Research Talk: Using Data Science to Understand Online Hate with Megan Squire

The Center for Computational & Data Science (CCDS) at the Syracuse University iSchool present a Virtual Research Talk with Dr. Megan Squire.

Mean people with bad ideas: Using data science to understand online hate

Data science is a systematic process for applying techniques from statistics, data mining, and machine learning to solve complex problems. In this talk, Dr. Megan Squire will explain how she uses data science to understand complex socio-technical phenomena such as extremist group membership and the spread of dangerous propaganda. Dr. Squire‘s work understanding online radicalization and measuring extremism on social media has been featured in numerous media publications including the BBC, NPR, The New York Times, and CNN.

Biography

Dr. Megan Squire is a professor of Computer Science at Elon University (North Carolina, USA). Her main research area is applying data science techniques to understand niche and extremist online communities, particularly radical right-wing groups on social media. Dr. Squire is the author of two books on data cleaning and data mining, and over 40 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, including several Best Paper awards. In 2017, she was named the Elon University Distinguished Scholar. She currently serves as a Senior Fellow for data analytics at the Southern Poverty Law Center, and as a Belfer Fellow for the ADL.