Swansea hosts terrorism and social media conference

How terrorist groups use social media, and how this can be countered, is the focus of a major international conference in Swansea, which brings together researchers, practitioners and representatives from governments and major tech companies.

Organised by the University’s Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law, the Terrorism and Social Media (TASM) conference – which takes place on 18 and 19 June – attracts around 250 delegates from 25 countries.

Representatives from national governments and law enforcement from countries including the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Canada, US, Australia and Malaysia, and tech companies including Google, Meta and TikTok, will be alongside academics, policy experts and grassroots anti-extremism practitioners from around the world.

To ensure that sharing international learning is at the heart of the event, Swansea University has helped support the attendance of delegates from countries in the Global South, including Singapore, the Maldives, Pakistan, Nigeria and Brazil.

Subjects covered include websites and the far right, disinformation, misinformation and conspiracy and countering violent extremism online.

Professor Stuart Macdonald of Swansea University, who is leading the team organising the conference, said: “The TASM conference has developed an international reputation as one of the leading events on extremist and terrorist exploitation of online platforms. 

"An effective response requires collaboration across multiple sectors, and so the conference brings together a wide range of professionals to discuss this critical issue informed by the latest research conducted by experts from around the world”.