1/ During my 8 minutes on "Evolving Threat Landscape 2020" #GIFCT w @ShirazMaher, I raised 8 key aspects to 2020 threat & beyond, noting how vital it is that we THINK BIGGER. It is not just what we see online now, but what will be coming. How do we win? Include these elements:

2/ The Big Bleed -- massive mainstreaming of violent far right conspiracy theories. This leaderless space will results in huge shifts of ideas and actions. (Are we ready?!)

The Demographics -- 50 percent of world is under 30 yrs. Extremists are targeting youth as young as 11.

3/ If they know how and why kids do what they do online, shouldn't we? Do we get the nuances of #GenZ versus #GenAlpha? Do we apply key social science scholarship of child-adolescent mind to our policies?

The Issue of Identity -- THE central issue for potential recruits is...

4/ identity and belonging. As youth try to find who they are and what is important to them extremists are luring them in with answers with tactics that speak to them. The landscape is changing, societal sinkholes exposed, social issues up front, COVID and post COVID realities are

5/ being exploited by violent far right as well as groups like #ISIS. While hate is rising and science is ignored online, there is a pro emotional reward ecosystem blossoming.

More Not Less -- guess what? We aren't defeating the extremists. Theyre winning. Not just Neo Nazis...

6/ but also Al Qaeda, ISIS and more...groups are growing, merging, transforming, learning from each other. There will be MORE extremists to deal with, not less. We are not calculating for that.

The Gaming Platforms -- this isn't just about the main social media outlets, this is

7/ about role playing, surging emotion, stepping out of reality, creating your own story and winning. We have a generation of youth who have been taught to seek rewards and prizes, don't you think extremists know that? Have we created the full expression of tactics to prevent

8/ gaming platforms from being exploited by the bad guys?

Gender (again) -- gender differences have been ignored. Females do not respond in the same ways as males. They arent motivated in the same way etc... Do we have a handle on identity, gender, tech & all elements that

9/ connect these issues and more? We need careful research and examination because we need to identify how young girls and teenagers use online platforms differently than their male counterparts. The threat landscape will include changes in the gender aspect to extremism.

10/ Females get radicalized. So far no all female groups online radicalizing as a whole movement...but that does not mean it will not be.

Forgotten Terrains -- we must account for things no longer mainstream news including what is happening in the refugee camps. Huge numbers

11/ of children, young adults and women....how might this matter to the issue of extremism? Why are we not more concerned?

Finally, #8: Global Impact -- we must connect the dots globally. We keep weighting things in the west but we will fail (again) if we do this. We must have

12/ a global approach to understand the threat + what is happening. From Argentina to Zanzibar, we must be alert to the impact of geopolitics and ideas traveling through smart phones changing the experience of youth & how extremists are connecting themes, best practices + more.

13 end of thread/

These eight aspects to the threat landscape build upon themes in my book #HowWeWin. For almost 20 yrs we have tried to get ahead of the bad guys. We are losing. We do not have to. Solutions are available now.
Thx #GIFCT @NicholasRasmu15 for hosting me today!