Subdued but Unbroken: The Cohesion of Far-Right Extremist Followers After Twitter’s Deplatforming

This dataset captures the digital activity of Twitter users who follow or are affiliated with the far-right extremist group known as the Proud Boys, before and after a major platform intervention—Twitter’s deplatforming of the group on August 10, 2018. It includes weekly aggregated measures across three key dimensions of group behavior and cohesion: task commitment, social commitment, and sense of belonging. Task commitment is measured through the frequency and proportion of relevant hashtags, URLs, and ideological narratives shared by users, indicating their engagement in goal-oriented communication. Social commitment is assessed via the network density of co-shared hashtags, URLs, and retweets, capturing the degree of interaction and cohesion within the group’s broader network. Sense of belonging is reflected in the frequency and proportion of identity-related language that signals affiliation, solidarity, or attachment to the group. All variables are aggregated at the weekly level and aligned to a consistent temporal index, allowing for time series analysis centered on the deplatforming event. The structure of the dataset supports Interrupted Time Series (ITS) models aimed at estimating behavioral shifts in response to the policy intervention.