Thread by @_MAArgentino

An Online Environmental Scan of Right-Wing Extremism in Canada isdglobal.org/isd-publicatio…

ISD identified 2,467 RWE accounts, channels, & pages which were active in 2020, which produced a total of 3,207,332 pieces of content.

"The comparative scale of this activity is difficult to determine, but if considered in the context of the total number of SM users in Canada, the proportion of RWE activity remains small" "Despite this, RWEs in Canada are able to generate a sizeable reaction from the public."

The Report found that COVID-19 had a significant impact on RWE activity in 2020. ISD hypothesise that the increase in activity was in part driven by COVID-19 restrictions and the resulting increase in the time that many people spent online.

The interesting point is how COVID-19 had an impact on RWE discussion where the pandemic accounted for 38.8% of all messages with output often focusing on conspiracy theories and manifesting in anger against the government. (not surprising but quantitative findings are key)

"Canadian RWEs appear to be heavily influenced
by US activity. Across our platforms of analysis, we
found that Canadian RWEs mentioned the US more
than Canada. "

Another important finding is how "RWEs in Canada are drivers of disinformation. Across the platforms of analysis, we identified Canadian RWE to be key drivers of disinformation."

"The enforcement of social media policy impacts RWE activity online, but does not appear to have a lasting effect. We found that a significant proportion of the channels analysed in 2019 were no longer active in 2020. "

"this enforcement does not always have a sustained impact on the presence of extremist communities. our research suggests that Facebook’s current efforts to police RWE use of its platform have not been sufficient at systematically degrading the ability of extremists to operate."

ISD analysis "nalysis suggests that fringe platforms host more hateful and violent content than larger, more mainstream platforms, including direct organisation by designated terror groups."