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Network Contagion Research Institute

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Network Contagion Research Institute
AbbreviationNCRI
Formation2018; 8 years ago (2018)
FounderJoel Finkelstein
TypeNonprofit organization
Tax ID no. 82-3649399 (EIN)[1]
Legal status501(c)(3)
HeadquartersPrinceton, New Jersey, U.S.
AffiliationsRutgers University
University of Maryland
Revenue$3.8 million[2] (2024)
Expenses$4.1 million[2] (2024)
Websitenetworkcontagion.us Edit this at Wikidata

The Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) is an American advocacy organization that produces reports on violent extremism, disinformation, and misinformation on social media platforms and the threat they pose to the United States.[3][4]

History

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In 2018, Joel Finkelstein founded NCRI with the aim of monitoring and analyzing hate and extremism online.[5] Finkelstein had been a researcher at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).[6][7] Following the institute's establishment, Finkelstein collaborated with John Farmer Jr., former Attorney General of New Jersey and director of Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute of Politics and the Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience. Farmer, who had previously served as lead counsel to the 9/11 Commission, subsequently joined the institute's leadership.[5]

In 2019, NCRI and the ADL announced a partnership focused on combating extremism and hate on social media platforms.[8] In 2020, NCRI established a "partnership" with the conservative Charles Koch Foundation.[9]

Activities

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NCRI's publications include reports on QAnon supporters,[10] militia/boogaloo movements,[5][11] antisemitism,[12] racial supremacism, and other topics related to xenophobia.[13][14] Other research areas include the study and prevention of sextortion,[15] and child sexual abuse.[16] In 2024, NCRI produced a report claiming that DEI programs increased workplace hostility and racial bias.[17]

NCRI has published reports on the dissemination of disinformation from state actors, including Iran,[18] Russia,[19] and China.[20][21]

Anarcho-socialist networks

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In a 2020 report, Network-Enabled Anarchy: How Militant Anarcho-Socialist Networks Use Social Media to Instigate Widespread Violence Against Political Opponents and Law Enforcement,[22] NCRI claimed that the left-wing and right-wing extremist used parallel tactics and messaging.[23] NCRI acknowledged that far-left groups have caused far less violence in the United States than far-right groups.[24] However, NCRI argues that "anacho-socialist [sic] extremists" and "antifa" shared common themes & tactics with far-right "Boogaloo", and "Jihadi extremism": "Apocalyptic beliefs", an "organized militia", "martyr narratives", and "lone wolf terror attacks".[22] In 2020, media scholar Jack Bratich criticized NCRI for labelling dissenters as violent threats.[25]

NCRI also claimed that "violent anarcho-socialist networks played an active online role in preparing for and coordinating real world riots nation-wide".[22] In 2021, Matthew Lyons of anti-fascist project Three Way Fight criticized NCRI blaming the riots after the George Floyd protests on "anarcho-syndicalist extremists" who "mobilize[d] lawlessness and violence" and labelled NCRI a "mouthpiece for the state security apparatus".[26]

Democratic Socialists of America

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In 2026, NCRI wrote that the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) "acts as an unregistered foreign agent inside the United States" and "coordinates with hostile foreign states" to foment "domestic unrest".[27] NCRI suggested that DSA should be investigated for "compliance" under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.[28] As proof, NCRI said that groups of DSA members have visited Venezuela, Cuba, or China "six" times in the past 6 years, including "self-organized" visits.[29] DSA has 100,000 members.[30]

On February 10, 2026, the House Ways and Means Committee invited NCRI to testify at a hearing titled "Unmasking Threats from Beijing and Beyond" about "foreign influence" in American nonprofits.[31][32] NCRI founder Adam Sohn wrote that: "DSA chapters play a central organizing role in nationwide anti-ICE protests." Sohn said that DSA is an "increasingly consequential threat vector", because it supports "foreign-aligned narratives" and "undermine[s] public legitimacy for core state functions".[33][34] Ken Klippenstein labelled this a "McCarthyite campaign against DSA".[35]

Funding

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Jack Poulson of the Disruption Network Institute describes NCRI as part of a network of pro-Israel, "anti-BDS advocacy and lawfare organizations".[36]

In 2020, NCRI funders included the liberal Open Society Foundations of George Soros and the conservative Charles Koch Foundation.[24]

In 2021, NCRI was paid $335,000 by the anti-BDS Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC), which conducts self-described "psychological warfare" on pro-BDS students using Blend AI.[36] ICC provides information about pro-Palestinian students to the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs.[37]

In 2022, Israeli businessman Eran Teboul stated that his anti-BDS organization Hetz for Israel has privately raised funds for NCRI.[36] NCRI founder Joel Finkelstein is a director of Hetz.[36]

In 2023, the Ruderman Family Foundation paid NCRI to conduct a study about anti-Semitism on Twitter. NCRI's report found "that anti-Zionist campaigns and narratives on Twitter are largely antisemitic".[38] RFF, which is based in the US and in Israel, works to "solidify the relationship of the State of Israel with American Jewry".[38]

In 2026, Joel Finkelstein said that all NCRI donors are "U.S. citizens".[35]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Andrea Suozzo; Alec Glassford; Ash Ngu; Brandon Roberts (9 May 2013). "Network Contagion Research Institute - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b Andrea Suozzo; Alec Glassford; Ash Ngu; Brandon Roberts (9 May 2013). "Network Contagion Research Institute - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  3. ^ Johnson, Scott P. (2020). Political Assassins, Terrorists and Related Conspiracies in American History. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1-4766-4203-1.
  4. ^ Spinney, Laura (2022) [23 July 2022]. "Going viral". New Scientist. Vol. 255, no. 3396. p. 43. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(22)01312-4.
  5. ^ a b c Joung, Nina (2021). "How these researchers track viral outbreaks of online hate that lead to violence". PBS (published 16 March 2021). Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  6. ^ Abunimah, Ali (28 January 2024). "What's behind Washington Post hit piece on EI?". The Electronic Intifada. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  7. ^ MacLeod, Alan (20 February 2024). "NCRI Exposed: Israel Lobby-Linked Group Tied to Illegal Settlements and Campus Censorship". TheAltWorld. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  8. ^ "ADL Partners with Network Contagion Research Institute to Study How Hate and Extremism Spread on Social Media". Network Contagion Research Institute. 13 March 2019. Archived from the original on 16 July 2024.
  9. ^ "About the Network Contagion Research Institute". Network Contagion Research Institute. 2020. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Affiliations [....] Charles Koch Foundation [....] The diverse collection of supporters may disagree on the ways to address intolerance but all are committed to finding solutions and having those solutions rooted in science.
  10. ^ "How to respond to the QAnon threat". Brookings. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  11. ^ Thomson-DeVeaux, Amelia (4 September 2020). "How Trump And COVID-19 Have Reshaped The Modern Militia Movement". FiveThirtyEight. Archived from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  12. ^ Menn, Joseph (3 December 2022). "Surging Twitter antisemitism unites fringe, encourages violence, officials say". The Washington Post.
  13. ^ "Rutgers Report Finds Increase in Anti-Hindu Disinformation". New Brunswick, NJ Patch. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  14. ^ "TikTok Shows Less 'Anti-China' Content Than Rivals, Study Finds". Bloomberg.com. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Sextortion warning: In 6 hours, my son was dead". www.bbc.com. 9 June 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  16. ^ "Network Contagion Research Institute to host virtual panel on risks of financial sextortion". Police1. 14 April 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  17. ^ Zaki, Adam. "Study suggests DEI may escalate workplace hostility and racial bias". CFO.com. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  18. ^ Bennett, Brian (7 June 2021). "Exclusive: Iran Steps up Efforts to Sow Discord Inside the U.S." TIME. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  19. ^ Vanian, Jonathan. "Russian disinformation campaigns are trying to sow distrust of COVID vaccines, study finds". Fortune. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  20. ^ Myrow, Rachael (8 August 2024). "TikTok Stacking Algorithms in Chinese Government's Favor, Study Claims | KQED". www.kqed.org. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  21. ^ Margolin, Josh (3 June 2026). "Report finds China-tied entities seeking to hide Beijing's connection to US higher-ed research funding". ABC News. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  22. ^ a b c Finkelstein, Joel; Goldenberg, Alex; Stevens, Sean; Jussim, Lee; Farmer, John; Donohue, John; Paresky, Pamela. Network-Enabled Anarchy: How Militant Anarcho-Socialist Networks Use Social Media to Instigate Widespread Violence Against Political Opponents and Law Enforcement (Report). Network Contagion Research Institute. Archived from the original on 20 April 2026.
  23. ^ Kaur, Harmeet (16 September 2020). "Tactics employed by right-wing extremist groups are now being used by extremists on the left, report finds". CNN. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
  24. ^ a b Timberg, Craig; Stanley-Becker, Isaac (14 September 2020). "Violent memes and messages surging on far-left social media, a new report finds". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
  25. ^ Bratich, Jack (11 November 2020). "Observation in a Surveilled World". In Cannella, Gaile S.; Giardina, Michael D.; Denzin, Norman K.; Lincoln, Yvonna S. (eds.). The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research. SAGE Publications. p. 344. ISBN 978-1-4766-4203-1. This kind of "mapping" neatly aligns with colonial and military ways of seeing. Now, such social network analyses are employed against domestic dissenters deemed to be threats (see the well-funded The Network Contagion Research Institute with its academic shelter at Rutgers University's Center for Critical Intelligence Studies and Miller Center for Community Protection and Resilience).
  26. ^ Lyons, Matthew (9 May 2021). "Network Contagion Research Institute: helping the state fight political infection left and right". PM Press.
  27. ^ Network Contagion Research Institute [@ncri_io] (9 February 2026). "NCRI assesses that the Democratic Socialists of America acts as an unregistered foreign agent inside the United States" (Tweet) – via X (formerly Twitter). We assess that DSA coordinates with hostile foreign states through delegations and joint activity, receives undisclosed material support such as in-kind benefits and luxury travel, and fails to report this support on required tax filings. We further assess that DSA imports the narratives and tactics developed abroad into the United States and deploys them to drive protests against ICE, law enforcement, and other domestic institutions, creating a direct pipeline from foreign coordination to domestic unrest
  28. ^ Fortgang, Tal; Smith, Stu (17 March 2026). "What the Pro-Iran Protests Reveal About Foreign Influence". City Journal. Archived from the original on 17 March 2026. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  29. ^ "Democratic Socialists of America: Policy, Advocacy and Narrative Convergence with Hostile Foreign States". Network Contagion Research Institute. 21 January 2026.
  30. ^ Duhalde, David (9 February 2026). ""Movement Parties" and Democratic Socialists of America". Jacobin. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  31. ^ "Far-left group with foreign ties undermining US under guise of protest, report warns". Fox News. 8 February 2026. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
  32. ^ "Report recommends investigation of Democratic Socialists of America for possible foreign agent activity". Jewish Insider. 9 February 2026. Retrieved 10 February 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  33. ^ Sohn, Adam (10 February 2026). Hearing on Foreign Influence in American Nonprofits: Written Testimony (PDF) (Report). United States House Committee on Ways and Means. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  34. ^ Ways and Means Committee Republicans (10 February 2026). Full Committee Hearing on Foreign Influence in American Non-profits. YouTube. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  35. ^ a b Klippenstein, Ken (10 February 2026). "New McCarthyite Campaign Against Mamdani and DSA". Ken Klippenstein (Substack). Archived from the original on 30 March 2026. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  36. ^ a b c d Poulson, Jack (28 November 2024). "Towards a Public Database for Investigating Western Special Operations" (PDF). Disruption Network Institute (published 28 November 2024). Corporate records and tax filings similarly demonstrate that ICC paid the Rutgers-affiliated Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) $335,000 in 2021 and that NCRI founder Joel Finkelstein is a director of a secretive Israeli anti-BDS organization named Hetz for Israel alongside the founder of Voices of Israel, Brig. Gen. (res.) Sima Vaknin-Gill, who was also previously the Israeli military's chief censor.
  37. ^ Bamford, James (17 November 2023). "Israel's War on American Student Activists". The Nation.
  38. ^ a b Sharfman, Jake (13 July 2023). "Landmark Study Reveals the Real-World Impact of Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism on Twitter". Ruderman Family Foundation. Archived from the original on 16 July 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
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