SSESW academic John Brewer and Stephen Herron, a Research Fellow in the University’s Mitchell Institute, received support from the Queen’s University Agility Fund for a project involving leading universities. It uses interdisciplinary mixed methods approaches to examine the similarities and differences between the narratives and symbolism of the Far Right and Islamic Jihadists. The aim of the project is to provide policy relevant, high impact outcomes, including developing predictive-based toolkits. 

The project team is hosting a virtual conference on 31 March which will explore the dangerous and complex world of Online Extremism and Misinformation. The conference will showcase current research in these areas and the implications guiding the Queen’s team approach to studying them. 

In addition to the Queen’s University research being outlined at the conference by John Brewer and Stephen Herron, participants will hear from a number of speakers and engage in a question and answer session with them. Plans for speakers are still in development and, to date, include:

• Dr Lisa McInerney
• Robert Palfrey: You say information, I say data
• Professor Michael Semple: Self-fulfilling Prophecy? The Taliban’s Social Media’s Jihadi Victory Narrative
• Professor Tony Lemieux
• Dr Ayse Lokmanoglu
• Dr Kamil Yamiz: Hate Speech Predicts Engagement on Social Media.  A Case Study from Turkey.
• Dr Weeda Mehran, Dr Ben Miller and Dr Stephen Herron