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ISIS and Innovative Propaganda: Confronting Extremism in the Digital

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ISIS and Innovative Propaganda Confronting Extremism in the Digital Age Dylan Gerstel In the wake of the horrific Paris terror rent digital environment, rather than recy- attacks in November President Obama de- cle counter-messaging tactics of the past. clared, “ISIS is the face of evil [and] our goal is to... destroy this barbaric organiza- There are several challenges to devel- tion.” (White House, 2015) Global leaders oping an e↵ective policy response to ISIS and organizations have echoed this call to propaganda. First and foremost is the arms. Yet it has been more than a year ungoverned and loosely regulated nature since the fall of Mosul and ISIS is not signif- of social media. Although it is possi- icantly weakened. In his statement to the ble to shut down individual Twitter ac- G20 President Obama outlined the United counts affiliated with terrorist organiza- States’ military, diplomatic, and countert- tions, they often reappear within hours error strategy for containing ISIS. This ap- under a slightly di↵erent account name. proach is failing because it does not ad- While the hacker collective Anonymous equately challenge ISIS’s propaganda ma- boasts of suspending 20,000 ISIS-related chine. Although the President acknowl- Twitter profiles, (RT International, 2015) edged ISIS is “very savvy when it comes these users will simply create new accounts. to social media, and able to infiltrate the Second, the media airing “news-worthy” minds of. disa↵ected individuals around propaganda assists ISIS. The gruesome ex- the world” there has been no comprehen- ecution video of American journalist James sive counter-messaging response from the Foley circulated with the help of CNN and West. the BBC, rather than ISIS agents. Fi- nally, governmental agencies have lost the Despite ISIS’s brutality, they have re- fight over messaging with ISIS. Although cruited thousands of people from advanced many groups are dedicated to counter pro- democracies. Recent intelligence reports paganda, ISIS has thousands of social net- estimate that over 4,500 citizens have de- working accounts and media specialists fected from Europe and the United States who have crafted a more e↵ective recruit- to join ISIS since 2011.(Schmitt & Sen- ing campaign. gupta, 2015) Many of these people know little about Islam, are disillusioned with so- Counterterror organizations can work ciety, and are searching for a sense of mean- with motivated private stakeholders and ing. The Islamic State’s recruiting tech- third parties to blunt the e↵ectiveness of niques are unlike those of any other ter- ISIS propaganda and stem the tide of re- rorist organization since they have adapted cruits from Western countries. These ini- their propaganda to the digital age. ISIS tiatives should focus on three major objec- uses centralized propaganda to prey on tives: a target’s weak sense of identity and so- Restricting communication channels. cial networks to disseminate their mes- ISIS has a dominant position on social net- sage. Twitter accounts sympathetic to ISIS works that allows them to easily communi- use themes of purpose and camaraderie cate with potential recruits. Any social me- among jihadists to attract isolated Western dia counter-o↵ensive will not succeed with- youths. Visually and emotionally appeal- out community policing of social networks. ing videos and magazines depict a utopian Citizens should be encouraged to report society where all Sunnis are prospering. ISIS related accounts and tech companies The astonishing success of these methods should be pressured to more aggressively requires governments to adapt to the cur- suspend these users. This initiative should ISIS and Innovative Propaganda 2 aim to create a grassroots movement that on describing the reality of the situation, can keep up with the thousands of ISIS with an emphasis on the stories of defec- sympathizers online. This will allow gov- tors and refugees fleeing the Islamic State. ernment agencies to focus on more complex outlets, such as shutting down apps and ac- Supporting at-risk youths who are likely counts made by ISIS. to be targets. Many Western recruits follow Delegitimizing the central messages of similar patterns of isolation from society. the propaganda. ISIS media presents a Improving outreach on a personalized ba- utopian society where recruits can find sis can o↵er these people an alternative to meaning. Counter-messaging should focus jihad. Understanding ISIS Propaganda ISIS’s propaganda machine di↵ers from several key videos. (Miller & Mekhennet, previous terrorist organizations in its so- 2015) Until his death former German rap- phistication, content, and distribution per Deso Dogg played a key role within Al- mechanisms. ISIS has two divisions dedi- Hayat Media. (Talbot, 2015) cated to propaganda, Al-Hayat Media and This wealth of foreign talent means Mu’assassat al-Furqan. The former focuses that ISIS has more media capability than on recruiting and presenting an idyllic so- Al-Qaeda and its affiliates ever had, and ciety, while the latter focuses on spread- this is reflected in the high production ing fear. (Saltman & Winter, 2014, 38) value of ISIS propaganda. In sharp These organizations have a prominent role contrast to the grainy videos of Osama within ISIS. According to one defector, Bin-Laden, ISIS disseminates Hollywood “The media people are more important style, hour-long movies about life in the than the soldiers and their monthly income Caliphate and the victories of the Is- is higher.” (Miller & Mekhennet, 2015) lamic State. John Cantile, a British news This bureaucracy includes many former hostage that was taken prisoner, hosted tech and news employees who are adept at many expose-style programs about life in video editing and graphic design. While the Caliphate. The ISIS magazine, Dabiq, the top media boss is a 36-year-old Syrian is visually impressive and is filled with ar- named Abu Amr al-Shami, there are sev- ticles written by Westerners. ISIS has even eral Westerners near the top of the hier- developed several original nasheeds, or ji- archy. (Talbot, 2015) Multiple reports ref- hadi songs, that play in the background of erence an American in charge of editing videos. (Schatz, 2015) Appealing to Potential Recruits ISIS propaganda in the West targets 16- the slaughter of their religious brothers at 25 year olds who are isolated from their the hands of the infidels. They are told societies and who do not have a strong that they will have an impact, that they sense of identity or purpose. (Callimachi, are fighting for the only legitimate Mus- 2015) (Yan, 2014) They often know lit- lim State, and that their actions will lead tle about Islam or have learned about to victory. (Fernandez, 2015) Viewers feel religion from ISIS operatives. A recent that they are needed and have an obliga- study identifies four themes ISIS uses to tion to fight for ISIS. Potential recruits are attract recruits: Urgency, Agency, Authen- shown a sense of purpose and identity that ticity, and Victory. All Sunni Muslims are they did not have before. If they come called to come fight immediately to prevent to the Caliphate then their life will have 3 Dylan Gerstel meaning. Recruits may discount the bar- life they can live in the Caliphate rather barity of ISIS as a necessary evil to cre- than the leaders. ISIS gives “the world ate a utopian society. Many defectors ex- access, willingly, to the daily lives of ji- plain their rationale for joining ISIS along hadists” and humanizes them in the pro- these lines. One thought he was going “to cess. (Saltman & Winter, 2014, 43) Most help in a humanitarian sense the people of importantly, the propaganda is shown as Syria” and another wanted to live under inclusive to Sunni Muslims of all nation- strict Islamic law and accepted the stoning alities. Foreigners have no barrier to en- of adulterers. (De Freytas-Tamura, 2015) try and can rise up the ranks as quickly as They only prepared to leave once they re- Arabs. alized ISIS was very di↵erent than the pro- To reinforce these themes, ISIS por- paganda. trays women in two di↵erent ways based This image of purpose is supplemented on the intended audience of the messaging. by the theme of camaraderie among the For propaganda aimed at women, they are soldiers of the Islamic State. ISIS goes to described as “jihadi brides,” participating great lengths to illustrate the multi-ethnic in the al-Khansaa police brigade and carry- background of its members. The first issue ing AK-47s. (Ali, 2015) Unlike the Taliban, of Dabiq contains pictures of jihadists from which hid women from all propaganda and many backgrounds embracing each other confined them to the home, ISIS media and huddling together like sports players “emphasize[s] themes of sisterhood and be- before a game. (The Clarion Project, 2014) longing—and highlight[s] the role of mar- Several videos showcase Western recruits riage and family.” (Talbot, 2015) Women in discussing the great friends they have made ISIS, such as UK defector Asqa Mahmoud, in the Caliphate and the acceptance of for- reach out to others on social media encour- eigners in their society. With these mes- aging them to travel to the Caliphate in sages ISIS emotionally appeals to its target order to fulfill their duty, contribute mean- demographic by o↵ering an accepting and ingfully to the Caliphate, and to actively inclusive community. ISIS operatives will participate in jihad. often chat online or Skype with potential recruits for hours, o↵ering them the hope The propaganda aimed at males gives a of friendship they do not have at home. much more accurate image of how women Rather than emphasizing religious al- are treated and exploited in ISIS terri- truism, which Western recruits may not tory.
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