Network Contagion Research Institute
{{Short description|American research institute}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Network Contagion Research Institute
| formation = {{start date and age|2018}}
| logo = NCRI logo.svg
| logo_size = 120px
| abbreviation = NCRI
| founder = Joel Finkelstein
| type = Nonprofit research institute
| tax_id = 82-3649399 (EIN){{Cite web |last=Roberts |first=Andrea Suozzo, Alec Glassford, Ash Ngu, Brandon |date=2013-05-09 |title=Network Contagion Research Institute - Nonprofit Explorer |url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/823649399 |access-date=2024-11-09 |website=ProPublica}}
| status = 501(c)(3) organization
| headquarters = Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.
| affiliations = Rutgers University
| revenue = $1.45 million
| revenue_year = 2023
| expenses = $1.6 million
| expenses_year = 2023
| website = {{Official URL}}
}}
The Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) is an American organization dedicated to identifying and predicting the spread of ideologically motivated threats (e.g. hate groups), disinformation, and misinformation across social media platforms and physical spaces.{{Cite book |last=Johnson |first=Scott P. |title=Political Assassins, Terrorists and Related Conspiracies in American History |publisher=McFarland & Company |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-4766-4203-1}}{{Cite magazine |last=Spinney |first=Laura |author-link=Laura Spinney |date= |year=2022 |orig-date=23 July 2022 |title=Going viral |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/new-scientist/vol/255/issue/3396 |magazine=New Scientist |page=43 |volume=255 |issue=3396 |doi=10.1016/S0262-4079(22)01312-4}}
History
The NCRI was founded in 2018 as a nonprofit organization by psychologist and neuroscientist Joel Finkelstein.{{Cite web |last=Joung |first=Nina |year=2021 |title=How these researchers track viral outbreaks of online hate that lead to violence |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/exploring-hate/2021/03/16/how-these-researchers-track-viral-outbreaks-of-online-hate-that-lead-to-violence/ |access-date=2024-11-08 |website=PBS |language=en-US |publication-date=March 16, 2021}} After its founding, Finkelstein began collaborating with experts in the field of political violence, including John Farmer Jr., a former New Jersey attorney general and director of Rutgers' Eagleton Institute of Politics and the Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience. Farmer, who previously served as lead counsel for the 9/11 Commission, joined the NCRI's leadership team, and since then, NCRI has produced numerous report on the spread of political extremism and its link to violent outcomes.
= Research focus =
Examples of NCRI's research include reports on QAnon supporters,{{Cite web |title=How to respond to the QAnon threat |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-to-respond-to-the-qanon-threat/ |access-date=2024-11-08 |website=Brookings |language=en-US}} militia/boogaloo movements,{{Cite web |last=Thomson-DeVeaux |first=Amelia |date=2020-09-04 |title=How Trump And COVID-19 Have Reshaped The Modern Militia Movement |url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-trump-and-covid-19-have-reshaped-the-modern-militia-movement/ |access-date=2024-11-08 |website=FiveThirtyEight |language=en-US}} anarcho-socialist networks,{{Cite web |last=Kaur |first=Harmeet |date=2020-09-16 |title=Tactics employed by right-wing extremist groups are now being used by extremists on the left, report finds |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/16/us/far-left-social-media-violent-messages-trnd/index.html |access-date=2024-11-08 |website=CNN |language=en}} antisemitism,{{Cite web |last=Menn |first=Joseph |date=December 3, 2022 |title=Surging Twitter antisemitism unites fringe, encourages violence, officials say |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/12/03/twitter-antisemitism-violence-jan-6/ |website=The Washington Post}} racial supremacism, and other topics related to xenophobia.{{Cite web |date=2022-07-13 |title=Rutgers Report Finds Increase in Anti-Hindu Disinformation |url=https://patch.com/new-jersey/newbrunswick/rutgers-report-finds-increase-anti-hindu-disinformation |access-date=2024-11-08 |website=New Brunswick, NJ Patch |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2024-08-09 |title=TikTok Shows Less ‘Anti-China’ Content Than Rivals, Study Finds |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-08-09/tiktok-shows-less-anti-china-content-than-rivals-study-finds |access-date=2024-11-08 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en}} The institute has also conducted studies on the dissemination of disinformation and bias from state actors, including Iran,{{Cite web |last=Bennett |first=Brian |date=2021-06-07 |title=Exclusive: Iran Steps up Efforts to Sow Discord Inside the U.S. |url=https://time.com/6071615/iran-disinformation-united-states/ |access-date=2024-11-09 |website=TIME |language=en}} Russia,{{Cite web |last=Vanian |first=Jonathan |title=Russian disinformation campaigns are trying to sow distrust of COVID vaccines, study finds |url=https://fortune.com/2021/07/23/russian-disinformation-campaigns-are-trying-to-sow-distrust-of-covid-vaccines-study-finds/ |access-date=2024-11-09 |website=Fortune |language=en}} and China.{{Cite web |last=Myrow |first=Rachael |date=2024-08-08 |title=TikTok Stacking Algorithms in Chinese Government’s Favor, Study Claims {{!}} KQED |url=https://www.kqed.org/news/11999273/tiktok-stacking-algorithms-in-chinese-governments-favor-study-claims |access-date=2024-11-09 |website=www.kqed.org |language=en}}
Other research areas include the study and prevention of sextortion,{{Cite web |title=Sextortion warning: In 6 hours, my son was dead |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2llzppyx05o |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}} child sexual abuse,{{Cite web |date=2024-04-14 |title=Network Contagion Research Institute to host virtual panel on risks of financial sextortion |url=https://www.police1.com/network-contagion-research-institute-to-host-virtual-panel-on-risks-of-financial-sextortion |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=Police1 |language=en-US}} and the negative consequences of DEI programs, such as workplace hostility and racial bias.{{Cite web |last=Zaki |first=Adam |title=Study suggests DEI may escalate workplace hostility and racial bias |url=https://www.cfo.com/news/dei-promotion-may-escalate-hostility-and-racial-bias-Network-Contagion-Research-Institute-Rutgers-/734100/ |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=CFO.com |language=en-US}}
Concerns
Media scholar Jack Bratich has criticized the NCRI for a lack of neutrality, accusing it of being used to target domestic dissenters labelled as threats.{{Cite book |last=Bratich |first=Jack |title=The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-1-4766-4203-1 |editor-last=Cannella |editor-first=Gaile S. |page=344 |chapter=Observation in a Surveilled World |editor-last2=Giardina |editor-first2=Michael D. |editor-last3=Denzin |editor-first3=Norman K. |editor-last4=Lincoln |editor-first4=Yvonna S.}} In 2021, the NCRI was criticized by Matthew Lyons of the anti-fascist project Three Way Fight for equating undesirable political views on the left and right, particularly in the wake of the George Floyd protests and for allegedly aligning with state security interests.{{Cite web |last=Lyons |first=Matthew |date=2021-05-09 |title=Network Contagion Research Institute: helping the state fight political infection left and right |url=https://blog.pmpress.org/2021/05/12/network-contagion-research-institute-helping-the-state-fight-political-infection-left-and-right/ |website=PM Press}}
In a public lecture on May 13, 2022, Hetz CEO Eran Teboul stated that the organization has privately raised funds for NCRI, during an event hosted by the Norwegian nonprofit Med Israel for fred (MIFF).{{Cite paper |last=Poulson |first=Jack |year=2024 |title=Towards a Public Database for Investigating Western Special Operations |url=https://disruption.institute/s/Jack-Poulson-Towards-a-Public-Database.pdf |journal=Disruption Network Institute |publication-date=28 November 2024 |page=20}}
See also
- Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
- Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)
- International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT)
- Charles Koch Foundation (CKF)
- Open Society Foundations (OSF)
References
External links
- {{Official website}}
- {{ProPublicaNonprofitExplorer|823649399}}
{{Rutgers|show=y}}{{Authority control}}{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
Category:Organizations established in 2018
Category:Organizations based in Princeton, New Jersey