“Far-right influence growing in Ireland, social media study finds” is the headline over an article by Darragh Nolan in the Irish Independent [20 November 2023]
This appears to be the conclusion of a report published by an organisation that calls itself the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD). Strategic Dialogue! Whatever can that mean?
Nolan tells us that the “ISD is an independent think tank focused on fighting against extremism, hate and disinformation globally.” Let’s see who this independent think-tank partners with and who funds them.
Institutional Partnerships Anti-Defamation League (ADL) ARENA @ Johns Hopkins University B’nai B’rith International Cardiff University Centre for the Analysis of Social Media (CASM) Combating Terrorism Center at West Point Deakin University Demos Fair Fight Action Geneva Center for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) German Marshall Fund Alliance for Securing Democracy Global Center on Cooperative Security Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) Global Disinformation Index Hans-Bredow Institute Harvard Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society Institut Montaigne Institute for Economics and Peace McCain Institute MIT Media Cloud Ontario Tech University Sussex University Computer Science Department United Nations Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate (UNCTED) Victoria University West Asia-North Africa (WANA) Institute Funders Foundations Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation British Council Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) Europäisches Forum Alpbach Gemeinnützige Hertie Stiftung Gen Next Foundation Hirondelle Foundation International Republican Institute (IRI) Mercator Stiftung Germany Mercator Stiftung Switzerland National Democratic Institute Omidyar Group Open Society Foundations Robert Bosch Stiftung United States Institute for Peace Judith Neilson Institute Governments & Multilateral Organisations Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and trade (DFAT) Australian Department for Home Affairs Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (CREST) Council of Europe Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Danish Ministry of Immigration and Integration Department of Premier & Cabinet, Victoria, Australia Dutch Ministry for Foreign Affairs Dutch Ministry of the Interior European Commission Finnish Interior Ministry German Federal Agency for Civic Engagement German Federal Foreign Office (Auswaertiges-Amt) German Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (BMJV) Global Affairs Canada Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS International Organization for Migration (IOM) London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) Ministry of Justice and Security, The Netherlands New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) Norwegian Ministry of Children & Families (MCF) Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security Ofcom Public Safety Canada Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) Swedish Ministry of Integration Swedish Ministry of Justice Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) UK Home Office United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) US Department for Homeland Security (DHS) US State Department Private Sector Audible Facebook GIFCT Google http://Google.org Jigsaw Microsoft Spotify Safety Advisory Council YouTube
This impressive list of ISD’s partners and funders doesn’t of course, mean that the conclusion reached by the ISD is necessarily false. To think that would be to be guilty of a kind of institutional ad hominem. However, the independence of this conclusion would be enhanced if it were balanced by a report on the growth (or decline - anything is possible!) of far-left influence in Ireland. I await such a report with anxious expectation. Oh, and I’m still wondering what ’Strategic Dialogue’ might be.
https://twitter.com/Casey5122dark/status/1726535258806329838
