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posted by martyb on Friday September 09 2016, @06:23AM   Printer-friendly
from the who's-targetted-next? dept.

Nami LaChance writes at The Intercept that a google-incubated program that targets potential ISIS members with deradicalizing content will soon be used to target violent right-wing extremists in North America. Using research and targeted advertising, the initiative by London-based startup Moonshot CVE and Google's Jigsaw technology incubator targets potentially violent Jihadis and directs them to a YouTube channel with videos that refute ISIS propaganda. In the pilot program countering ISIS, the so-called Redirect Method collected the metadata of 320,000 individuals over the course of eight weeks, using 1,700 keywords, and served them advertisements that led them to the videos.

"I think this is an extremely promising method," says Richard Stengel, U.S. Undersecretary of State for public diplomacy and public affairs. In the ISIS pilot program, the YouTube channel pulls preexisting videos that, according to Yasmin Green, the head of research and development for Jigsaw, "refute ISIS's messaging." One video is from a woman who secretly filmed her life in ISIS-controlled Raqqa. Another shows young people in Mosul, their faces obscured by keffiyehs for their protection, talking about life under the Islamic State. "The branding philosophy for the entire pilot project was not to appear judgmental or be moralistic, but really to pique interest of individuals who have questions, questions that are being raised and answered by the Islamic State."

Ross Frenett, co-founder of Moonshot, says his company and Jigsaw are now working with funding from private groups to target other violent extremists, including the hard right in America. "Our efforts during phase two, when we're going to focus on the violent far right in America, will be very much focused on the small element of those that are violent. The interesting thing about how they behave is they're a little bit more brazen online these days than ISIS fan boys," says Frenett.


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Zz9zZ on Friday September 09 2016, @05:14PM

    by Zz9zZ (1348) on Friday September 09 2016, @05:14PM (#399705)

    Where the hell did that come from?? I was too lazy to log in when I posted about this being thought control. On one hand I think its a great idea and only tiptoes up to real thought control. Changing the related videos is a pretty decent tactic to subtly expose people to new ideas.

    However, the targeting of individuals to further a political agenda (that I do agree with) is something I find abhorrent. Its a short step away from locking up the people we don't like just because we think its possible they'll become violent in the future. I'd rather not go down the route of total fascism, even if it would promote my beliefs / opinions.

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