them more frequently. The topic was obscure and unpopular on Truth Social before that.

Data on Sydney Sweeney Ad Controversy Shows How MAGA Weaponizes Social Trends https://gizmodo.com/data-on-sydney-sweeney-ad-controversy-shows-how-maga-weaponizes-social-trends-2000667399

Thanks @gizmodo.com for covering our latest case study! gizmodo.com/data-on-sydn...

American Eagle was dragged into an online outrage cycle after conservative media figures claimed that liberals were offended by the clothing company's ads featuring Sydney Sweeney and a denim-themed pun about her "great jeans." We checked the data. That wasn't true. openmeasures.io/american-eag...

Our research on the online outrage cycle surrounding Cracker Barrel's logo change was cited in this piece at Gizmodo: "According to data collected by Open Measures ... posters regularly tied the Cracker Barrel logo change to terms like 'woke' and 'DEI.'” gizmodo.com/cracker-barr...

Cracker Barrel changed its logo, then changed it back. We looked at how certain online communities reacted, and found that nearly a quarter of posts referenced terms related to social justice and diversity. Read more here: openmeasures.io/cracker-barr...

Many perpetrators "almost view their acts as a type of performance art." Thank you @drewharwell.com for including us in this story about political messages reportedly left on bullet casings in high-profile shootings. www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

Our latest investigation reveals how extremist networks amplified a harassment site targeting people accused of making distasteful comments about Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Read more here: openmeasures.io/far-right-ex...

Online chatter about "Pallywood" -- the conspiracy theory that Palestinians stage suffering for propaganda -- gained renewed attention in July this year, after famine was declared in Gaza. Written with input from our partners at @freepressunlimited.org. Read more:

We’re pleased to be taking part in @bsidescbr.bsky.social next week. Our Liv Rowley will be presenting on September 27, sharing insights into stolen credential markets on Telegram. If you’re attending, come say hi! cfp.bsidescbr.com.au/bsides-canbe...

When crises occur and hard facts are at a premium, we're seeing the void filled with conjecture and dangerous conspiracy theories. In this case, Charlie Kirk’s death is being leveraged to stoke flames. @jaredlholt.bsky.social and @stuartathompson.bsky.social in NYT: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/t...

Have really been enjoying the work I've been doing at @openmeasures.bsky.social. There's some cool stuff in the hopper I'm excited to share when it's out, but here's a recap of what I've published so far. 🧵 (1/6)

People fled Twitter in pursuit of "free speech platforms"; why are some of these people not returning to Musk's X? Tensions between Musk and Trump seem to play a role at discouraging a return. Read more here: openmeasures.io/leaving-x-tw...

@mantzarlis.com & @craigsilverman.bsky.social are building something special at @indicator.media that really resonates with us at Open Measures. Thank you for featuring us on your great write up and demo + workshop last week. indicator.media/p/3-free-or-...

Did 4chan's April outage have a lasting negative impact on its activity levels and userbase? In short: no. Check out our thoughts here: openmeasures.io/4chan-returns/

August is a busy month for the Australian far-right. An Aug 9 neo-Nazi rally in Melbourne was followed by a weekend gathering of the same group, & details of an Aug 31 anti-immigration rally are being shared in far-right Telegram channels & socials. Read more: openmeasures.io/flash-report...

Nearly 1/3 of all posts about New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani contain Islamophobia or accusations of antisemitism, according to our research across 5 major alt-tech platforms. Check it out here: openmeasures.io/zohran-mamda...

Has Trump’s online base moved on from the ‘Epstein Files’ scandal? In my first piece for @openmeasures.bsky.social, I ran the numbers. Of the alt-platforms I looked at, the only one keeping Epstein discussion alive was this one: Bluesky. openmeasures.io/epstein-files/

Fixation on the release of the "Epstein files" seems to have been a passing obsession for pro-Trump communities online. Interest, which skyrocketed in early July, has since subsided. Read more here: openmeasures.io/epstein-files/

See you in Canberra! On September 27th, Open Measures' Research Manager, Liv Rowley, will be presenting @bsidescbr.bsky.social‬ on how stolen credentials are sold on Telegram channels. Reach out to talk cybercrime, Telegram, and other online threats. cfp.bsidescbr.com.au/bsides-canbe...