Other Group

Institute for Strategic Dialogue

Website:

www.isdglobal.org/

Type:

Censorship Advocacy

Location:

London, UK

Formation:

2006

CEO:

Sasha Havlicek

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The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) is a think tank specializing in combatting alleged online disinformation. The ISD has worked with numerous prominent non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and governments, as well as major technology companies, including Facebook, Google, YouTube, Microsoft, Spotify, and Amazon. 1 2 The ISD is based in the United Kingdom with offices in the United States, France, Germany, Jordan, and Kenya.

The ISD has been accused of suppressing conservative views online by erroneously labeling mainstream views as misinformation.

History

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue was founded in 2006 by members of the Club of Three, a forum founded by political leaders from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. 3

In 2012, the ISD launched Against Violent Extremism, “the world’s first network of former extremists and survivors of extremism.” 4

In 2015, the ISD, the U.S. Department of State, and the United Nations launched the Strong Cities Network, a coalition of city governments that combat extremism. 5 6

Also in 2015, the ISD worked with the Obama administration on the Countering Violent Extremism Summit. 7

In 2016, the ISD and Facebook established the Online Civil Courage Initiative. The following year, the ISD launched Be Internet Citizens and the Innovation Fund with Google. 8 ISD helped Google distribute $10 million to anti-extremist groups in Europe, and ISD received a $1.3 million grant from Google in 2017. At some point, ISD became a “trusted flagger” for YouTube; trusted flaggers are given high priority by YouTube’s content review team. 9

In 2022, the ISD became a member of Spotify’s Safety Advisory Council which advises Spotify on alleged extremism on its platform. 10

Activities

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue has three focus areas: “disinformation,” “extremism,” and “polarization and hate.” 11

Disinformation

The ISD researches and analyses “foreign state and transnational non-state actors attempting to undermine democracy and promote polarization” through online disinformation. 12

From 2017 to 2020, the ISD monitored alleged disinformation produced during elections in Germany, Sweden, Bavaria, the European Parliament, and the United States. 13

Extremism

The ISD monitors the online promotion of “Islamist extremism, far-right extremism, left-wing extremism and ethno-nationalism.” As part of efforts to combat online extremism, in January 2023, the ISD produced a report on “incels,” or involuntary celibates. 14

Polarization and Hate

According to the ISD, “the rapid circulation of polarising and hateful ideas on social media has led to a globalisation of hate,” causing a rise in extremist ideologies and allegedly exacerbating violence in developing countries, including Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Kenya. 15

Funding

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue’s nonprofit funders include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Omidyar Network, the United States Institute for Peace, the National Democratic Institute, and the Open Society Foundations. 16

ISD’s government funding includes agencies in Australia, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The ISD has received grants from the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 17 It has also received funding from the European Union and the United Nations. 18

Partners

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue’s “partners” include the left-leaning groups Anti-Defamation League, Demos, Fair Fight Action, and the Global Disinformation Index. 19

In 2020, the ISD began working with the McCain Institute at the University of Arizona on “A Practice Guide for the US Prevention Practitioners Network” for “individuals working in targeted violence and terrorism prevention (TVTP).” 20

Controversies

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue has been criticized for encouraging the censorship of conservative views online, including comparisons between abortion and murder, skepticism of transgender activism, skepticism of weather-dependent energy, and opposition to critical race theory (CRT). 21

In 2021, National Public Radio reported that the ISD led a coordinated effort to identify and censor criticism of climate change narratives during the run-up to the United Nations‘ COP26 climate summit. The ISD blamed misinformation promoted by “climate deniers and conspiracists” for derailing the effectiveness of past climate summits, including the “climategate” email leaks published prior to the 2009 UN summit in Copenhagen. 22

In September 2021, the ISD received funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Global Engagement Center. Mike Davis of the Internet Accountability Project described the operation as  “Taxpayer dollars essentially funding the censorship of conservatives under the guise of ‘misinformation.’” 23

References

  1. “Our History.” ISD. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://www.isdglobal.org/our-history/.
  2. Evans, Ailan. “State Department Funded Foreign Think Tank Working To Censor Americans.” Daily Caller. February 13, 2023. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://dailycaller.com/2023/02/13/state-department-think-tank-disinformation/.
  3. “Our History.” ISD. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://www.isdglobal.org/our-history/.
  4. “Our History.” ISD. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://www.isdglobal.org/our-history/.
  5. “Our History.” ISD. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://www.isdglobal.org/our-history/
  6. Evans, Ailan. “State Department Funded Foreign Think Tank Working To Censor Americans.” Daily Caller. February 13, 2023. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://dailycaller.com/2023/02/13/state-department-think-tank-disinformation/.
  7. “Our History.” ISD. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://www.isdglobal.org/our-history/.
  8. [1] “Our History.” ISD. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://www.isdglobal.org/our-history/.
  9. Evans, Ailan. “State Department Funded Foreign Think Tank Working To Censor Americans.” Daily Caller. February 13, 2023. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://dailycaller.com/2023/02/13/state-department-think-tank-disinformation/.
  10. Evans, Ailan. “State Department Funded Foreign Think Tank Working To Censor Americans.” Daily Caller. February 13, 2023. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://dailycaller.com/2023/02/13/state-department-think-tank-disinformation/.
  11. “Institute for Strategic Dialogue.” ISD. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://www.isdglobal.org/.
  12. “Disinformation.” ISD. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://www.isdglobal.org/disinformation/.
  13. “Disinformation.” ISD. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://www.isdglobal.org/disinformation/.
  14. “Extremism.” ISD. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://www.isdglobal.org/extremism/.
  15. “Polarisation and Hate.” ISD. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://www.isdglobal.org/hate-polarisation/.
  16. “Partnerships & Funders.” ISD. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://www.isdglobal.org/partnerships-and-funders/.
  17. “Partnerships & Funders.” ISD. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://www.isdglobal.org/partnerships-and-funders/.
  18. “Partnerships & Funders.” ISD. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://www.isdglobal.org/partnerships-and-funders/.
  19. “Partnerships & Funders.” ISD. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://www.isdglobal.org/partnerships-and-funders/.
  20. “Behavioral Assessment and Management.” McCain Institute. Accessed February 25, 2023. https://www.mccaininstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Practice-Guide-4-BA-and-BM-July-2022.pdf.
  21. Evans, Ailan. “State Department Funded Foreign Think Tank Working To Censor Americans.” Daily Caller. February 13, 2023. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://dailycaller.com/2023/02/13/state-department-think-tank-disinformation/.
  22. Bond, Shannon. “These researchers are trying to stop misinformation from derailing climate change.” National Public Radio. November 12, 2021. Accessed February 25, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2021/11/12/1054850363/cop26-climate-summit-misinformation.
  23. Evans, Ailan. “State Department Funded Foreign Think Tank Working To Censor Americans.” Daily Caller. February 13, 2023. Accessed February 23, 2023. https://dailycaller.com/2023/02/13/state-department-think-tank-disinformation/.
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