Vidhya Ramalingam
Vidhya Ramalingam is an American counter-extremism specialist and technology executive.[1][2] She is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Moonshot, a company that uses data analytics and digital campaigns to address online harms.[3][4] Her work has focused particularly on white nationalist extremism and the use of online interventions to prevent violence.[2]
Early life and education
[edit]Ramalingam is the daughter of Indian immigrants and grew up in North America.[5][6] She studied Anthropology and Inequality Studies at Cornell University and later completed an MPhil in Migration Studies at the University of Oxford.[7]
Career
[edit]Ramalingam's early work concerned migration, integration and far-right political movements.[8] She worked at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, where she led its programme on far-right extremism and intolerance, and later worked as a senior research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research.[9]
As an anthropologist, Ramalingam conducted ethnographic research with white nationalist movements in Sweden.[10] Her research included a study of the Sweden Democrats and the effect of social stigma on the party's political development.[11][2] Following the 2011 Norway attacks, she led a European intergovernmental initiative on far-right terrorism and extremism, working with practitioners and government officials across ten countries between 2012 and 2014.[2][9]
In 2015, Ramalingam co-founded Moonshot with Ross Frenett.[3][12] The company was founded in London and initially focused on countering violent extremism and terrorism.[13] It subsequently applied its methods to other online harms, including vaccine disinformation, human trafficking and gang violence.[14]
Public policy
[edit]Ramalingam has testified before United States congressional committees[4][12]and other legislative bodies[15] on the threat posed by white nationalist and ideologically motivated extremism. She has written and spoken publicly on countering far-right extremism, including on the challenges of researching such movements as a woman of colour.[16][17]
References
[edit]- ↑ Oubrier, Jean-Baptiste (13 October 2019). "The high-tech start-up tackling online extremism". Agence France-Presse. Retrieved 29 July 2026 – via Tech Xplore.
- 1 2 3 4 Cruickshank, Paul (May 2019). "A View from the CT Foxhole: Vidhya Ramalingam, Co-Founder, Moonshot CVE". CTC Sentinel. 12 (5). Retrieved 29 July 2026.
- 1 2 Heyman, Taylor (26 June 2019). "Moonshot CVE: The company using adverts to counter extremism". The National. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
- 1 2 "Helping Veterans Thrive: The Importance of Peer Support in Preventing Domestic Violent Extremism". United States House of Representatives. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
- ↑ Jha, Ritu. "She wants to raise Rs 20 crore to save refugees". Rediff. Retrieved 2026-07-30.
- ↑ Fry, Erika. "How Google Deals With Terrorists Using Its Search Engine". Fortune. Retrieved 2026-07-30.
- ↑ Ramalingam, Vidhya (2014). On the Front Line: A Guide to Countering Far-Right Extremism (PDF) (Report). Institute for Strategic Dialogue. pp. 75–76. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
- ↑ Foundation, Obama. "Democracy in Action: Two Obama Leaders are Working Together to Combat Violent Extremism". Obama Foundation. Retrieved 2026-07-30.
- 1 2 "Biography of Vidhya Ramalingam" (PDF). United States House of Representatives. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
- ↑ Elis, Niv (2021-02-23). "A Moonshot against extremism". The Hill. Retrieved 2026-07-30.
- ↑ Ramalingam, Vidhya (1 January 2012). "The Sweden Democrats: Anti-Immigration Politics under the Stigma of Racism". Centre on Migration, Policy and Society, University of Oxford. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
- 1 2 Ramalingam, Vidhya (30 April 2019). "Testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs: Examining the Global Terrorism Landscape" (PDF). United States House of Representatives. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
- ↑ "If you Google 'how to join ISIS,' this startup will try to change your mind". NBC News. 2018-03-28. Retrieved 2026-07-30.
- ↑ Townsend, Mark (21 July 2019). "Anti-extremism software to be used to tackle vaccine disinformation". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
- ↑ "Evidence of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security". House of Commons of Canada. 10 May 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
- ↑ "Vidhya Ramalingam". TED. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
- ↑ Ramalingam, Vidhya (2021). Overcoming Racialization in the Field. Practicing Ethnography on the Far Right as Researcher of Color. Routledge. pp. 254–69. ISBN 9781138219342.