The REASSURE Project at CYTREC

a photo of a computer processor board with a blue colour overlay

Introducing The REASSURE Project

The Researcher Security, Safety and Resilience project (REASSURE)

Academic research into online extremism and terrorism carries unique risks. The first is repeated exposure to distressing content, such as the detailed analysis of thousands of videos or images produced by ISIS. The second is the potential to be targeted by illicit actors, online and offline, through doxing, trolling or material threats. To-date there has been little guidance for researchers on how to deal with either mental health issues caused by repeatedly viewing violent and offensive material or the challenges of staying virtually and physically safe. There has also been no comprehensive study on what those challenges or risks are.

The Researcher Security, Safety and Resilience project (REASSURE) addresses this. REASSURE is documenting and detailing researcher welfare issues, as experienced by researchers themselves.

Crucially, REASSURE will then develop strategies for mitigating these. REASSURE will draw on the knowledge base of related fields, including law enforcement, tech companies and journalism, to produce a Charter for Researcher Ethics and Safety (CARES). This will be tailored for researchers active in the online extremism and terrorism space, giving them guidance on best practice.

REASSURE is about enhancing the wellbeing and safety of online extremism and terrorism researchers through active collaboration with the community of scholars in this field.

Phase 1: Talking to Researchers

To-date the REASSURE team has interviewed c.40 colleagues about the welfare challenges of researching in this domain, gathering their experiences and suggestions for positive change (e.g. personal coping mechanisms, technology tools, etc.).

Our interview participants compose a range of colleagues who, between them, have decades of research experience and have consumed huge amounts of online extremist and terrorist content. They come from universities and think tanks in Europe, North America and Australia. An open access report based on our Phase 1 interview data is presently in preparation.

Phase 2: Evolving Best Practice

Phase 2 consists of active collaboration with others professionally tasked in relation to online extremism and terrorism, law enforcement, journalism organisations, policy, and social media companies, and in allied areas (e.g. online child sex abuse). A joint workshop is planned for Twitter/X’s Dublin headquarters at which our shared experiences and challenges will be collated and discussed, and ways of furthering good practice tabled.

Phase 3: A Charter for Researcher Ethics and Safety (CARES)

Phase 3 is the production of a Charter for Researcher Ethics and Safety (CARES) tailored for researchers active in the online extremism and terrorism space.

Who Are Reassure?

Along with Swansea University’s CYTREC, the other project partners are VOX-Pol, Hedayah, and modus|zad. The project was devised during the TASM 2019 post-conference ‘sandpit’ and was one of two projects chosen to receive a small grant, arising from funding supplied by Swansea University’s CHERISH Digital Economy Centre and Facebook, on that occasion.

How Did The Project Come About?

The issue of researcher well-being had already been raised at a joint CYTREC-VOX-Pol ‘Ethics in Terrorism Research’ workshop hosted at Swansea University in April 2018. One key emergent theme from that event was researcher self-care, with participants reporting stress, other harm to their mental and emotional wellbeing, and potential security risks, along with a lack of existing guidance on how to deal with these. REASSURE seeks to build on the 2018 workshop’s findings.

The Project's Initial Report

Presenting findings from the REASSURE project's interviews with online extremism and terrorism researchers, cataloguing the harms they have experienced, and calling for change, so that sufficient guidance, training and support is provided for researchers going forward.

The header image of the blog showing the title around research protection when investigating online extremism

Who's Protecting the Researchers?

A blog post from Dr Lizz Pearson. The post continues the discussion started by the initial report, looking in to the harms that online extremism and terrorism researchers may face due to the nature of their work, the future of this space, and what can be done to mitigate risks.

The REASSURE Project Report Online Launch

A special live panel event, hosted by the VOX-Pol network, to launch the initial report from the REASSURE project, and discuss its findings. This online launch features Dr Lizz Pearson, Meili Criezis, Jacob Davey, and is chaired by Dr Joe Whittaker.

Catch 22: Researcher Welfare and Institutional Ethics

Dr Joe Whittaker gives a guest lecture with the VOX-Pol network. Joe discusses the ‘Catch 22’ that researchers of online extremism and terrorism face when navigating ethics committees, how their welfare is considered, and whether this supports researchers, or creates further barriers in their work.

The Next Gen Academic Survival Series

An online workshop hosted by the VOX-Pol network, as part of their ‘Next Gen Academic Survival Workshop Series’. The workshop looks at PhD student research welfare, featuring Dr Ashton Kingdon, Dr Ashley Mattheis, Dr Joe Whittaker, and chaired by Dr Miraji Mohamed.