PERIL Research

08/13/2026

Since launching in April, PERIL's Nihilistic Violent Extremism Tracker has added 29 new incidents from 2026 alone. The threat continues to shift and the data set helps enable researchers to spot patterns not captured by headlines alone. Explore the data here: https://bit.ly/4cT8NOS

08/12/2026

Recently, PERIL partnered with the Chicago Sky to bring the Be the Sixth Player campaign into the arena, with Sky players leading the call for fans to stand up against online hate. Watch the video shared at the game and explore the Sixth Player resources here: https://bit.ly/4vRAjDO

08/11/2026

Most crises follow a pattern: bad actors exploit fear to spread hate and division. PERIL's Mitigating Harms series tracks how manipulation and harmful narratives spread after each kind of crisis, and the evidence-based ways to counter them. Explore the series to date here: https://bit.ly/3TFdplM

08/06/2026

"The central node is profit." PERIL's Cynthia Miller-Idriss on what actually drives online extremist messaging: not just ideology, but profiteers and malign actors selling fear-driven products. To stop it, you have to interrupt the profit motive. Listen here: 🎧

Doing Tech Right · Episode

08/05/2026

"I think it's good and right to be pursuing two strategies at the same time." PERIL's Bill Braniff on CBS News, on balancing rehabilitation and public safety supervision in the wake of the Berlin attack. Watch the whole interview here:

Bill Braniff, executive director of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab at American University, joins "The Daily Report" to break down the attack that took place at an LGBTQ+ pride event in Berlin, Germany and new details on the suspect's time in a deradicalization program.

08/04/2026

Nearly two years after it became a national flashpoint, xenophobic rhetoric targeting Haitian immigrants in Ohio is still circulating online. PERIL's newest one-pager tracks how these narratives persist, and how to interrupt them. 🔗 https://bit.ly/4brohtr

07/31/2026

𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆!

PERIL Research is looking for young adults to serve on our Youth Advisory Council.

The Youth Advisory Council (YAC) is an advisory board of 8-10 young people, ages 18-24, who meet every 2-3 months to discuss trends in online culture, including polarization, online harms, misogyny, extremism, and other emerging topics. The YAC may provide project feedback and help surface emerging needs and concerns facing young people today.

The YAC is a low-lift, high-impact volunteer opportunity for young people to help shape research.

𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀:

• Quarterly virtual meetings (every 2-3 months), scheduled around member availability

• Active participation; show up ready to share, respond, and give feedback

• Members serve a one-year term, with the option to renew once

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆?

Email [email protected] with the subject line "YAC Application [First Name] [Last Name]"

𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲:

• First and last name

• Age

• Location (city, state)

• Why you're interested in joining (300 words max)

• What you hope to get out of the experience (300 words max)

• Resume/CV

Applications are reviewed on a rolling, quarterly basis. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to a short interview.

Questions? Reach out to [email protected]
More Info here:

PERIL’s Youth Advisory Council (YAC) is an advisory board of 8–10 young people, ages 18–24, who meet every 2–3 months to discuss trends in online culture, including polarization, online harms, misogyny, extremism, and other emerging topics. The YAC may provide project feedback and help surfa...

07/28/2026

The US is facing its largest measles outbreak in over 30 years, and 94% of cases are among the unvaccinated or those with unknown status. PERIL's latest analysis tracks the misinformation spreading alongside it, and how to interrupt it. 🔗 https://bit.ly/4x1H2Mk

07/28/2026

Every team has five players on the court. The sixth is you. PERIL's new playbook, Be the Sixth Player is a five-part guide for fans and families on stepping in when hate and harassment show up: in the stands, in the comments, and in everyday conversations. 🔗 https://bit.ly/4vRAjDO

07/27/2026

Please join our upcoming training at the free American Federation of Teachers “Share My Lesson” webinar, entitled Student Wellness, Equity and Resilience in an Online World: Strategies for K–12, July 29 at 12pm EDT. Register to watch on demand and receive free professional development, curriculum, and resources.

It’s suitable for K-12 teachers, school staff, psychologists, youth-serving and adolescent health organizations, and parents. Please forward this invitation.

Register at https://bit.ly/4yPumtR .

Presenters:

Otis McGresham, Ed.D, Prevention Specialist at Vanderbilt University Project Safe.

Christine German, PhD, Deputy Director of Interventions at the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University.

Students today encounter biased, emotionally charged, and harmful messages at increasingly young ages—often before they have the social-emotional development or critical awareness to evaluate what they see and hear. By ages 6–7, children begin internalizing messages about intelligence, worth, po...