'Second wave de-liberalisation' and understanding the causes and consequences of Brexit's implications for policing

Britain’s historic referendum decision to leave the European Union can be understood as part of a broader pattern of profound social transformation. This phenomenon, which we call ‘second wave deliberalisation’, is geared towards the rejection of liberal ethics and inclinations in favour of other norms and values. We are entering a historical moment where issues of culture and identity are reasserting themselves as engines of history, after a period where economic logics have been the pre‐eminent influence upon geo‐political patterns of development. Even though crime and security were not key considerations in the UK’s referendum campaign, it is, nevertheless, the role of the police to manage some of the causes and consequences of such disruptive social changes, whist maintaining fealty to the traditions of the UK model of policing by consent. This paper explores what Brexit may portend for policing and security by examining the political, economic and social implications of the vote. In doing so, we establish that Brexit is ultimately a symptom of wider and deeper trends feeding into the emergent ‘post‐factual politics’

Disinformation and digital influencing after terrorism: spoofing, truthing and social proofing

This article explores how digital communications platforms are used in the aftermath of terrorist attacks to amplify or constrain the wider social impacts and consequences of politically motivated violence. Informed by empirical data collected by monitoring social media platforms following four terrorist attacks in the UK in 2017, the analysis focusses on the role of ‘soft facts’ (rumours/conspiracy theories/fake news/propaganda) in influencing public understandings and definitions of the situation. Specifically, it identifies three digital influence engineering techniques – spoofing, truthing and social proofing – that are associated with the communication of misinformation and disinformation. After configuring these concepts, the authors consider their implications for policy and practice development, concluding that, to date, possibilities for evidence-informed post-event preventative interventions have been relatively neglected in the formulation of counter-terrorism strategies. They recommend more attention be paid to how strategic communications interventions can counteract the effects of misinformation and disinformation, and thus mitigate the wider public harms induced by terror events