Using digital data to understand, predict and prevent extremist violence CSTPV Seminar Series with Olivia Brown

“Despite growing and global concerns about harmful content proliferating online, there remains a significant gap in understanding the connection between online activity and real-world violence. Indeed, while practitioners and academics have made great strides in
understanding why individuals may be radicalised by online content, we still know little about when and how someone moves from online engagement to offline violence. In a series of studies, we have developed conceptual and methodological understanding of the cues and indicators of online interactions that are indicative of individuals and groups transitioning from consumers of radical content to engaging in radical action. As such, we have begun to develop a more concrete understanding of the process of mobilisation (i.e., taking violent action) and how it can be distinguished from the process of radicalisation (i.e., being motivated to engage in violent action). This programme of research also includes a focus on the role of influencers within online discourse that precipitates violent action and how influencers develop and communicate narratives that can create the conditions to justify violence. In ending, I will highlight some of the pervading methodological and ethical challenges to this research and look forward to future research. ”

Olivia Brown is an Associate Professor in Digital Futures at the University of Bath, School of Management, Co-Director of the Bath Policing Academic Centre of Excellence and Deputy Director of the Bath Institute of Digital Security and Behaviour. Liv's research sits at the intersection of psychology and data science, aiming to understand how intra- and inter-group processes influence individual and group behaviour in online and offline settings. She is especially interested in how online interactions can influence offline behaviour, with a focus on extremism and terrorism. Liv is part of the online influence research stream for the Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (CREST) and an incoming UKRI Future Leaders Fellow.