Harmful Information Analyst

The Harmful Information Analyst will detect and analyse harmful information across digital platforms to support the ICRC's efforts in mitigating risks to humanitarian action. The role involves social media analysis, OSINT, and risk analysis to provide timely insights and strategic recommendations to internal stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Leads efforts to detect and analyse harmful information directed against the ICRC and related to global issues and priority contexts across digital platforms: Tracks and analyses harmful information trends, patterns, sources, and methods used in harmful information campaigns and potential impacts.
• Produces flash alerts, crisis briefs, narrative assessments, network maps, monitoring summaries, analytical deep dives, and strategic recommendations for internal stakeholders.
• Supports the delegations for deeper and/or complementary analysis within short response timeframes.
• Identifies sources of harmful information for the ICRC, and verifies the authenticity.
• Provides in-depth insights to understand social media behaviour and how harmful content originates and gains traction.
• Creates timely, actionable, and engaging reports tailored to internal stakeholders with recommendations based on data trends, helping decision-makers understand emerging threats and areas requiring attention.
• Engages with other teams to address harmful information through a cross-functional approach.
• Documents findings to systematize knowledge and contributes to quarterly reporting by adding insights on dynamics, actors, and drivers of harmful information campaigns.
• Works with data scientists and analysts to leverage machine learning and AI in interpreting large datasets, support network and trend analysis and study possible coordinated behaviour, deepfakes and other AI-generated or modified content related to harmful information.
• Advises and coaches environmental scanning practitioners, in collaboration with the relevant colleagues.
• Evaluates and recommends OSINT tools, methodologies, and practices to improve efficiency of data-gathering and analysis.
• Stays updated on policy developments, publications related to harmful information, technological advancements and incorporates them into workflows.

Requirements

• 5+ years’ experience in social media analysis, OSINT, investigative journalism, information integrity, threat analysis, conflict analysis or related field.
• Strong interest in and deep understanding of the social, geopolitical, technological, and conflict-related factors that drive the spread of harmful information.
• Master’s degree in journalism, communications, political science, international relations, data science, sociology, law or related field (desirable).
• Expertise in advanced OSINT methods, including geolocation, metadata mining, link analysis, scraping, deep web search, and investigation of coordinated online behaviour (desirable).
• Experience developing and custom implementation of legal open-source tools, scraping, metadata mining and link analysis (desirable).
• Experience with social media monitoring tools such as Sprinklr, Brandwatch or Meltwater (desirable).
• Experience with network analysis, actor mapping, coordinated behaviour detection or bot-like activity analysis (desirable).
• Experience in coding or data analysis tools, including R, Python, SQL, Gephi, Maltego, or similar tools (desirable).
• Experience working in humanitarian, international organization, conflict, security, media development, or crisis-response environments (desirable).
• Multilingual capabilities for identifying harmful information trends in global markets: working knowledge of French, Arabic, Spanish, or Russian is an asset (desirable).
• Demonstrated experience leading and coordinating complex tasks across multidisciplinary and global teams (desirable).
• Experience with social media monitoring tools and harmful information research platforms.
• Experience designing and refining complex search queries, Boolean strings, dashboards, tagging taxonomies, and monitoring workflows across social and digital platforms.
• Strong practical experience with open-source research techniques, including advanced search, source assessment, content verification, and platform-based investigation.
• Hands-on experience with image, video, and social media verification tools.
• AI literacy - understanding of the role of generative AI in harmful information environments, including synthetic media, AI-assisted influence operations, automated content production, and the limits of AI detection tools.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English with the ability to translate complex findings into strategic insights for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Strong understanding of legal and ethical guidelines in data collection and analysis, including privacy and data protection considerations.
• Sound judgement in assessing not only in verification of content, but whether it may create risks for affected people, staff, partners, and humanitarian action.
• An innate desire for investigations.
• Proactive problem-solving approach and attention to detail.
• Ability to analyse and synthesise vast amounts of information and identify key insights.
• Ability to work under time pressure, handle sensitive or distressing content responsibly, and maintain analytical objectivity in politically charged environments.
• Strong team player, capable of collaborating effectively across different time zones, disciplines and backgrounds.

Skills

• Social Media Metrics Analysis
• Open-Source Intelligence Research
• Investigative Journalism
• Information Integrity
• Threat Analysis
• Conflict Analysis
• Advanced OSINT Methods
• Geolocation
• Metadata Mining
• Link Analysis
• Scraping
• Deep Web Search
• Coordinated Online Behaviour Investigation
• Social Media Monitoring
• Sprinklr
• Brandwatch
• Meltwater
• Network Analysis
• Actor Mapping
• Coordinated Behaviour Detection
• Bot Activity Analysis
• Coding
• Data Analysis
• Python
• SQL
• Gephi
• Maltego
• Search Query Design
• Boolean Strings
• Dashboard Design
• Tagging Taxonomies
• Monitoring Workflows
• Open Source Research Techniques
• Content Verification
• Image Verification
• Video Verification
• Social Media Verification
• AI Literacy
• Generative AI Understanding
• Legal and Ethical Data Analysis
• Privacy and Data Protection
• Risk Assessment
• Analytical Objectivity
• Multidisciplinary Team Collaboration

Languages

English