Why Al-Qaida Hates the Internet: Trust Problems on Jihadi Discussion Forums *CISAC Social Science Seminar* DATE AND TIME January 24, 2013 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM AVAILABILITY Open to the public No RSVP required SPEAKER Thomas Hegghammer http://fsi.stanford.edu/people/thomas_hegghammer/ - Zukerman Fellow at CISAC The trust problem limits what rebels can do online. The scarcity of non-verbal cues in digital communication facilitates deceptive mimicry, which undermines the interpersonal trust required for sensitive transactions. Open-source data from jihadi discussion forums show that distrust there is very high and direct recruitment rare. General trust also declined during the observation period (2006-2011). As of 2012, forums are still in use, but primarily for low-stake activities such as propaganda-sharing and ideological debate. Confidence in the authenticity of propaganda remains relatively high, due to vetting institutions and hard-to-fake video formats. A modicum of interpersonal trust also remains, thanks to reputation systems and a few relatively reliable signs of trustworthiness involving time expenditure. The trust problem is an Achillesb heel for terrorists online b but probably also for pro-democracy activists in authoritarian settings. LOCATION CISAC Conference Room Encina Hall Central, 2nd floor 616 Serra St. Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305 -- Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password at: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech ----- End forwarded message ----- -- Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a> http://leitl.org ______________________________________________________________ ICBM: 48.07100, 11.36820 http://www.ativel.com http://postbiota.org 8B29F6BE: 099D 78BA 2FD3 B014 B08A 7779 75B0 2443 8B29 F6BE