By Malik Almaliki

Cyberhate against a person or a group based on their apparent identity, such as ethnicity, religion or nationality, on social media platforms is quickly growing and spreading. This has negative effects on both the online-generated content quality and the users of these platforms. Fortunately, the interest of computer science researchers in finding ways to stop cyberhate spread on social media platforms has been increasing recently. However, and to the best knowledge of the author, no studies have yet provided an overview and categorization of the various forms of conducted research on this subject, despite the increased interest in the subject. The author attempts to address this gap by performing a systematic mapping of the literature to generate an inclusive view of the subject in the last ten years (2012-2022). As a result, 274 primary studies were identified that fulfilled the devised criteria for including and excluding articles related to the context of this study. Following that, a grouping of these primary studies into categories based on their research type, contribution type, and research focus was conducted. The findings showed that the majority of the studies focused on offering cyberhate detection solutions. The findings also show that evaluation and validation of cyberhate detection solution, employing digital intervention approaches for reducing cyberhate dissemination by users, and the prevention and management of cyberhate propagation are all areas where research is lacking. The goal of this study is to assist practitioners and domain researchers in identifying current research gaps and promising areas for future research. 

New York City, IEEE Access. 2023, 8pg

By Eden Cole

Commissioned by the Georgian Centre for Strategy and Development (GCSD) as a component of a four-year multi-tier programme on ‘Enhancing the Capacity of Georgia in Preventing Violent Extremism and Radicalization’ funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway, this Handbook was developed to facilitate Georgia’s ‘Permanent Interagency Commission on Elaboration of the National Counterterrorism Strategy (CNCS)’ Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) policy development and cooperative programming processes. In a field crowded with documentation and narratives on diverse P/CVE approaches, this Handbook’s objective is to focus the audience’s attention on counter-terrorism and P/CVE best practice at international and European levels. At the same time, the Handbook enables practitioners from state institutions to sustain institutional P/CVE knowledge and to develop capacity to address P/CVE issues across Georgian society. The Handbook can also be used for training purposes, as well as by other stakeholders to develop their own capacity to implement projects aimed at understanding and limiting the threat of violent extremism. Beginning with an introduction to the evolution of terrorism over the last fifty years, the Handbook outlines the challenges of terrorism to democratic states, and the legal and policy dimensions of effective counter-terrorism and extremism prevention. The Handbook then addresses specific thematic issues, including institutional frameworks for P/CVE, cooperation between state and society, radicalization prevention, the return of foreign terrorist fighters and their families, and broader counter-terrorism and P/CVE communication challenges. Placing an emphasis on developing original material and incorporating a variety of relevant and easily accessible best practice materials, the aim across all seven chapters is to ensure that a ‘Whole-of-Society’ approach to P/CVE issues is emphasised in a user-friendly format. Against the background of fifty years of terrorism, democratic societies are still exposed to a variety of risks posed by local and strategic terrorism. Although waves of terrorism occur in peaks and troughs, as contested and ungoverned spaces continue to harbour often well-funded and supplied terrorist and insurgent groups, social and technological developments compound the significant risks posed by even small terrorist movements and cells.

Tbilisi: Georgian Centre for Strategy and Development (GCSD), 2019. 77p.

Institute of Medicine and National Research Council.

Bullying - long tolerated as just a part of growing up - finally has been recognized as a substantial and preventable health problem. Bullying is associated with anxiety, depression, poor school performance, and future delinquent behavior among its targets, and reports regularly surface of youth who have committed suicide at least in part because of intolerable bullying. Bullying also can have harmful effects on children who bully, on bystanders, on school climates, and on society at large. Bullying can occur at all ages, from before elementary school to after high school. It can take the form of physical violence, verbal attacks, social isolation, spreading rumors, or cyberbullying. Increased concern about bullying has led 49 states and the District of Columbia to enact anti-bullying legislation since 1999. In addition, research on the causes, consequences, and prevention of bullying has expanded greatly in recent decades. However, major gaps still exist in the understanding of bullying and of interventions that can prevent or mitigate the effects of bullying.

Building Capacity to Reduce Bullying is the summary of a workshop convened by the Board on Children, Youth, and Families of the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council in April 2014 to identify the conceptual models and interventions that have proven effective in decreasing bullying, examine models that could increase protective factors and mitigate the negative effects of bullying, and explore the appropriate roles of different groups in preventing bullying. This report reviews research on bullying prevention and intervention efforts as well as efforts in related areas of research and practice, implemented in a range of contexts and settings, including schools, peers, families, communities, laws and public policies, and technology. Building Capacity to Reduce Bullying considers how involvement or lack of involvement by these sectors influences opportunities for bullying, and appropriate roles for these sectors in preventing bullying. This report highlights current research on bullying prevention, considers what works and what does not work, and derives lessons learned.

Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. 2014. 150p.