Framing the Problem

Framing the problem: Risks to psychological and physical safety when performing this work

Researchers and practitioners working on online extremism and terrorism face unique risks. These include repeated exposure to graphic and traumatic content, such as thousands of videos or images created by ISIS and other violent extremist groups. Researchers and practitioners must also manage the potential of being attacked or targeted online and offline through doxxing, trolling, or material threats by the groups they are researching. These risks can be amplified depending on the identity factors of the researchers or practitioners. Engaging in research and implementing programs aimed at preventing violence and hate demands sustained commitment and resilience from individual researchers and practitioners. Many researchers navigate these endeavors with scarce resources and insufficient institutional recognition. This lack of support can contribute to burnout among individuals tackling these complex and emotionally taxing issues, exacerbated by repeated exposure to traumatic content and the constant threat of online and offline attacks from extremist groups.

This section of the handbook collates the research conducted into these risks and seeks to frame the problems facing researchers and practitioners to spread awareness of the risks as a first step in supporting our community to manage the risks effectively.

• The Existential Crisis Plaguing Online Extremism Researchers
• I Watched ISIS Videos, and Felt My Soul Diminished.
• REASSURE: The Researcher Security, Safety and Resilience project
• Who’s Protecting the Researchers? REASSURE report findings on identity and harms for online extremism and terrorism researchers | International Centre for Counter-Terrorism
• Online Extremism and Terrorism Researchers’ Security, Safety, and Resilience: Findings from the Field
• ‘It Gets To You.’ Extremism Researchers Confront The Unseen Toll Of Their Work
• Impact of Traumatic Material on Professionals
• Secondary Traumatic Stress, Compassion Fatigue, and Counselor Spirituality: Implications for Counselors Working with Trauma
• The Psychological Well Being of Content Moderators
• Repeated and Extensive Exposure to Online Terrorist Content: Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit Perceived Stressors and Strategies
• Impact of Traumatic Material on Professionals in Analytical and Secondary