ISD research revealed that US Active Club (AC) members are using personal X accounts to call for violence against racial and religious minorities, public officials and perceived ideological opponents. www.isdglobal.org/digital-disp...

In the first month of the Iran conflict, ISD analysts uncovered two pro-Iran networks on X that jointly achieved over 1 billion views by amplifying AI slop and memes. It shows how quickly coordinated content can scale through platform dynamics ⬇️ www.isdglobal.org/digital-disp...

Targeted violence is a growing issue across the US—forcing local leaders to identify how to grapple with this threat.

We’re now accepting applications for the role of Special Assistant to ISD’s CEO! ⬇️ Work directly at the heart of ISD’s leadership, shaping communication, supporting administration, as well as key projects across teams on local and international levels. Think you'd be a good fit? More details below!

ISD Jordan, I-Dare Sustainable Development and Saba Hamlet, marked the conclusion of a two-year EU-funded project on countering online hate speech in Jordan.

Deadline: 19 April 2026 ⬇️ ISD is looking for a Swedish-speaking research consultant to support a new project focused on the September 2026 Swedish parliamentary elections. Think you'd be a good fit? More details below! https://isdglobal.recruitee.com/o/consultant-research-analyst-swedish

Want to work with a CEO? We’re now accepting applications for the role of Special Assistant to ISD’s CEO!

ISD is cited extensively in the recent UK Home Affairs Committee report on combatting new forms of extremism. The report draws heavily on ISD research into the role of online spaces as environments for young extremists to socialise, recruit others and reinforce their ideas.

ISD CEO and Co-founder Sasha Havlicek joined the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics for a discussion titled “Safety, Slop, and the AI Sandbox: Are We Doomed?” on March 30.

As Ireland prepares for its 2026 EU Council Presidency, ISD's new Dispatch looks at how foreign actors targeted Irish political and social issues in 2025—especially on migration and the presidential election.

Europe & North America have been experiencing a surge in antisemitic attacks targeting synagogues, Jewish schools & Jewish community ambulances. To discuss this threat, ISD's Milo Comerford was recently interviewed by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. Watch the full analysis here.

In late 2025, ISD identified 4 X accounts linked to a covert Iranian influence op targeting Ireland. Posing as Northern Irish users, they sought to insert themselves into local discourse posting on Irish unification, criticising the UK, US & Israel, & expressing solidarity with Palestine/Iran.

In 2025, the US saw 74 attacks and disrupted plots linked to extremism, radicialization or grievance-based violence—a 27% increase over 2024. Deaths from these attacks rose to 50, up 300% over the previous year ⬇️ www.isdglobal.org/publication/...

Since March 9, a previously unknown militant group—The Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right—claimed seven bombings and arsons in Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Greece, six of which targeted the Jewish community.

ISD & AFP co-investigated pro-Kremlin influence in Europe. We found evidence of targeted information operations, incl. efforts to launder narratives through distribution systems that enable "misleading narratives to travel farther than facts", said Zoe Manzi, ISD Senior Hate & Extremism Analyst 📽️ ⬇️

White supremacists in Canada are hijacking positive things—like working out and training martial arts—to create new pathways to their corrosive ideology ⬇️ www.isdglobal.org/digital-disp...

ISD’s Bret Schafer joins Fox News to discuss Iran’s flood of AI-generated content amid the ongoing conflict. With most Iranians offline, he says the goal is to sow fear abroad: “They want to provoke a sense that Iranian capabilities far exceed what we’ve seen.” www.isdglobal.org/media-mentio...

Estimates of deaths linked to Germanic New Medicine (GNM) range from 80 court documented cases to approximately 500 people since 1983 ⬇️ GNM is an alt medical theory developed in the 80s by a former physician repeatedly convicted in Germany/France for practicing medicine without a license & fraud.

After February’s tragic Tumbler Ridge shooting in British Columbia, online chatter quickly zeroed in on the shooter’s transgender identity. Within a day, anti-LGBTQ+ posts surged by 1000%—the largest spike in six months ⬇️ www.isdglobal.org/digital-disp...

AI content, combined with propaganda & internet shutdowns, is overwhelming coverage of the conflict in Iran. ISD's Melanie Smith talks to @apnews.com: State actors “have a very clear kind of narrative structure & the [AI] videos are just used to support some kind of statement they want to make..."

Our latest report on Islamic State (IS) activity in the US shows a disturbing trend; it is primary driven by teenagers. Our findings below ⬇️ www.isdglobal.org/digital-disp...

Canadian Armed Forces personnel were linked to leaked profiles on a 'white-only' dating site known to many as 'Tinder for Nazis', confirms @cbcnews.ca. Speaking w/ the outlet, Katherine Keneally warns extremists within the military raises concerns about access to training, weapons & sensitive info.

Scammers are using AI to build fake experts & media ecosystems that fool investors & even the chatbots users consult to check the facts. Writing for Financial Times, ISD’s Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan explains how these networks exploit tech/platform gaps to gain trust before manipulating victims.

Since the conflict in Iran began on 28 Feb, ISD has been tracking narratives from Russian, Iranian or Chinese-state backed and state-linked actors on social media. Our second update below ⬇️

Iranian state media and allied accounts are using AI videos and unverified claims to project strength after US and Israeli strikes. ISD’s Moustafa Ayad speaks with the @nytimes.com and @afp.com, calling it a “narrative war,” warning of fake accounts and coordinated messaging distorting reality.

ISD analysts have been closely monitoring the conflict in Iran for foreign information manipulation, coordinated inauthentic behaviour, AI-generated disinformation and other hybrid threats. Some of our initial findings ⬇️

As platforms continue to deprioritize content moderation, engagement w/ Islamic State–linked content is rising. In @404media.co, Moustafa Ayad explains how IS is adapting through AI, but also using many of their legacy evasion tactics like blurring branding, all while expanding to games like Roblox.

When protests broke out across Iran in December 2025, the regime responded with more than force, it launched a coordinated propaganda campaign framing the protests as foreign-instigated "riots." isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/axis-of-amplification

When Islamic State detainees escaped detention camps in Syria last month, the group's sprawling digital ecosystem mobilized fast—rallying support, spreading content, and exploiting the chaos across platforms, apps and fringe outlets. ⬇️

Four years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it is clear the information battlefield has been central and expansive. Within the first two years of the conflict, our analysis had already sounded the alarm on how the Kremlin worked to erode international support for Kyiv. → bit.ly/4aNQxVZ ⬇️

Online communities promoting misanthropic violence without a clear ideology represent one of the most troubling trends ISD's analysts are monitoring. ⬇️

Ukraine isn’t Europe’s only battlefield 🇪🇺 Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, adversarial states have carried out sabotage, drone incursions & assassinations at a greater scale across the EU. No country is immune—& others, including China, Iran & even new players, could follow. More below.

ISD Director Katherine Keneally spoke at the Major County Sheriffs of America 2026 Policy Conference on Friday, February 6 in Washington, D.C. ⬇️

Amelia, an AI-generated schoolgirl from a UK counter-extremism game, has been co-opted online as a far-right meme, inspiring viral edits & a cryptocurrency as users repurpose the character’s image & tone for political messaging. ISD’s Sid Venkataramakrishnan speaks to CNN & The Guardian below.

New ISD research reveals a surge in violent online rhetoric toward US lawmakers, with the number of threats tripling since 2021. POLITICO first reported on ISD’s findings and interviewed ISD CEO Sasha Havlicek to discuss this dangerous phenomenon. 🔽

Violent online threats against US lawmakers have tripled since 2021 according to new ISD research, spiking after major political events such as the 2024 assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Most threats came from partisan individuals and not from organized extremist groups. . More below ⬇️

Shortly into the new year, Venezuelans awoke to the news that President Nicolás Maduro had been detained by US forces in a pre-dawn raid. Within hours Russia, China, and Iran moved to seize on the moment—pushing anti-US narratives across state media and diplomatic channels. 🔽

YouTube’s algorithm is often blamed for pushing young men toward extremist or harmful content. ISD research suggests a more mundane reality: using test personas, we found most recommendations aligned with users’ existing interests, with only modest shares in other masculine topics. More below ⬇️

YouTube’s algorithm is often blamed for pushing young men toward extremist or harmful content. ISD research suggests a more mundane reality: using test personas, we found most recommendations aligned with users’ existing interests, with only modest shares in other masculine topics. More below ⬇️

The misogyny-fueled ‘Manosphere’ in Central & Eastern Europe spreads on mainstream platforms, and often overlaps with anti-immigrant and other hateful narratives, potentially creating pathways into broader extremist movements. Read ISD's latest report below. www.isdglobal.org/isd-publicat...

Gen-Z has reshaped violent extremism online, where radicalisation unfolds across gaming platforms, short-form video & encrypted spaces. A recent ThePrint piece draws on ISD research to show how ideological fluidity now defines youth radicalisation, complicating traditional counter-terrorism models.

The 2003 Casablanca terrorist attacks marked a turning point for Morocco, triggering wide-ranging religious and state reforms that gave rise to a new national religious infrastructure known as “Moroccan Islam”. www.isdglobal.org/isd-publicat...

2025InReview | In December, we announced that the Institute for Strategic Dialogue-US (ISD-US) and the Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD) will merge under the ISD-US banner on January 1, 2026. 🔽

2025InReview | False flag conspiracy theories are nothing new, but they’re more prominent than ever. An ISD Dispatch revealed an astronomical spike in false flag narratives, with analysts finding an increase of more than 1,100 percent over the past five years. 🔽

2025InReview | A Netflix hit about a schoolgirl’s murder by a 13-year-old boy may have sparked a spike in activity on the world’s biggest incel forum. 🔽

#2025InReview | 764 is a sextortion network which coerces minors into producing Child Sexual Abuse Material and then uses the content to force them into the unimaginable. 🔽

#2025InReview | Meta overhauled its content moderation approach in early 2025. Facebook, Instagram, and Threads no longer rely on third-party fact-checkers. Instead they are moving towards voluntary, user-driven moderation, modeled on X’s Community Notes. 🔽

#2025InReview | A study by ISD found that searches on Google, Yahoo, and Bing for terms like “deepnude,” “nudify,” and “undress app” led users straight to tools for creating non-consensual sexually explicit images (SIIA) within the first 20 results. 🔽

#2025InReview | Between July 2024 and July 2025, ISD identified at least 919 sites linked within the Pravda network. It comprises around 90 pro—Russia sites that have published more than 6 million articles. 🔽

Year-end holidays remain a target for IS-linked and IS-inspired attackers. The tragic Bondi Beach Hanukkah shooting and disrupted plots on Christmas markets show a pattern: attackers strike during gatherings, fueled by online propaganda. Read our analysis below. www.isdglobal.org/digital_disp...