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Front Burner

What ISIS can teach us about fighting far-right violence online

Today on Front Burner, Prof. Taylor Owen helps us understand the changing nature of online extremism, what we learned from dealing with ISIS, and who should be left to clean up the mess left by big tech.
CBC News ·
WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND - MARCH 21: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to media during a press conference at Parliament on March 21, 2019 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Paris today, set to join world leaders at a summit called "The Christchurch Call." It's designed to help politicians and big tech work together to eradicate hate and extreme speech online.

The event comes two months after a white supremacist killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

By no means is online extremism a new phenomenon, as earlier this decade big tech was confronted by violent ISIS propaganda on their platforms — to which reliable solutions were found.  

Today on Front Burner, we speak to Prof. Taylor Owen, who helps us understand why the measures we used to combat ISIS online have proven ineffective with the extreme right. He is the chair of media, ethics and communications at McGill University.

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