Broderick McDonald
University of Oxford / Kings College London
​Broderick McDonald is a Research Fellow at Kings College London (XCEPT) and the Oxford Emerging Threats Group (ETG), as well as a Visiting Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute (Centre for Emerging Technology and Security). With a decade of experience across government, industry, and civil society, his research examines counterterrorism, conflict, and AI security. He previously served as an Advisor in Parliament and as a researcher with the All Party Parliamentary Group for Genocide Prevention. Prior to this, he was a Fellow with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and Executive Editor of the Cambridge International Law Journal. Broderick is an Associate Member of Chatham House, the Global Network on Extremism & Technology (GNET) and the Extremism and Gaming Research Network (EGRN). Brody was recently named as a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and is a Fellow with the Aspen Institute UK. His research spans the ideological spectrum and he has conducted fieldwork across the Middle East, Central Asia, and Europe. Within the Oxford Disinformation & Extremism Lab, he works on researcher safety training and monitoring emerging threats including Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), 3D Printing, and Drones.
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About
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Broderick McDonald is a researcher at the University of Oxford, Kings College London, and The Alan Turing Institute working on extremism, terrorism and international security. He previously lived in the Middle East and has conducted extensive fieldwork with combatants from ISIS, HTS, and other armed groups. Prior to this, Broderick served as an Advisor to the Government of Canada and was a Fellow with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC). He has provided analysis for a range of international news broadcasters including ABC News, CBC News, BBC America, BBC World News, PBS News Al Jazeera, France24 and given expert commentary for news outlets such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Financial Times, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Prospect Magazine, The National News, Middle East Eye, L’Orient-Le Jour, Al Arabiya, CS Monitor, and The Globe & Mail. Broderick currently serves on the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism’s (GIFCT) Independent Advisory Committee and the GLOCA Board of Advisors. He is a fellow with the Aspen Insitute UK and an Associate Member of Chatham House. Alongside his research, Broderick advises policymakers, parliamentarians, international prosecutors, NGOs, social media platforms, and AI developers on emerging security threats from terrorist & extremist entities, non-state actors, and hostile foreign states.
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​Research Interests
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Extremism & Terrorism
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Disinformation
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Online Harms
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Researcher Safety
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State Influence Campaigns
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Algorithmic Content Moderation
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AI Safety & Malicious Actor Misuse
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LLM Evaluations and Safeguards
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Recent Publications
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The Long Road to Damascus: HTS, Assad, and the Future of Syria
Global Network on Extremism & Technology, Kings College London
Broderick McDonald / https://www.justsecurity.org/author/mcdonaldbroderick/
Access: https://www.justsecurity.org/106215/syria-assad-regime-what-next/
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The Drones of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS): The Development and Use of UAS in Syria
Global Network on Extremism & Technology, Kings College London
Broderick McDonald / https://www.justsecurity.org/author/mcdonaldbroderick/
Access: https://gnet-research.org/2024/12/20/the-drones-of-hayat-tahrir-al-sham-the-development-and-use-of-uas-in-syria/​
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A New Far-Right Threat to Democratic Elections
Al Jazeera
Broderick McDonald / https://www.justsecurity.org/author/mcdonaldbroderick/
Access: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/5/2/active-clubs-a-new-far-right-threat-to-democratic-elections​
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Tech Against Terrorism: Extremism, Elections, and Active Clubs
Tech Against Terrorism
Broderick McDonald
Access: https://podcast.techagainstterrorism.org/1684819/14864219-active-clubs-fitness-fraternity-and-fascism
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The Wagner Group's Growing Shadow: Counter-Terrorism in the Sahel
United States Military Academy at West Point (Modern War Institute)
Broderick McDonald, Guy Fiennes
AI Content Moderation and Evasion Tactics on Social Media Platforms
Global Network on Extremism & Technology, Kings College London
Broderick McDonald
How Far Right Extremists Respond to Failed Predictions
Global Network on Extremism & Technology, Kings College London
Broderick McDonald
https://gnet-research.org/2021/03/31/how-qanon-reacts-to-failed-predictions/
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Research: Jihadist Salafist Extremism, Far Right Extremism, Misinformation, Disinformation, State Influence Operations, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), Scalable Content Moderation, Encryption, Alt Tech Platforms
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