Fenwick McKelvey argues that the way we frame social problems, such as online extremism, shapes how we respond to them. The impulse to combat extremism through flawed content moderation strategies reflects a tendency to treat extremism as primarily a content problem. But in order to tackle online extremism, we must first understand and address how it is intertwined with the deep roots of bigotry and hate in our history and social structures.
Fenwick McKelvey
Fenwick McKelvey is an associate professor in information and communication technology policy in the Department of Communication Studies at Concordia University. He studies digital politics and policy, appearing frequently as an expert commentator in the media and intervening in media regulatory hearings. He is the author of Internet Daemons: Digital Communications Possessed (University of Minnesota Press, 2018), winner of the 2019 Gertrude J. Robinson Book Award. He is coauthor of The Permanent Campaign: New Media, New Politics (Peter Lang, 2012) with Greg Elmer and Ganaele Langlois. His research has been published in journals including New Media and Society, the International Journal of Communication, public outlets such as the Conversation and Policy Options, and been reported by the Globe and Mail, CBC The Weekly and CBC The National. He is also a member of the educational review committee of the Walrus magazine.