Network Contagion Research Institute: Difference between revisions

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In 2020, media scholar Jack Bratich criticized NCRI for labelling [[Dissenter|domestic dissenters]] as violent threats.<ref name=Bratich2020>{{Cite book |last=Bratich |first=Jack |title=The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research |publisher=[[SAGE Publishing|SAGE Publications]] |isbn=978-1-4766-4203-1 |editor-last=Cannella |editor-first=Gaile S. |page=344 |chapter=Observation in a Surveilled World |date=11 November 2020 |editor-last2=Giardina |editor-first2=Michael D. |editor-last3=Denzin |editor-first3=Norman K. |editor-last4=Lincoln |editor-first4=Yvonna S.}}</ref>

In 2020, media scholar Jack Bratich criticized NCRI for labelling [[Dissenter|domestic dissenters]] as violent threats.<ref name=Bratich2020>{{Cite book |last=Bratich |first=Jack |title=The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research |publisher=[[SAGE Publishing|SAGE Publications]] |isbn=978-1-4766-4203-1 |editor-last=Cannella |editor-first=Gaile S. |page=344 |chapter=Observation in a Surveilled World |date=11 November 2020 |editor-last2=Giardina |editor-first2=Michael D. |editor-last3=Denzin |editor-first3=Norman K. |editor-last4=Lincoln |editor-first4=Yvonna S.}}</ref>

In 2021, Matthew Lyons of [[anti-fascist]] project [[Three Way Fight]] criticized NCRI for equating [[Antifa (United States)|antifa]] with [[fascist]]s and “[[Jidahi]] extremism”.<ref name=PMPress2021Lyons /> Lyons criticized NCRI for blaming the riots after the [[George Floyd protests]] on “anarcho-syndicalist extremists” who “mobilize[d] lawlessness and violence”.<ref name=PMPress2021Lyons /> Lyons labelled NCRI a “mouthpiece for the state security apparatus”.<ref name=PMPress2021Lyons>{{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]]}}</ref>

In 2021, Matthew Lyons of [[anti-fascist]] project [[Three Way Fight]] criticized NCRI for equating [[Antifa (United States)|antifa]] with [[fascist]]s and “[[]] extremism”.<ref name=PMPress2021Lyons /> Lyons criticized NCRI for blaming the riots after the [[George Floyd protests]] on “anarcho-syndicalist extremists” who “mobilize[d] lawlessness and violence”.<ref name=PMPress2021Lyons /> Lyons labelled NCRI a “mouthpiece for the state security apparatus”.<ref name=PMPress2021Lyons>{{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]]}}</ref>

In 2024, Jack Poulson of the Disruption Network Institute found that NCRI is tightly tied to [[Zionism|pro-Israel]], [[anti-BDS]] organizations. In 2021, the NCRI was paid $335,000 by the anti-BDS [[Israel on Campus Coalition]] (ICC), which conducts self-described “psychological warfare” on pro-BDS students using [[Blend AI]].<ref name=Disruption2024Poulson /> In 2022, Eran Teboul stated that his organization, anti-BDS [[Hetz for Israel]], has privately raised funds for NCRI.<ref name=Disruption2024Poulson /> NCRI founder Joel Finkelstein is a director of Hetz.<ref name=Disruption2024Poulson>{{Cite web |last=Poulson |first=Jack |date=November 28, 2024 |publisher=Disruption Network Institute |title=Towards a Public Database for Investigating Western Special Operations |url=https://disruption.institute/s/Jack-Poulson-Towards-a-Public-Database.pdf |publication-date=28 November 2024 |quote=Corporate records and tax filings similarly demonstrate that ICC paid the Rutgers-affiliated Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) $335,000 in 2021 and that NCRI founder Joel Finkelstein is a director of a secretive Israeli anti-BDS organization named Hetz for Israel alongside the founder of Voices of Israel, Brig. Gen. (res.) Sima Vaknin-Gill, who was also previously the Israeli military’s chief censor.}}</ref>

In 2024, Jack Poulson of the Disruption Network Institute found that NCRI is tightly tied to [[Zionism|pro-Israel]], [[anti-BDS]] organizations. In 2021, the NCRI was paid $335,000 by the anti-BDS [[Israel on Campus Coalition]] (ICC), which conducts self-described “psychological warfare” on pro-BDS students using [[Blend AI]].<ref name=Disruption2024Poulson /> In 2022, Eran Teboul stated that his organization, anti-BDS [[Hetz for Israel]], has privately raised funds for NCRI.<ref name=Disruption2024Poulson /> NCRI founder Joel Finkelstein is a director of Hetz.<ref name=Disruption2024Poulson>{{Cite web |last=Poulson |first=Jack |date=November 28, 2024 |publisher=Disruption Network Institute |title=Towards a Public Database for Investigating Western Special Operations |url=https://disruption.institute/s/Jack-Poulson-Towards-a-Public-Database.pdf |publication-date=28 November 2024 |quote=Corporate records and tax filings similarly demonstrate that ICC paid the Rutgers-affiliated Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) $335,000 in 2021 and that NCRI founder Joel Finkelstein is a director of a secretive Israeli anti-BDS organization named Hetz for Israel alongside the founder of Voices of Israel, Brig. Gen. (res.) Sima Vaknin-Gill, who was also previously the Israeli military’s chief censor.}}</ref>

American advocacy organization

The Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) is an American advocacy organization focusing on hate groups, disinformation, misinformation, and speech across social media platforms.[2][3]

Critics of NCRI claim it labels dissent as dangerous extremism,[4][5] has an anti-socialist bias,[5] and has a pro-Israel bias.[6]

In 2018, Joel Finkelstein founded NCRI to track hate online.[7] Finkelstein had been a researcher at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).[8] In 2019, NCRI and ADL established a “partnership” to combat “extremism and hate” on social media.[9]

NCRI’s publications include reports on QAnon supporters,[10] militia/boogaloo movements,[7][11] anarcho-socialist networks,[12] antisemitism,[13] racial supremacism, and other topics related to xenophobia.[14][15] The institute has also published articles on the dissemination of disinformation and bias from state actors, including Iran,[16] Russia,[17] and China.[18]

Other research areas include the study and prevention of sextortion,[19] child sexual abuse,[20] and the negative consequences of DEI programs, such as workplace hostility and racial bias.[21]

In 2020, media scholar Jack Bratich criticized NCRI for labelling domestic dissenters as violent threats.[4]

In 2021, Matthew Lyons of anti-fascist project Three Way Fight criticized NCRI for equating antifa with fascists and “Jihadi extremism”.[5] Lyons criticized NCRI for blaming the riots after the George Floyd protests on “anarcho-syndicalist extremists” who “mobilize[d] lawlessness and violence”.[5] Lyons labelled NCRI a “mouthpiece for the state security apparatus”.[5]

In 2024, Jack Poulson of the Disruption Network Institute found that NCRI is tightly tied to pro-Israel, anti-BDS organizations. In 2021, the NCRI was paid $335,000 by the anti-BDS Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC), which conducts self-described “psychological warfare” on pro-BDS students using Blend AI.[6] In 2022, Eran Teboul stated that his organization, anti-BDS Hetz for Israel, has privately raised funds for NCRI.[6] NCRI founder Joel Finkelstein is a director of Hetz.[6]

  1. ^ Andrea Suozzo; Alec Glassford; Ash Ngu; Brandon Roberts (9 May 2013). “Network Contagion Research Institute – Nonprofit Explorer”. ProPublica. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  2. ^ Johnson, Scott P. (2020). Political Assassins, Terrorists and Related Conspiracies in American History. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1-4766-4203-1.
  3. ^ Spinney, Laura (2022) [23 July 2022]. “Going viral”. New Scientist. Vol. 255, no. 3396. p. 43. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(22)01312-4.
  4. ^ a b Bratich, Jack (11 November 2020). “Observation in a Surveilled World”. In Cannella, Gaile S.; Giardina, Michael D.; Denzin, Norman K.; Lincoln, Yvonna S. (eds.). The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research. SAGE Publications. p. 344. ISBN 978-1-4766-4203-1.
  5. ^ a b c d e Lyons, Matthew (9 May 2021). “Network Contagion Research Institute: helping the state fight political infection left and right”. PM Press.
  6. ^ a b c d Poulson, Jack (28 November 2024). “Towards a Public Database for Investigating Western Special Operations” (PDF). Disruption Network Institute (published 28 November 2024). Corporate records and tax filings similarly demonstrate that ICC paid the Rutgers-affiliated Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) $335,000 in 2021 and that NCRI founder Joel Finkelstein is a director of a secretive Israeli anti-BDS organization named Hetz for Israel alongside the founder of Voices of Israel, Brig. Gen. (res.) Sima Vaknin-Gill, who was also previously the Israeli military’s chief censor.
  7. ^ a b Joung, Nina (2021). “How these researchers track viral outbreaks of online hate that lead to violence”. PBS (published 16 March 2021). Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  8. ^ Abunimah, Ali (28 January 2024). “What’s behind Washington Post hit piece on EI?”. The Electronic Intifada. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  9. ^ “ADL Partners with Network Contagion Research Institute to Study How Hate and Extremism Spread on Social Media”. Network Contagion Research Institute. 13 March 2019. Archived from the original on 16 July 2024.
  10. ^ “How to respond to the QAnon threat”. Brookings. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  11. ^ Thomson-DeVeaux, Amelia (4 September 2020). “How Trump And COVID-19 Have Reshaped The Modern Militia Movement”. FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  12. ^ Kaur, Harmeet (16 September 2020). “Tactics employed by right-wing extremist groups are now being used by extremists on the left, report finds”. CNN. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  13. ^ Menn, Joseph (3 December 2022). “Surging Twitter antisemitism unites fringe, encourages violence, officials say”. The Washington Post.
  14. ^ “Rutgers Report Finds Increase in Anti-Hindu Disinformation”. New Brunswick, NJ Patch. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  15. ^ “TikTok Shows Less ‘Anti-China’ Content Than Rivals, Study Finds”. Bloomberg.com. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  16. ^ Bennett, Brian (7 June 2021). “Exclusive: Iran Steps up Efforts to Sow Discord Inside the U.S.” TIME. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  17. ^ Vanian, Jonathan. “Russian disinformation campaigns are trying to sow distrust of COVID vaccines, study finds”. Fortune. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  18. ^ Myrow, Rachael (8 August 2024). “TikTok Stacking Algorithms in Chinese Government’s Favor, Study Claims | KQED”. www.kqed.org. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  19. ^ “Sextortion warning: In 6 hours, my son was dead”. www.bbc.com. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  20. ^ “Network Contagion Research Institute to host virtual panel on risks of financial sextortion”. Police1. 14 April 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  21. ^ Zaki, Adam. “Study suggests DEI may escalate workplace hostility and racial bias”. CFO.com. Retrieved 4 December 2024.

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