MEDIA CONTACTS:
Emily Grebenstein: [email protected], 202-994-3087
Brett Zongker: [email protected], 202-994-6466
EVENT:
The George Washington University Program on Extremism will host a two-day symposium that brings together international leaders in government, national security and the technology industry to address the growing challenge of combatting online radicalization and extremism. The event will take place March 27-28 at GW’s Jack Morton Auditorium and is co-hosted by GW Law.
The symposium, “Toward a Global Partnership to Counter Online Radicalization and Extremism,” will be the most extensive public discussion on the role of the internet in radicalization. It will focus on three main issues:
• Developing counter-narratives to combat the appeal of extremist messaging online
• The increasing terrorist use of sophisticated encryption technologies and the clash between security needs and privacy rights
• The ongoing debate surrounding censorship and if it is an effective tool for combatting online radicalization
Panelists will include leaders of major technology companies such as Google and Facebook, as well as top government officials including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. Reporters from top-tier outlets including the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times will moderate the discussions.
WHO:
Select participants include:
• Ross LaJeunesse, global head of international affairs, Google
• James Baker, general counsel, FBI
• Monika Bickert, head of global policy management, Facebook
• David Kaye, special rapporteur, promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, United Nations
• Mary McCord, acting assistant attorney general for national security, U.S. Department of Justice
• Baroness Joanna Shields, United Kingdom minister for internet safety and security
• Dr. Anwar Gargash, Minister of State, United Arab Emirates
• Steven Knapp, president, George Washington University
• Lorenzo Vidino, director, GW Program on Extremism
For a full list of participants, visit the event website.
WHEN:
Monday, March 27, 2017; 3 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Tuesday, March 28, 2017; 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
WHERE:
The George Washington University
School of Media and Public Affairs
Jack Morton Auditorium
805 21st St, NW
Washington, D.C.
Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro (Blue, Orange and Silver lines)
RSVP:
Media interested in attending must contact Emily Grebenstein at [email protected] or 202-994-3087.
BACKGROUND:
Earlier this month, Seamus Hughes and Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens from the Program on Extremism, wrote an article on the growing threat of virtual entrepreneurs to national security. The paper ran in the CTC Sentinel at West Point.
In 2015, the Program on Extremism issued a first-of-its-kind report that offered the most extensive examination to date of Americans arrested for supporting IS. The program also collected and shared more than 8,000 legal documents related to the arrests.
The GW Extremism Tracker, issued monthly by the program, continuously monitors cases in the U.S. that are related to IS charges. It is regularly updated to identify new cases and monitor past cases with new information.
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