How do extremist ideas spread online — and who actually drives them?

17 March 2026

New research by the Institute, recognised by the Home Office at the UK Government’s flagship Security and Policing event, is helping answer that question.

Bath research on online extremism was shortlisted for the Home Office Academic Innovation Award and highly commended at this year’s event. The award recognises work with the potential to deliver a step change in the UK’s ability to prevent, respond to, reduce the impact of, or investigate security risks and incidents.

The study found that the most influential actors are significantly more likely to share hateful or inciting content, suggesting that influence itself may be an early indicator of risk. The method has been tested across multiple platforms (including Discord and Iron March) and the team are now developing a prototype tool for policing and intelligence practitioners.

Read more here: Modelling Online Engagement Patterns To Infer Risk