Combatting Online Extremism Training 

Join Orange County Human Relations (OCHR) and the University of California, Irvine (UCI) for a five-part, free online training that will offer tools and resources for how to combat online extremism. Using modules developed as part of UC Irvine’s Confronting Digital Extremism initiative, UCI is partnering with OCHR to provide an interactive training for the community.  With the increase in violence against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, this course offers a special session on the racialization of COVID-19. Those who complete all 5 sessions will receive a Certificate of Completion.

As our use of the internet has increased, the online presence of extremist beliefs and attitudes has also increased. The term online extremism refers to online activities like the use of misinformation and disinformation, the use of hate speech, trolling, and recruitment of new members to extremist groups. Social media—platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube that people use to learn  about events in their and their friends’ lives—also plays a role in higher amounts of online extremism. Research shows that online extremism leads to extremism in the physical world.

How can we combat online extremism, as a society and as individuals? How can we help raise awareness about different modes of extremist activity in online environments and identify    effective means of confronting them?

OC Human Relations and UCI offers a series of tailored and engaging trainings that focus on:

• how information is created, shared, and distorted online
• differences between trolling and extremism
• the roll of social media algorithms in online extremism

Training Goals

1. Define and understand terms and concepts important for online extremism: misinformation, disinformation, trolling, and algorithms
2. Identify and learn strategies to counter online hate
3. Learn strategies to navigate and cut through what the World Health Organization describes        as "the Infodemic"

Training Dates

Sessions will take place from 5pm - 6:30 pm every other Wednesday beginning June 9.  Preference will be given to participants who can commit to attending all five sessions.

The registration deadline is 5pm, May 28.

Register Now!