07: Extremism, Disinformation and the Role of New Technologies
Curated with ISD - Institute for Strategic Dialogue; supported by Stiftung Mercator and Stiftung Mercator Schweiz
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Liechtenstein-Saal
Breakout
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in englischer SpracheNew extremist strategies not only fundamentally change the nature of radicalisation but could also irrevocably alter existing information ecosystems and jeopardise democratic processes across Europe. What are the latest trends in new technologies which are being deployed to radicalize sympathisers and intimidate opponents? Experts on radicalisation and disinformation will discuss the latest developments.
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Julia EBNER
Research Fellow, ISD - Institute for Strategic Dialogue, London
| Julia Ebner is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) and author of the bestselling book "The Rage: The Vicious Circle of Islamist and Far-Right Extremism". She leads ISD’s research on cumulative extremism and coordinates the Online Civil Courage Initiative in cooperation with Facebook Germany. Julia spent two years working for the world’s first counter-extremism organisation, Quilliam, where she carried out research projects on terrorism prevention for the European Commission and the Kofi Annan Foundation and gave evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee on far-right extremism. In her role as the coordinator of the pan-European network Families Against Terrorism and Extremism (FATE), she led radicalization-prevention projects across Europe and North Africa. On the basis of her research, Julia advises parliamentary working groups, frontline workers and tech firms; speaks at international conferences; and delivers workshops in schools and universities. She regularly writes for The Guardian and The Independent and gives interviews in English, German and French on the BBC, CNN, ZDF, ARD, France24, Al Jazeera, LBC and others. |
Dr. Bharath GANESH
Assistant Professor of Media Studies, University of Groningen, Visiting Research Associate, Oxford Internet Institute, Oxford
| Bharath is a researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute working on the Data Science in Local Government and VOX-Pol projects. His current research explores the spread and impact of data science techniques in local governments across Europe, right-wing and counter-jihad extremism in Europe and the United States, and uses big data to study new media audiences and networks. He is developing new projects to study hate speech and extremism online and regulatory responses to this problem. Broadly, Bharath’s research focuses on the relation between technology, media, and society. | |
| Bharath holds a PhD in Geography from University College London (2017). His doctoral research used ethnographic methods to study ethics, politics, and multiculturalism in American hip-hop. His research was funded by the Bonnart Trust to study methods to combat racial, religious, and cultural intolerance (http://www.fbbtrust.org.uk). | |
| During his PhD, Bharath was also a Senior Researcher at Tell MAMA, a national project dedicated to mapping and monitoring anti-Muslim hate in the United Kingdom. He has given evidence in the Houses of Parliament on governance, extremism, gender, and hate crime and authored a number of reports in this area. He has been a guest on BBC News, Radio 4, and other national media outlets. |
Lutz GÜLLNER
Head of Strategic Communications, European External Action Service, Brussels
| Lutz Güllner works in the European External Action Service where he is Head of Division for Strategic Communications (since October 2017). In his function, he is dealing with a wide range of issues related to EU external relations, including issues related to disinformation and foreign interference in information spaces. | |
| Prior to his current position he served as Head of the communications team in the European Commission's Directorate General for Trade (2013-17). He was also Deputy Head of the Trade Strategy Unit and responsible for the coordination of EU-US trade and economic relations. | |
| In 2009 and 2010, Lutz Güllner was spokesperson for the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton. He was also the Commission's spokesperson for trade policy. In previous positions, he was in charge of economic relations between the EU and Russia. | |
| Prior to joining the European Commission, Lutz Güllner worked as public affairs consultant in Brussels. | |
| He studied political science and international relations at the Free University of Berlin and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po) in Paris. He is teaching trade policy and EU foreign affairs at the post-graduate studies programme for European studies in Berlin. | |
| Lutz Güllner was born in Munich/Germany in 1971. He is married and has three children. |
Patrick BÖHLER
Executive Editor, Audience and Innovation, swissinfo.ch, Bern
| Patrick is an executive editor and member of the editorial board of SWI swissinfo.ch, the international news service of Switzerland’s public broadcaster. He is also the co-founder and managing editor of the Global Environmental Reporting Collective, a group of journalists in Africa, Asia and Europe working together to document the impact of environmental crimes. | |
| Over the last decade, he has reported or edited stories on politics across East Asia and Southeast Asia for The New York Times, Dow Jones, Foreign Policy, TIME, Bloomberg News, Le Monde Diplomatique, 时代周报, The South China Morning Post and other publications. | |
| His reporting on political and economic news across Asia has been recognized with several regional journalism awards. He previously worked for Austria’s ministries of defense and foreign affairs in Beijing and taught journalism at the University of Hong Kong. |
