Dr. Marc-André Argentino

Dr. Marc-André Argentino

@maargentino.com

Counterterrorism | National Security | Child Safety | www.maargentino.com | 🇨🇦 Facta Non Verba My Books: QAnon: From Conspiracy Theory to New Religious Movement Contemporary Far-Right Culture

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Dr. Marc-André Argentino
@maargentino.com

In our latest article we examine 764 and the wider Com Network as a case study in remotely coerced violence and the hybridization of contemporary terrorist and violent extremist threats drawing on an arrest dataset of 295 offenders across 33 countries. ctc.westpoint.edu/remotely-coe...

ctc.westpoint.eduRemotely Coerced Violence: 764, The Com Network, and the Hybridization of Threats - Combating Terrorism Center at West PointAbstract: This article examines 764 and the wider Com Network as a case study in remotely coerced violence and the hybridization of contemporary terrorist and violent extremist threats. It argues that...

Dr. Marc-André Argentino reposted

kate conger
@kateconger.com

Over six months, we tracked the appearance of child sexual abuse material on X. We found images from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's database, which is considered one of the most highly vetted and which many tech companies block on upload. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/11/t...

nytimes.comElon Musk Has Pledged to Rid His Platform, X, of Child Sexual Abuse, but It PersistsReviews by the Canadian Center for Child Protection and The New York Times found that explicit images of children remain on the social media site owned by Elon Musk.

Dr. Marc-André Argentino reposted

Bjørn Ihler
@bjornih.bsky.social

Yesterday afternoon, a sword attack at a school in Fagersta, Sweden, killed one person and seriously injured two teenagers. Our thoughts are with the bereaved, the survivors, and the affected community. We began structured collection within hours. Observations at the 24h mark 🧵

Dr. Marc-André Argentino
@maargentino.com

You’ll come down from the lurch with an unpleasant hump and chances are, then, that you’ll be in a slump. And when you’re in a slump, you’re not much into fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

Dr. Marc-André Argentino
@maargentino.com

Meta conducted a secretive program that directed hundreds of contractors to pose as teenagers while bombarding its competitors’ AI models with disturbing prompts ranging from suicide to cannibalism futurism.com/artificial-i...

futurism.comMeta Operated a Secret Program That Paid Hundreds of Contractors to Pretend to Be Children and Teenagers While Having Disturbing Conversations With AIMeta hired hundreds of contractors to pose as children and teenagers while asking chatbots like ChatGPT about suicide and even cannibalism.

Dr. Marc-André Argentino reposted

Spencer Sunshine
@transform6789.bsky.social

perpetrator of a 2024 Terrorgram-inspired stabbing attack at a mosque in Eskişehir, Turkey commits suicide in prison turkishminute.com/2026/06/30/m...

turkishminute.comMan sentenced to 75 years over livestreamed stabbing attack dies by suicide in Turkish prison - Turkish MinuteA 20-year-old man who was sentenced to over 75 years in prison for stabbing five people in a livestreamed attack in Turkey’s central Eskişehir province in 2024 has died by suicide in prison, the DHA n...
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Dr. Marc-André Argentino
@maargentino.com

We introduce a four-role typology to disaggregate the umbrella: leaders and senior coercive operators, influencers and propagandists, groomers and extorters, and directed followers. The roles are fluid, individuals move between them, and perpetrators and victims are frequently the same person.

Dr. Marc-André Argentino
@maargentino.com

The article works through case studies across the United States, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Sweden, including Bradley Cadenhead, who founded 764, and the Swedish cells where a leader of No Lives Matter remotely coerced minors into live streamed stabbings.

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Dr. Marc-André Argentino
@maargentino.com

We built an arrest dataset of 295 Com Network-linked offenders across 33 countries (2020 to 2026) [actually with my recent updates I am up to 324 arrests]. Those cases account for at least 5,375 individuals and entities victimised or targeted with violence

Dr. Marc-André Argentino
@maargentino.com

The median offender age at arrest is 19, and the median victim age is 13. Offenders are disproportionately male (19:1 where gender is known). The age picture almost certainly skews younger than reality, but data is lacking due to cases being sealed or countries not having public records available

Dr. Marc-André Argentino
@maargentino.com

A 25-year-old co-suspect was arrested as part of the criminal investigation into 23-year-old Mert A. who is suspected of possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material, and is also alleged to have coerced young girls into filming themselves self-harming. nltimes.nl/2026/06/29/m...

nltimes.nlMaastricht man arrested as co-suspect in major child sex abuse material caseA 25-year-old co-suspect was arrested in Maastricht on Monday morning as part of the criminal investigation into 23-year-old Mert A. from Hoofddorp. A. is suspected of possessing and distributing chil...
Dr. Marc-André Argentino
@maargentino.com

A 14-year-old who was making plans to carry out a school shooting in Saskatoon will be under a terrorism peace bond for the next year. Content on the girl's TikTok account was flagged to the federal RCMP on Feb. 10, the same day as a mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

cbc.caTerrorism peace bond imposed on youth who planned school violence in Saskatoon | CBC NewsA 14-year-old who was making plans to carry out a school shooting in Saskatoon will be under a terrorism peace bond for the next year.
Dr. Marc-André Argentino
@maargentino.com

A 13-year-old Maryborough boy charged with violent extremist offences has been denied bail.nQueensland police say the boy had documents on his devices that could be an "attack plan" on a school, and a manifesto expressing hatred towards children www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06...

abc.net.auBail denied for 13-year-old boy charged with violent extremist offencesPolice allege a Queensland teenager had written a manifesto expressing hatred towards children.

Dr. Marc-André Argentino reposted

Jared Holt
@jaredlholt.bsky.social

Our findings suggest Telegram has made genuine efforts to identify and remove illegal content, but that it may not be winning that battle. Despite taking down millions of channels and groups, cybercriminal activity remains a major threat on the platform. Bad actors are rejoining and adapting tactics

Open Measures@openmeasures.io

Telegram has removed millions of channels and groups in its attempts to address illegal activity taking place on its app. But despite those efforts, the issue persists. Our latest looks at how cybercriminals have adapted to the company's policy changes and takedowns openmeasures.io/telegram-cra...

openmeasures.ioCybercriminals Are Evading Telegram Crackdowns in 'Patriot Party' and Crypto-themed Channels - Open MeasuresOpen Measures builds accessible and transparent products to contextualize the spread of harmful online information that impacts public discourse and global events.
Dr. Marc-André Argentino
@maargentino.com

My current book rotation for the next few weeks.... Some light summer reading/re-reading 1) violent extremism a handbook on risk assessment and management 2) autism awareness and crime 3) handbook of online deviance 4) international handbook of threat assessment

Dr. Marc-André Argentino reposted

Bjørn Ihler
@bjornih.bsky.social

A trial begins Monday at Umeå tingsrätt against an 18-year-old charged in connection with the online network 764. The indictment runs to 77 counts. We've published a short working guide for journalists, editors, and producers covering cases like this: revontulet.co/insights/vpx...

revontulet.coReporting on M/NVE without amplifying it — RevontuletThere have now been enough M/NVE-linked prosecutions across enough jurisdictions that working journalists will encounter these cases regularly. The most consequential challenge in covering them is tha...

Dr. Marc-André Argentino reposted

hannah gais
@hannahgais.bsky.social

In February, a man drove cross-country with a cache of weapons to a major Nevada-area power plant. His apparent attack failed, and he killed himself. He had literature popular with neo-Nazis, and his target had circulated in guides in the movement. Latest at SPLC: www.splcenter.org/resources/ha...

splcenter.orgNeo-Nazi activists continue to inspire attacks on electrical infrastructureRecent incident follows more than a decade of attempted or successful attacks on critical infrastructure appearing to involve right-wing extremism.

Dr. Marc-André Argentino reposted

Lizzie Dearden
@lizziedearden.bsky.social

A new far-right terror attack in the UK has been confirmed in court. Alina Burns, then 18, tried to behead an Iranian refugee who was standing outside a barber's shop in Bristol with an axe The attack took place on 2 August 2025 but a judge did not rule on 'terrorism connection' until today

Dr. Marc-André Argentino
@maargentino.com

With the nationwide raids on the morning of May 6, Germany's top prosecutors cracked down on organized far-right networks: 600 police officers searched a number of apartments across twelve German states, targeting 36 suspects. No arrests have been made. www.dw.com/en/germany-c...

dw.comGermany cracks down on neo-Nazi networksPolice and prosecutors have launched a nationwide crackdown on young right-wing extremists. They are alleged to have formed criminal organizations and attacked members of the left-wing scene.