Download this week’s episode on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify or via RSS feed, and watch the video version on Police1’s YouTube channel.
Online threats amplified by AI — from doxxing and deepfakes to coordinated influence operations — are collapsing the time between rumor and real-world risk. Expect pressure points across campuses and big cities, immigration enforcement and politically charged events, with protests only one piece of the picture. For police leaders, the task is to detect signals sooner, verify and communicate faster, and protect officers and targets while safeguarding First Amendment rights.
On this week’s Policing Matters podcast, host Jim Dudley speaks with Alex Goldenberg, director of intelligence at Narravance, senior adviser to the Network Contagion Research Institute and a fellow at Rutgers University. He investigates online extremism, foreign influence and child safety threats, advises lawmakers and practitioners, and helps platforms and nonprofits remove threat actors at scale. His work translates narrative and behavioral intelligence into practical steps for protest preparedness and officer safety.
Key takeaways from this episode
- Speed is the risk factor: The lag between online agitation and street action is shrinking. Stand up or task a small team to monitor social platforms ahead of high-visibility dates, campus events and enforcement operations, and brief command on likely flash points.
- Treat mis- and disinformation as an operational threat: Have an agile comms plan that can publish verified facts within minutes, not days. Pre-clear spokespeople, hold statements and graphic assets for rapid release across agency channels.
- Expect coordinated inauthentic activity: Bots and LLM-generated personas can inflate narratives and target agencies or officers. Use basic bot-detection cues, archive posts for evidence and focus resources on posts that include dates, locations or calls for action.
- Protect officers from doxxing and targeted harassment: Audit digital footprints for executives and line personnel involved in controversial operations. Provide guidance on privacy settings, remove exposed PII where possible and route credible threats for criminal follow-up.
- Intelligence-to-operations handoff matters: Push a concise “digital threat picture” to field supervisors before deployments: likely organizers and tactics, expected turnout, critical infrastructure at risk, counterprotest indicators and de-escalation considerations. Align this with arrest policies and evidence capture plans.
About our guest
Alex Goldenberg is the Director of Intelligence at Narravance, specializing in online extremism and the intersection of technology and harmful behavior. He holds a master’s degree from New York University and is a fellow at Rutgers University, as well as an affiliate of the NYU Institute for the Study of Emerging Threats. His research has been featured in NBC News, The Atlantic, The Brookings Institution, NPR, Forbes, Vice News, and other prominent media outlets. Connect with Alex on LinkedIn.
Read more analysis from Alex Goldenberg on Police1
- New report links viral anti-ICE campaigns to surge in attacks on officers
- Modern terrorism tactics: The threat of vehicle-based attacks
- Discussion, not diversion: A police leader’s guide to combatting the proliferation of ‘whataboutism’
About our sponsor
This episode of the Policing Matters podcast is sponsored by OfficerStore. Learn more about getting the gear you need at prices you can afford by visiting OfficerStore.com.
Rate and review the Policing Matters podcast
Enjoying the show? Please take a moment to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. Contact the Policing Matters team at policingmatters@police1.com to share ideas, suggestions and feedback.
