News and Media

New York, NY – The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) will hold a press call with Senior Advisor Dr. Hany Farid on Tuesday, July 24, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. ET. Dr. Farid will discuss the release of a new CEP report detailing ISIS content on YouTube. WHO: Dr. Hany Farid, Senior Advisor, Counter...

CEP Executive Director David Ibsen released a statement in response to the attack today in Lübeck, Germany: “While all the facts surrounding today’s tragedy are not yet known, what is clear is that violence has become all too common in today’s world. Our research has uncovered recent instances of horrific ISIS videos circulating on YouTube that depict knife tactics performed on a human target and offering advice on the best weapons to use. The video remained on the platform for hours, even after CEP reported the video to YouTube. Content such as this is capable of inspiring acts like the one that occurred today and others around the world. It is time for the tech companies to recognize that their lack of meaningful action can lead to violence and tragedy that cannot be explained away..”

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ’s latest interview with Recode might give you a sense of déjà vu. The 90-minute conversation was simply a regurgitation of the same talking points from the company’s worldwide apology tour. Most notably, Mr. Zuckerberg couldn't help but share his favorite statistic – arguing Facebook’s artificial intelligence (AI) flags 99 percent of the terrorist content the company takes down. He goes on to assert, “I think the point where you have that kind of AI technology and you have the resources to be able to employ people to do that kind of content review, I kind [of] think you have a responsibility to do it.” But Mr. Zuckerberg ’s rhetoric fails to match up with the facts on the ground.

CEP Executive Director David Ibsen published an op-ed regarding CEP's examination of Google's Redirect Pilot Program: "One of Google’s attempts––the Redirect Method Pilot Program––was launched in July 2017, two months after suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people in Manchester, England, with an explosive device that he had assembled using ISIS bomb-making tutorial videos on YouTube. The Redirect Method Pilot Program claims to target individuals searching for ISIS-related content on YouTube and redirect them to counter-narrative videos. In early 2018, CEP still found an abundance of extremist content on YouTube – demonstrating that someone searching for extremist material on the video-sharing platform is more than three times as likely to encounter extremist videos as counter-narratives."

Following the latest media trend, ISIS now has a fake news problem. This week, the U.K.'s Independent reported that the terrorist organization was subject to an “onslaught of spoof propaganda and cyberattacks by international intelligence agencies.” In a message sent to its followers, ISIS reiterated that all official communiques – including text, video and photo reports – were to only come from Telegram. But that doesn't stop its content from being seen by thousands and spread by supporters “on mainstream websites and social media platforms ... around the world.”

A U.K. government office announced this week that it intended to fine Facebook more than $600,000 for the Cambridge Analytica data breach, which violated Britain’s data-privacy laws. Facebook admitted on Tuesday to giving a Russian Internet company with ties to the Kremlin access to user data without their consent. Facebook claims a policy change stopped the data collection, but as the Counter Extremism Project has documented, time and again these reactionary measures only occur after the damage has already been done.

As families in the United States celebrated Independence Day this week, authorities were on high alert for terror suspects seeking to disrupt the festivities. For example, in Cleveland, Ohio, FBI officials arrested Abdur Raheem Rahfeeq , who allegedly plotted a bombing of the city’s Fourth of July parade. Rahfeeq is suspected of having ties of al-Qaeda, and his Facebook account was found to be awash with terrorist propaganda that also encouraged Muslims to learn how to use guns and other weapons.

CEP Executive Director David Ibsen said the following in response to Facebook’s admission it gave 61 companies “special access” to user data it previously said had been restricted: “Facebook’s disclosure of the so-called ‘special deals’ is yet another admission of guilt made only after its questionable policies and practices were made public. Disclosures after the tech giant has been caught with wrongdoing is not the kind of transparency policymakers, corporate advertisers, and consumers are looking for. These reactionary policy changes and Facebook’s troubled history of platform misuse – whether through the proliferation of fake news or rampant propagation of extremism – raise questions as to what other scandals or controversies remain undiscovered.”