Hemphill: Teach machines to find white nationalist content

UMSI Associate Professor Libby Hemphill was interviewed in an MLive article about her research into using machine learning technology to moderate hate speech and help social media companies adapt to changes in how white supremacists spread their views on digital platforms. 

We know that white supremacists and other types of extremists use social media to talk to each other, to recruit, to try to get their message to go mainstream. The challenge has been that the platforms haven’t really stepped up to fight hate on their platforms.

Through a partnership with the Anti-Defamation League, Hemphill is developing an algorithm that will be able to distinguish white supremacist and extremist speech amongst the typical conversations people are having on social media. 

We can’t do content moderation without some machine assistance. There’s just too much content.

Read the full article on MLive. 

Connect with more of Hemphill’s research on extremism and social media: 

• Podcast: Libby Hemphill discusses the role and responsibility of social media in DC insurgence
• Libby Hemphill on extremism and social media