re:publica15 - Nutella, Kittens and a Friend Request from ISIS

The Arab Spring unleashed western governments enthusiasm regarding the power of the Internet for political mobilisation and campaigning. Today, ISIS is headlining as the social media savvy terrorist group recruiting young people from across the world to fight for their cause via Social Media. The same power of social media is now causing a very different reactions amongst governments,many calling for censorship to help combat ISIS media outreach. 

The event will explore different uses of social media for mobilisation in different context, in particular current research on ISIS recruitment tactics, as well as government responses. In doing so it will take a global perspective and attempt to understand how and why governments seem to schizophrenic in their responses and what can't be learned in the process to develop better Internet policy.