Introduction
Since 2020, GIFCT has convened an annual series of Working Groups to focus on critical themes related to countering terrorism and violent extremism online. Working Groups bring together experts from diverse stakeholder groups, geographies and disciplines to offer advice in specific thematic areas and deliver on targeted, substantive projects.
Each year, Working Groups are refreshed to update themes and focus areas and to allow new participants to join. 2025 Working Groups are focusing on the following three themes:
- Investigators Community of Practice
- Artificial Intelligence: Threats and Opportunities
- Addressing Youth Radicalization and Mobilization
Investigators Community of Practice
GIFCT is launching the Investigators Community of Practice (ICOP), a network of investigation, analytic, incident response, and operational trust and safety (T&S) professionals from GIFCT member companies who meet monthly. ICOP and its monthly meetings build off-of and iterate-on the GIFCT’s working group structure, and foster a community of mutual learning between GIFCT and its members. Through ICOP, GIFCT hopes to create an ongoing and practical partnership with member T&S practitioner teams. Specifically, ICOP will serve as a destination for members and GIFCT staff to learn from one another, and brainstorm new GIFCT information sharing solutions. Periodically, ICOP will leverage external experts to provide substantive input for participants in the form of dedicated topic-oriented briefs.
Artificial Intelligence: Threats and Opportunities
This Working Group seeks to consolidate and establish actionable, cross-sector best practices and standards for AI safety products related to exploitation by terrorist and violent extremist (TVE) actors. Drawing from industry experience, the group will map TVE threats, identify effective mitigation strategies, and analyze overlaps in different companies’ approaches to develop best practices tailored to specific product types. This effort will be conducted in collaboration with government and civil society practitioners to incorporate diverse perspectives and ensure comprehensive, sector-wide impact.
Addressing Youth Radicalization and Mobilization
This Working Group is focussed on identifying the current trends in youth radicalization and mobilization, and identifying lessons learned from prevention and positive intervention strategies to address these dynamics. This group will aim to highlight best practices while connecting industry, practitioners, and experts to enhance cross-sector efforts. Through a series of structured multistakeholder dialogues, this group will map evolutions in both the threats and responses, considering in particular how terrorists and violent extremists have targeted younger audiences online.