By Mark Kumleben and Samuel Woolley  Propaganda Research Team Center for Media Engagement University of Texas at Austin Maggie Engler Global Disinformation Index Much of online speech today occurs on social media platforms like Facebook where a few companies have attained an outsized influence on what is permitted discussion on the internet. The rules and enforcement of the rules around speech on social platforms have far-reaching societal implications -- they can determine…

In late 2018, Pew Research Center reported that social media sites had surpassed print newspapers as a news source for Americans, when one in five U.S. adults reported that they often got the news via social media.i By the following year, that figure had increased to 28% and the trend is only risingii. Combine that with a deeply divided polity headed into a bitterly divisive 2020 U.S. presidential election season and it becomes crucial to understand the information that Americans are exposed…

Since its inception, social media has played a key role in shaping social, cultural and political developments. This year in particular has seen a tectonic shift in the way communities across the world integrate digital and social networks into their daily lives. The novel coronavirus (and the disease it causes, COVID-19) has spread aggressively, claiming thousands of lives in the United States[i], devastating marginalized populations in major cities, crippling employment and economic…

In 2019, domestic extremists killed at least 42 people in the United States in 17 separate incidents. This number makes 2019 the sixth deadliest year on record for domestic extremist-related killings since 1970.   The 42 total deaths in 2019 is less than 2018’s total (53) but higher than 2017’s (41).   As is typically the case, the extremist-related murders of 2019 were overwhelmingly (90%) linked to right-wing extremists. All but one of the incidents had…

Even in times of tragedy, there are glimmers of humanity. These moments of compassion, of kindness, give us hope for a better future for our children and our children’s children. Building a better world is what has motivated ADL’s work for more than 100 years, and what continues to impel us forward today. With that in mind, ADL’s professionals across the country have selected the decade’s Top 10 Moments of Hope in the United States. It’s hard to fathom how…

Executive Summary This report explores the social interactions and experiences of video game players across America and details their attitudes and behaviors in a rapidly growing social space. Globally, video games are a $152 billion industry. Fifty-three percent of the total population of the US and 64 percent of the online population of the US plays video games.1 Video games have functioned as social platforms over the past three decades, with players around the world interacting with…

Read the Full Report   Can we use games to help people better connect with themselves and with others? Can we use game design to support perspective-taking, compassion, and care? It may be surprising to hear that games—of all things—can help support connection and compassion. Particularly when we often hear quite the opposite. Games have become well-known as communities where toxic behavior, such as bullying, harassment and hate occur. Just like other online…

Misogyny is a dangerous and underestimated component of extremism, and it shares alarming common ground with white supremacist ideology.

New Challenges Ahead for the Next Generation of Social Media The timeless mission of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and secure justice and fair treatment to all. The mission of ADL’s Center for Technology and Society is to ask the question “How do we secure justice and fair treatment for all in a digital environment?” Since 1985, when it published its report on “Electronic Bulletin Boards of Hate,” ADL has…