What they do in the shadows: examining the far-right networks on Telegram

Urman, Aleksandra; Katz, Stefan (2020). What they do in the shadows: examining the far-right networks on Telegram. Information, communication & society, 25(7), pp. 904-923. Taylor & Francis 10.1080/1369118X.2020.1803946

Full text not available from this repository.

The present paper contributes to the research on the activities of far-right actors on social media by examining the interconnections between far-right actors and groups on Telegram platform using network analysis. The far-right network observed on Telegram is highly decentralized, similarly to the far-right networks found on other social media platforms. The network is divided mostly along the ideological and national lines, with the communities related to 4chan imageboard and Donald Trump’s supporters being the most influential. The analysis of the network evolution shows that the start of its explosive growth coincides in time with the mass bans of the far-right actors on mainstream social media platforms. The observed patterns of network evolution suggest that the simultaneous migration of these actors to Telegram has allowed them to swiftly recreate their connections and gain prominence in the network thus casting doubt on the effectiveness of deplatforming for curbing the influence of far-right and other extremist actors.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	03 Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Institute of Communication and Media Studies (ICMB)
UniBE Contributor:	Urman, Aleksandra
Subjects:	000 Computer science, knowledge & systems > 070 News media, journalism & publishing 300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology 300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology > 360 Social problems & social services
ISSN:	1369-118X
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Language:	English
Submitter:	Aleksandra Urman
Date Deposited:	03 Sep 2020 09:54
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2022 15:40
Publisher DOI:	10.1080/1369118X.2020.1803946
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/146065