Dr. Julia Ebner is an expert on online radicalisation, conspiracy myths and threats to democracy and minority rights, and terrorism prevention. Julia has led a wide range of research and advisory projects, as well as being involved in several undercover investigations, including infiltrating the online chatrooms and in-person meeting spaces... Read more
Dr. Julia Ebner is an expert on online radicalisation, conspiracy myths and threats to democracy and minority rights, and terrorism prevention.
Julia has led a wide range of research and advisory projects, as well as being involved in several undercover investigations, including infiltrating the online chatrooms and in-person meeting spaces of extremist groups across the ideological spectrum to expose their methods of radicalisation.
Based on her experience she regularly advises governments, intelligence agencies, tech firms and transnational organisations, including NATO, Europol, the World Bank, Google, and Meta. She has also worked for the United Nations Office of Counterterrorism as a Special Advisor on Terrorism Prevention.
Julia Ebner is the author of several award-winning and internationally bestselling books including Going Mainstream (2023), Going Dark (2019) and The Rage (2017). She is also a regular contributor to news outlets such as the Guardian, Sunday Times, Financial Times, Washington Post and Süddeutsche Zeitung, and has featured in flagship broadcast programmes and documentaries in the UK, US, Germany and beyond.
Currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) in London and a Postdoctoral Fellow at Oxford University’s Calleva Centre of Evolution and Human Sciences, Julia Ebner holds a DPhil in Anthropology from Oxford University, and a dual Msc from Peking University and the London School of Economics. She speaks fluent English, German and French and intermediate Spanish, and Mandarin.
An authority on extremist groups across the political spectrum – informed by her own undercover investigations – Dr Julia Ebner is well placed to discuss the rise of the political fringe and their infiltration of the mainstream.
Mediated by the latest technology such as generative AI, the growing influence of radicalised individuals coincides with dwindling trust in the cornerstones of civil society – science, the media and even democracy. What does it mean to live in these febrile times? How can organisations and individuals alike become attuned to and guard against the tide of systemic disinformation?
Trust in science, the media and democracy have been dwindling in recent years. But in this new era of misinformation and distrust, the private sector has been a rare source of hope: according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, private sector firms and employers enjoy the highest trust levels in society....
In this keynote, Julia explores the risk of systematic disinformation campaigns enabled by emerging technologies. From Large Language Models (LLMs) and deepfakes to Decentralised Autonomous Organisations in the Metaverse, she outlines the threats these innovations pose to organisations, both in terms of reputation and security, while discussing how they can...
Leveraging her experience at a counter-extremism think tank and her undercover work infiltrating over a dozen extremist groups spanning diverse ideologies, Julia offers insights into how extremists worldwide have adeptly broadened their influence through advanced technologies. She reveals how these innovations have drawn younger generations into extremism through the gamification of...
Incels. Anti Vaxxers. Conspiracy theorists. Neo-Nazis. Once, these groups all belonged on the fringes of the political spectrum. Today, accelerated by a pandemic, global conflict and rapid technological change, their ideas are becoming more widespread. Based on Julia’s undercover investigations for her latest book Going Mainstream, she explores: why outlandish...
The risk of systematic disinformation campaigns that can lead to delegitimisation, hate and agitation has been further aggravated by the next generation of technologies. From Large Language Models (LLMs) and deep fakes to Decentralized Autonomous Organisations in the Metaverse, what risk do new technologies pose to organisations from a reputational...