Counter Extremism Project

Last updated

Counter Extremism Project
FormationSeptember 22, 2014 (2014-09-22)
Type NGO
Legal status 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
PurposeCombat extremist groups
Location
CEO
Mark Wallace
President
Frances Townsend
Website www.counterextremism.com

The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) is a non-profit non-governmental organization that combats extremist groups "by pressuring financial support networks, countering the narrative of extremists and their online recruitment, and advocating for strong laws, policies and regulations". [1]

Contents

CEP was formally launched on 22 September 2014, by former senior government officials, including former the Homeland Security adviser Frances Townsend, former Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman and Mark Wallace, a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Other senior members of CEP include Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler and Ambassador Edmund Fitton-Brown, both of whom served as coordinators for U.N. Sanctions Monitoring teams. [2]

The mission of the organization is to fight global extremism, with an initial goal of disrupting the financing and online recruitment and propaganda of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). [3] The group is modeled on United Against Nuclear Iran, an advocacy group led by Wallace which has had success increasing economic pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran. [4] Other prominent board members include Gary Samore, August Hanning, Dennis Ross and Irwin Cotler. [5]

CEP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. It can accept tax-deductible contributions on a confidential basis. For security reasons, CEP generally declines to name its financial backers, except for Thomas Kaplan, a billionaire investor who also supports United Against Nuclear Iran. [6]

Digital Disruption Campaign

CEP launched its "Digital Disruption Campaign" to remove accounts associated with ISIS from social media networks in order to deny them popular platforms to incite violence, spread their ideas and recruit members. The campaign has particularly focused on Twitter , calling on the company to adopt new policies to prevent extremists such as ISIS from misusing their platform, as well as identifying ISIS accounts and alerting Twitter to remove them. [7] ISIS has made extensive use of social media, especially Twitter, to recruit fighters and to distribute propaganda videos, including clips that show the decapitation of American journalists and a British foreign aid official. The campaign has led to death threats such as beheading against the CEP president Frances Townsend on Twitter from jihadist accounts. [8]

CEP started by collecting ISIS propaganda to learn how it tailors its messaging to various audiences. CEP had this material translated into English to make it easier for academics, reporters and other researchers to study ISIS and its methods. CEP then crafted a counter-narrative that brought attention to human rights abuses under ISIS, its use of extreme violence against women, children and non-combatants. [3]

YouTube study

A study released by CEP in July 2018, determined that while YouTube had made a great deal of progress towards removing extremist content, terrorists still had a large audience on the site. CEP determined that between March and June 2018 ISIS members and supporters uploaded 1,348 videos to the site which received 163,391 views over the same period. 24% of those videos remained on YouTube for at least two hours. Many of these videos were shared on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites before YouTube could delete them. These videos were posted using 278 accounts. Roughly 60% of these accounts were allowed to remain active by YouTube despite having been used to upload extremist content that violated the site's terms of use. Hany Farid, a senior advisor to CEP, criticized YouTube. He said, "We know these videos are being created for propaganda purposes to incite and encourage violence, and I find those videos dangerous in a very real way." [9]

CEP searched YouTube using 185 keywords commonly associated with ISIS. These included the Arabic terms for "crusader." "jihad". the names of ISIS-controlled geographic locations, media outlets and propagandists. CEP created a software system that searched YouTube every 20 minutes over the three-month life of the study. The system then used CEP's video identification tool, eGLYPH, to compare the results to 229 known terrorist video clips. eGLYPH generates a unique signature called a "hash" for each video or section of a video. This, in turn, allows known videos to be identified even if they have been edited, copied or otherwise altered. [9]

Amicus brief

In December 2022, Farid submitted an amicus curiae brief in the case Gonzalez v. Google LLC, which dealt with the question of whether recommender systems are covered by liability exemptions in dealing with terrorism-related content hosted on their servers. In support of the petitioners, CEP argued that Google prioritised revenues on its platforms, including YouTube, knowingly allowing extreme content to be promoted by its algorithms as a result. The brief suggested that Google-generated recommendations are not “neutral tools” and should not be protected by Section 230. [10]

Global Youth Summit Against Violent Extremism

On 28 September 2015, CEP co-hosted the first Global Youth Summit Against Violent Extremism with the U.S. Department of State and Search for Common Ground at The Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. [11] The event "drew more than 80 youth leaders from 45 countries with the objective of developing outreach and social-media intervention initiatives that can be shared globally". [12] Senior U.S. government officials who addressed the attendees included the U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Lisa Monaco, the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Richard Stengel, and the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Sarah Sewall. [13] The summit also used presentations from Facebook and Microsoft. [14] [15] A panel of judges at the summit awarded $100,000 to youth activist programs it believed would have the greatest impact. [14]

NORex

In June 2016, CEP unveiled a software tool for use by Internet and social media companies to "quickly find and eliminate extremist content used to spread and incite violence and attacks". A CEP senior advisor. Hany Farid, a computer scientist who specializes in the forensic analysis of digital images, developed the software. It functions similarly to PhotoDNA, a system that uses robust hashing technology that Farid worked on developing with Microsoft, which is "now widely used by Internet companies to stop the spread of content showing sexual exploitation or pornography involving children". [16] [17]

To operate this new technology to combat extremism, CEP proposed the creation of a National Office for Reporting Extremism (NORex), which would house a comprehensive database of extremist content and function similar to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. President Obama supported this initiative. Lisa Monaco, Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, said, "We welcome the launch of initiatives such as the Counter Extremism Project's National Office for Reporting Extremism that enables companies to address terrorist activity on their platforms and better respond to the threat posed by terrorists' activities online." [18] Wallace stated that if this system were to be adopted by social media companies and the private sector, it "would go a long way to making sure that online extremism is no longer pervasive". [16]

Government partnerships

CEP has developed partnerships with several international governmental entities to address the complex challenges posed by extremism. One such initiative is the "Alternative Pathways" rehabilitation and reintegration program, developed with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to fill the gap in formal in-prison recidivism reduction and post-release support for individuals with extremism-related convictions in the United States. The project consists of a ten-week course, delivering a comprehensive counter-radicalization curriculum, administered both in prison settings and through mail correspondence nationwide. [19]

CEP has also established the "Radicalization, Rehabilitation, Reintegration, and Recidivism Network” (4R Network) in collaboration with Parallel Networks and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This network aims to facilitate a whole-of-society approach to extremist offender reintegration and recidivism reduction in the United States. Through partnerships with various stakeholders, including law enforcement, mental health providers, and religious leaders, the 4R Network promotes discussions, shares knowledge, and fosters collaborations to address the needs of reintegrating extremism-related offenders. [20]

In partnership with the U.S. Department of State, the "Returning Whole" program provides reintegration and rehabilitation efforts in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. By strengthening the capacity of stakeholders to provide psychosocial support to families of foreign terrorist fighters, the project aims to promote long-term recovery and resilience while addressing root causes of radicalization. A similar State Department collaboration named "Salaama" is focused on the Maldives. [21]

CEP's collaboration with the German Federal Foreign Office resulted in a series of virtual events in 2021 focusing on violent right-wing extremism and terrorism. This initiative aimed to produce concrete policy recommendations and establish a platform for multilateral discussions on disrupting extremist activities. A further partnership with the Federal Foreign Office analyzed the transnational connectivity of right-wing terrorism/violent right-wing extremism, culminating in the publication of the study, Violent Right-Wing Extremism and Terrorism – Transnational Connectivity, Definitions, Incidents, Structures and Countermeasures, in November 2020. [22] [23]

Countering terrorist financing

CEP was one of two think tanks included in the development of new global regulations for crowdfunding platforms by the intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering, and in particular terrorism financing. [24] In the U.S., CEP coordinates and chairs the counter-financing working group of the Eradicate Hate Summit, bringing together U.S. research institutes and the financial industry to stems the flow of money to American extremists. [25] The governments of Austria, Germany, and the UK have regularly commissioned CEP to map out extremist financial networks, and CEP experts have briefed the security authorities in the U.S., the UK, Germany, and Austria on its findings. [26] [27] [28] [29] [30]

Extremism database

CEP’s website contains an extensive database of extremist individuals and groups, from the extreme right, left and Islamist spheres, which is regularly updated. The database contains long-form, analytical reports, as well as shorter analysis, blog pieces and commentaries. The research regularly appears in the media and is cited by governments and government organisations. In 2020, the U.S. Library of Congress elected to archive the CEP website in recognition of its status as an important online resource. [31]

Leaked emails

In 2017, GlobaLeaks obtained information allegedly originating from the email account of Yousef Al Otaiba, revealing a relationship between Otaiba, the UAE government, CEP and United Against Nuclear Iran. CEP and UANI are both led by Mark Wallace, who was employed as a senior adviser of The Electrum Group LLC by its chairman, Thomas Kaplan, the UANI’s top donor. Kaplan also maintains business relations with the UAE. [32] [33]

The claimed leaks revealed that in January 2015, Frances Townsend wrote an email to Otaiba for arranging meeting with the UAE President, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Both CEP and UANI have also been alleged of continuously running campaigns against the Emirati rivals like Iran and Qatar on the request of the UAE.[ dubious discuss ] CEP was also supported by The Harbour Group’s managing director, Richard Mintz, who served as an adviser to the UAE government for 7 years. [34] Based on the emails, it has also been claimed that CEP receives funding from foreign governments like the UAE and Saudi Arabia. [35]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnus Ranstorp</span> Swedish scholar (born 1965)

Per Magnus Ranstorp is a Swedish scholar who has written about Hezbollah, Hamas, Al-Qaeda and other militant Islamic movements. He is the Research Director of the Centre for Asymmetric Threat Studies at the Swedish National Defence College, directing a project on Strategic Terrorist Threats to Europe which focuses on radicalisation and recruitment of salafist-jihadist terrorists across Europe and the convergence between Chemical, Biological, Radioactive and Nuclear Weapons, and Terrorism. Ranstorp graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minnesota in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Right-wing terrorism</span> Terrorism motivated by right-wing and far-right ideologies

Right-wing terrorism, hard right terrorism, extreme right terrorism or far-right terrorism is terrorism that is motivated by a variety of different right-wing and far-right ideologies. It can be motivated by Ultranationalism, neo-Nazism, anti-communism, neo-fascism, ecofascism, ethnonationalism, religious nationalism, anti-immigration, anti-semitism, anti-government sentiment, patriot movements, sovereign citizen beliefs, and occasionally, it can be motivated by opposition to abortion, and homophobia. Modern right-wing terrorism largely emerged in Western Europe in the 1970s, and after the Revolutions of 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, it emerged in Eastern Europe and Russia.

Terrorism in South Africa has not been seen as a significant threat to the security of the state since the end of apartheid.

Radicalization is the process by which an individual or a group comes to adopt increasingly radical views in opposition to a political, social, or religious status quo. The ideas of society at large shape the outcomes of radicalization. Radicalization can result in both violent and nonviolent action – academic literature focuses on radicalization into violent extremism (RVE) or radicalisation leading to acts of terrorism. Multiple separate pathways can promote the process of radicalization, which can be independent but are usually mutually reinforcing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institute for Strategic Dialogue</span> Think tank

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) is a political advocacy organization founded in 2006 by Sasha Havlicek and George Weidenfeld and headquartered in London, United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Wallace</span> American businessman, former diplomat

Mark David Wallace is an American businessman, former diplomat and lawyer who has served in a variety of government, political and private sector posts. He served in several positions during the administration of President George W. Bush, including as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations for UN Management and Reform. As of 2019, Wallace was the CEO of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) and the Counter Extremism Project (CEP).

Hany Farid is an American university professor who specializes in the analysis of digital images and the detection of digitally manipulated images such as deepfakes. Farid served as Dean and Head of School for the UC Berkeley School of Information. In addition to teaching, writing, and conducting research, Farid acts as a consultant for non-profits, government agencies, and news organizations. He is the author of the book Photo Forensics (2016).

Islamic extremism in the United States comprises all forms of Islamic extremism occurring within the United States. Islamic extremism is an adherence to fundamentalist interpretations of Islam, potentially including the promotion of violence to achieve political goals. In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, Islamic extremism became a prioritized national security concern of the U.S. government and a focus of many subsidiary security and law enforcement entities. Initially, the focus of concern was on foreign Islamic terrorist organizations, particularly al-Qaeda, but in the course of the years since the September 11 terror attacks, the focus has shifted more towards Islamic extremist radicalized individuals and jihadist networks within the United States.

Terrorism, fear, and media are interconnected. Terrorists use the media to advertise their attacks and or messages, and the media uses terrorism events to further aid their ratings. Both promote unwarranted propaganda that instills mass amounts of public fear. The leader of Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, discussed weaponization of media in a letter written after his organization committed the terrorist attacks of 9/11. In that letter, Bin Laden stated that fear was the deadliest weapon. He noted that Western civilization has become obsessed with mass media, quickly consuming what will bring them fear. He further stated that societies are bringing this problem on their own people by giving media coverage an inherent power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violent extremism</span> Extremism perpetrated through violent means

Violent extremism is a form of extremism that condones and enacts violence with ideological or deliberate intent, such as religious or political violence. Violent extremist views often conflate with religious and political violence, and can manifest in connection with a range of issues, including politics, religion, and gender relations.

<i>Siege</i> (Mason book) Book collecting the articles of American neo-Nazi James Mason

Siege is an anthology of essays first published as a single volume in 1992, written in 1980s by James Mason, a neo-Nazi and associate of the cult leader Charles Manson. After growing disillusioned with the mass movement approach of neo-Nazi movements, he began advocating for white revolution through terrorism. Referred to as the "Godfather of Fascist Terrorism", Mason has been proscribed as a "terrorist entity" in Canada.” Mason originally wrote the essays for the eponymous newsletter of the National Socialist Liberation Front, a militant splinter of the American Nazi Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bjørn Ihler</span> Norwegian peace activist and public speaker

Bjørn Magnus Jacobsen Ihler is a Norwegian peace activist and public speaker who chairs of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism's Independent Advisory Committee. He is a co-founder of the Khalifa Ihler Institute and was a founding member of the project Extremely together project through the Kofi Annan Foundation.

Mujahid Miski is a Somali permanent resident of the United States wanted by the FBI for providing material support to the Somalia-based terrorist group al-Shabaab.

Online youth radicalization is the action in which a young individual or a group of people come to adopt increasingly extreme political, social, or religious ideals and aspirations that reject, or undermine the status quo or undermine contemporary ideas and expressions of a state, which they may or may not reside in. Online youth radicalization can be both violent or non-violent.

The Christchurch Call to Action Summit was a political summit initiated by then New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern that took place on 15 May 2019 in Paris, France, two months after the Christchurch mosque shootings of 15 March 2019. Co-chaired by Ardern and President Emmanuel Macron of France, the summit aimed to "bring together countries and tech companies in an attempt to bring to an end the ability to use social media to organise and promote terrorism and violent extremism". World leaders and technology companies pledged to "eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online"; 17 countries originally signed the non-binding agreement, with another 31 countries following suit on 24 September the same year. The pledge consists of three sections or commitments: one for governments, one for online service providers, and one for the ways in which the two can work together.

The Rafah terror attack was a terrorist attack conducted by the Islamic State – Sinai Province on an Egyptian Armed Forces checkpoint in Rafah in North Sinai on 7 July 2017 and resulted in the death and injury of 23 Egyptian soldiers, including the high-ranking El-Sa'ka officer, Col. Ahmed Mansi. 46 terrorists were killed and six cars of the militants were destroyed in the attack.

Far-right terrorism in Australia refers to far-right ideologically influenced terrorism on Australian soil. Far-right extremist groups have existed in Australia since the early 20th century, however the intensity of terrorist activities have oscillated until the present time. A surge of neo-Nazism based terrorism occurred in Australia during the 1960's and 70s, carried out primarily by members of the Ustaše organisation. However in the 21st century, a rise in jihadism, the White genocide conspiracy theory, and after effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have fuelled far-right terrorism in Australia. Both the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) are responsible for responding to far-right terrorist threats in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nonviolent extremism</span>

Nonviolent extremism is the expression of extremist ideas through nonviolent means, without the use of terrorism or political violence. It can be contrasted with violent extremism. Nonviolent extremism manifests from the same ideologies as violent extremism, including right wing extremism, left wing extremism, and religious extremism. Much of the study of nonviolent extremism focuses on its potential to produce or incite violent extremism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrorgram</span> Network of neo-fascist Telegram channels

Terrorgram refers to a decentralized network of Telegram channels and accounts that subscribe to or promote militant accelerationism. Terrorgram channels are neo-fascist in ideology, and regularly share instructions and manuals on how to carry out acts of racially-motivated violence and anti-government terrorism. Terrorgram is a key communications forum for individuals and networks attached to Atomwaffen Division, The Base, and other explicit militant accelerationist groups.

The Active Club Network are decentralized cells of white supremacy and neo-Nazi groups active in many U.S. states, with multiple chapters in other nations. Largely inspired by the defunct street-fighting Rise Above Movement and hooliganism, the network was created in January 2021 and it promotes mixed martial arts to fight against what it asserts is a system that is targeting the white race, as well as a "warrior spirit" to prepare for a forthcoming race war. Some extremism researchers have characterized the network as a "shadow or stand-by army" which is awaiting activation as the need for it arises.

References

  1. "About". Counter Extremism Project. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015.
  2. "Leadership". Counter Extremism Project. Archived from the original on 18 January 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Government Veterans to Take Fight to Extremists on Online Battleground". Time. 22 September 2014. Archived from the original on 31 December 2014.
  4. "New group plans to spotlight secret funding for Islamic State militants". The Washington Post. 20 September 2014. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015.
  5. "Backers of anti-Iran group create mirror group against violent Islamists". JTA. 22 September 2014. Archived from the original on 7 August 2015.
  6. Heilman, Uriel (22 September 2014). "Backers of anti-Iran group create mirror group against violent Islamists". Arizona Jewish Post. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  7. "Digital Disruption Campaign". Counter Extremism Project. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015.
    - "Twitter pressed to confront terrorist abuse". The Washington Examiner. 6 February 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015.
    - "Turns Out It's Pretty Hard To Shut Down Jihadi Twitter". BuzzFeed. 6 November 2014. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015.
    - "Terrorists on Twitter". Yahoo News. 16 November 2014. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
    - "There Are No 'Terms of Service' In War". Mother Jones. 8 December 2014. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015.
  8. "Extremists plot assassinations of former U.S. national security officials". WTOP. 6 December 2014. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015.
  9. 1 2 Greenemeier, Larry (24 July 2018). "Social Media's Stepped-Up Crackdown on Terrorists Still Falls Short". Scientific American. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  10. "Brief of Amici Curiae Counter Extremism Project (CEP) and Hany Farid in Support of Petitioners" (PDF). U.S. Supreme Court. 7 December 2022.
  11. "State Department to Co-Host Global Youth Summit Against Violent Extremism". U.S. State Department. 25 September 2015.
  12. "UN leaders agree on how to defeat ISIS. Doing it is the hard part". Christian Science Monitor. 29 September 2015. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015.
  13. "CEP Hosts Global Youth Summit Against Violent Extremism". Counter Extremism Project. 6 October 2015. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015.
  14. 1 2 "Steering Youth Away From Extremism Has $100,000 Prize at Summit". Bloomberg News. 25 September 2015. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016.
  15. "Microsoft Corp. & Facebook to Lead Tech Discussion at Global Youth Summit Against Violent Extremism". Counter Extremism Project. 25 September 2015. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015.
  16. 1 2 "Software unveiled to tackle online extremism, violence". Yahoo News. AFP. 17 June 2016. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016.
  17. "A Tool to Delete Beheading Videos Before They Even Appear Online". The Atlantic. 22 June 2016. Archived from the original on 18 February 2017.
    - "Suppressing Extremist Speech: There's an Algorithm for That!". Foreign Policy. 17 June 2016. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016.
  18. "There's a new tool to take down terrorism images online. But social-media companies are wary of it". The Washington Post. 21 June 2016. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016.
    - "How to Stop the Next Viral Jihadi Video". Defense One. 17 June 2016. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016.
  19. "Government Partnerships". Counter Extremism Project. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024.
  20. "4R Network". 4R Network. Archived from the original on 24 March 2024.
  21. "Government Partnerships". Counter Extremism Project. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024.
  22. "Violent Right-Wing Extremism and Terrorism – Transnational Connectivity, Definitions, Incidents, Structures and Countermeasures". Counter Extremism Project. 20 November 2020.
  23. "Government Partnerships". Counter Extremism Project. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024.
  24. "Crowdfunding Terrorism Financing" (PDF). Financial Action Task Force. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 April 2024.
  25. "Eradicate Hate Summit" (PDF). Eradicate Hate Summit. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 November 2023.
  26. "Financing Right Wing and Ethnically or Racially Motivated Terrorism". Counter Extremism Project. Archived from the original on 12 September 2023.
  27. "The Misuse of Online Services by Transnational Right-Wing Extremist and Terrorist Networks: Threats, Regulatory Countermeasures, and Challenges". Counter Extremism Project. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023.
  28. "The Transnational Nexus of Violence-Oriented Right-Wing Extremism, Terrorism, and Organized Crime". Counter Extremism Project. Archived from the original on 5 October 2023.
  29. "Financial Strategies Of Right-Wing Extremist Organizations And Actors In The United Kingdom And Germany". Counter Extremism Project. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023.
  30. "Right wing extremist movements in Australia". Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 14 April 2024.
  31. "Counter Extremism Project". U.S. Library of Congress. 24 November 2022.
  32. Clifton, Eli (21 July 2017). "Hacked Emails Reveal Close Ties Between UAE and Anti-Iran/Qatar Advocacy Groups". Lobelog. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  33. "Thomas Kaplan, the billionaire pushing Abu Dhabi's interests in the Middle East". Intelligence Online. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  34. Clifton, Eli; Hussain, Murtaza (26 November 2021). "Dark-Money Group Linked to Anti-Iran, Pro-Israel Network Targets Turkey but Has No Turks". The Intercept. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  35. Clifton, Eli; Hussain, Murtaza (26 November 2021). "Dark money network pushes pro-UAE/Saudi policies from New York". Responsible Statecraft. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2023.