A little thread on my experieces in the CVE/CT field @YVeilleuxLepage @Julie_C_Hwang @MuniraMustaffa (sorry for tagging only you three guys but I saw you talking about it so I thought I'd share my story too) (Thread) 1/

As someone with previous history in the Salafi movement in my youth (the Puristic ones, not the violent ones), I have access to a lot of interesting and unique material and networks that have benefited me greatly in my research and continue to do so till this day. /2

When I set out researching the topic of CVE in my old networks in 2015, I had no backing whatsoever, it basically started as a ’hobby project’ since I had the access and CVE was a big policy deal at the time (and still is). There was no funding other than my own pocket. /3

The research I made first centrered around how Salafis relate to their host societies (Sweden&Finland) and how they deal with the Takfiri/Jihadi currents who compete with them for resources and followers, and stories of former Jihadis who had defected to the Salafi side. 4/

I did and have researched these topics with fair success (still with little funding). However. When other researchers began to realize what type of material I had access to, the requests, sometimes very insistent, as we shall see, began coming in from various directions. 5/

I soon found myself under pressure to ’share’ my material & findings with other researchers, who in some cases began chasing me and not leaving me alone, calling me constantly (even at night) and trying to convince me how ’important’ it was that I share my findings with them. 6/

In one instance there was even a covert threat from a PhD student (let’s call her/him "X") that if I not share, X would dissimunate unfavourable views of my person among other reseachers (basically threatening to commit character assassination if I did not play along) 7/

Feeling cornered, I reluctantly agreed to share minor parts of my findings. Soon they appeared in a scientific paper with X’s name on it, presented as X’s own fieldwork and findings. X’s paper received acclaim and X was invited to respected venues to discuss the findings. 8/

X also received considerable funds as a result. I still had no real funding but still had to put my work salary into my work as I had no access to academic funding at the time (working outside academia). 9/

I have been asked by other researchers over the years to partake in reports and studies, with promises being made of both compensation and further opportunities. None of which were ever realized, of course. In some cases even to the contrary. I now mostly decline offers. 10/

But now I have a great and amazing boss in @AnneSpeckhard, she is really supportive and exactly what I needed. But hard-won previous experiences have made me appreciate the toxicity of this field. All while real policy issues go neglected. End/