Dr. Nicole Matejic

The Sovereign Files — Unmasking Extremism

New: The Sovereign Files 📂

I recently started posting some case profiles as an online archive: It’s a living project, documenting how sovereignist ideas have played out in NZ since the 90's. 👨‍⚖️⚖️

www.unmaskingextremism.com/media-hub/th...

Extremism expert discusses evolving faces of misogyny and political violence Amid multiple recent incidents of political violence, Cynthia Miller-Idriss is urging deeper reflection on how divisive rhetoric fuels extremism.

“It’s a playbook that has been successful in drawing voters by making them afraid of the other and positioning the other as an existential threat." — @milleridriss.bsky.social

Goodbye, Farewell, Amen, and thank you, Loretta Swit🫡

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🛟 We all share the responsibility to do better — and coming soon - they'll be a handbook to help.

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🎓 That's why I've written 'Safeguarding National Security Studies: A Handbook.' Written with multidisciplinary academic supervisors and students front of mind, the Handbook offers structured guidance on risk management, ethical oversight, and researcher wellbeing.

📕 NEW BOOK COMING SOON!
🗓️ Over the years, I’ve been asked countless times for advice on safe academic research practices and ethics for national security related studies — not because I'm an expert, but because, like others, I’ve navigated the challenges researchers in this field face firsthand.
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a woman says " it was n't my fault " in a hulu advertisement ALT: a woman says " it was n't my fault " in a hulu advertisement

⚠️ The Handmaid's Tale: Spoiler Alert ⚠️ If you haven't read BOTH books, this skeet isn't for you!

Curious that online pundits are theorising that Aunt Lydia has to 'radicalise' in s6 to join/support Mayday - she's fundamentally a disengagement story.

Understanding every one of Signal’s identifiers We’ve heard some questions about the difference between Signal usernames, phone numbers, profile names, profiles, and nicknames. Let’s talk about it.

To help confirm someone's identity, Signal offers nicknames and information about the groups you share in common with your contacts. Make sure you're inviting the right person to your group. Learn about Signal's identifiers: freedom.press/digisec/blog...

Just saw a 'Slav Goodbye' 5 point post on Instagram which didn't quite capture the vibe, so I give you my version...

Beyond Belief: Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism in America | Federal Bureau of Investigation

The long-anticipated #openaccess book from the FBI's BAU-1 has been released. I've already read it and can attest that it is a brilliant, comprehensive, and compelling resource that policymakers, practitioners and researchers alike will draw on for decades to come.

www.fbi.gov/file-reposit...

Powerful words from David Schwimmer at the ADL’s NeverIsNow summit.

a man wearing headphones is reading a piece of paper in front of a microphone with a 4d logo in the background ALT: a man wearing headphones is reading a piece of paper in front of a microphone with a 4d logo in the background

I just realised WhatsApp sounds like 'Whats Up' when you say it fast -- which is a pretty clever name for the app.

Brave Kate Ceberano, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra · My Life Is A Symphony · Song · 2023

Re-discovering Aussie songbird Kate Ceberano and her new music today - on high rotation, Brave:
open.spotify.com/track/4UbKR8...

a 2d graphic of a large egg shell broken in half, with the ROOST logo emerging from the shell. Logo is a minimal graphic of a bird on a box

AND WE'RE HATCHED!

ROOST launches at the #ParisAIActionSummit, bringing together tech companies and philanthropies to deliver free, open-source safety tools. Join us 👉 roost.tools

YouTube video by BINGE Superb Owl Day is here | What We Do In The Shadows | BINGE

Oh, that's right, it's Superb Owl Day! 🧛🏈🦉
youtu.be/4VY1tD5-1M8?...

As an Australian-born Serb, watching this gave me flashbacks to the kind of BS rhetoric we faced in 1990's. Singling out an ethnic group of fans to mock during a broadcast isn't sports journalism, it's blatant prejudice.
Worse, he then insinuates he's scared of them hearing him.

A new 'Matryoshka' campaign: Pro-Russian disinformation makes its Bluesky debut Disinformation similar to the pro-Russian "Matryoshka" campaign is emerging on Bluesky, using deepfakes and fake profiles to spread pro-Russian messages, prompting calls for more proactive action from...

It was inevitable, but it’s still good to be aware that this is happening here, now.

If you see suspicious account/comment, remember: Don’t engage. Don’t argue. Don’t clap back. Don’t screenshot and share. Just block and move on.

today.rtl.lu/news/busines...

Humans.

Looks like LEGO have finally made a 'Grace's Elegant' set ... @scottkilmartin.bsky.social www.lego.com/en-nz/produc...

Left Wing Extremism Overviews of issues, trends, narratives, platforms and actors.

A timely reminder that non-violent and violent extremism spans the *entire* ideological and political spectrum, sometimes to the point of shared belief. For example, antisemitism is a prevailing feature of both far-left and far-right worldviews.
www.isdglobal.org/explainers/l...

The documents obtained by WIRED show that concerns about the threat of AI being used to help commit serious crimes, including terrorism, have been circulating among US law enforcement. They reveal that the Department of Homeland Security has persistently issued warnings about domestic extremists who are relying on the technology to “generate bomb making instructions” and develop “general tactics for conducting attacks against the United States.” The memos, which are not classified but are restricted to government personnel, state that violent extremists are increasingly turning to tools like ChatGPT to help stage attacks aimed at collapsing American society through acts of domestic terror.

NEW: Vegas police named the Cybertruck incident the 1st case of a bombmaker using AI, but a stack of US intel reports obtained by WIRED show domestic extremists have been sharing bootleg AI to aid lone wolf attackers build bombs & stage attacks on the US electric grid.

www.wired.com/story/las-ve...

It's not hard, right?!

PSA:
When you arrive at someone's home and see pairs of shoes neatly lined up outside the front door, you can safely assume:

🏡🚫👟 It's a shoes off-inside kinda house 🚫👟🏡

If somehow you don't notice the shoes outside, yet the person who opens the door is in socks or barefoot....

⬆️ TAPS THE SIGN ⬆️

Since I'm making an effort to post here a bit more, my PhD thesis - Digesting Creepypasta: An Analysis of Social Media Horror Narratives as Fourth Generation Digital Fiction - is available to read via Sheffield Hallam's library page.

shura.shu.ac.uk/32027/

A grim start to 2025 with both the CyberTruck & New Orleans attackers ex-or serving milpers.
A grim reminder that no-one is immune from influence towards extremism & violent extremism.
These two men are not the first milpers to radicalise & more research is needed to understand that cohort.

My favourite scholar on this grim topic is @nicolematejic.bsky.social. Catch her here on a recent episode of the Security Insider podcast, discussing how to combat online radicalisation. www.asial.com.au/Web/News/All...

This 👇🏼via @realbaddiel.bsky.social
Amazed at the attempted biblical revisionist history being spun at the moment.
If you think Jesus was not a Jew, may I refer you to the Bible, New Testament, Matthew 1; Luke 3; Matthew 15:22; 21:9; Mark 10:47 +++
His. Genealogy. Is. Literally. In. The. Bible.

👨🏼‍🎤 Robbie Williams’ most relatable quote yet, on contemporary success (and algorithmic curiosities):
“It’s the luck of the algorithm. My algorithm thinks I’m a menopausal gay Republican…”
*sighs and nods in retirement home ads.

www.news.com.au/entertainmen...

There's also a nice interactive graph so you can play with the data. splc-git.github.io/telegram-cha...

Digital Threat Report: Telegram’s Toxic Recommendations Perpetuate Extremism

We have a new Digital Threat Report out today - it covers Telegram's recommendations feature called "similar channels" and exactly how it works. www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/20...