Today one of the main problems faced by the world is terrorism. The relationship between terrorism and the media has long been clear. Terrorists aim to provoke irrational fear among large numbers of people in order to influence policymakers and thus advance their goals. Let’s take an example of ISIS. A weapon has two meanings, the first is a medium used for physical damage; its second meaning is of gaining an advantage in a conflict or contest. In this sense ISIS’s greatest weapon is the social media. Over a hundred thousand people have joined ISIS through the social media. Right from its inception, social media has been integral for the rise of ISIS. It serves to coordinate troops and win battles. And it allows the group to administer the territory under its control. Now ISIS is using social media to expand its war far beyond its borders.
In the idealistic and early days of the Internet, many Silicon Valley pioneers thought that in creating a more connected world, they might also create a more peaceful one. The reality is more complicated. Global connectivity has brought many new opportunities, undoubtedly, but it has also bred a new generation of threats. A decade ago, it would have been unthinkable that a militant in Syria might become friends with a lonely teenager in small-town America. So far, there is only one certainty in this fight. What ISIS has discovered—this very weird, effective new way of war—is not a novelty or a one-time thing.
ISIS may have been the first to wield this cross of social media, terror, and war, but it will not be the last. Rather than a centralized master plan or single person in charge, the Islamic State’s social media campaign is networked, reflecting the networked nature of the space.
The core of ISIS is seasoned veterans of the Iraqi insurgency that followed the 2003 US invasion. Well-versed in the power of the media, they have been joined by a new generation of millennial recruits. When discussing how to stop recruitment by ISIS we often hear of the need to reduce their ideological appeal among young people in Syria and beyond. But more and more evidence shows that the young Syrian men who decide to join these groups do so not on the basis of religious motivation, but to fulfill far more basic needs.
Given that ISIS and other terrorist organizations have been proven apt at using social media to disseminate propaganda and incite fear, it seems obvious that platforms like Facebook and Twitter would aggressively and mercilessly delete such content and ban those who post it.
After the recent spate of terrorist attacks inspired by the so-called Islamic State, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called for greater cooperation from social media companies like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter in combating hate propaganda. But with billions of users across the globe posting content daily, it’s an uphill and expensive battle. New technologies have made it possible to produce propaganda with astonishing ease. Whatever the future holds, we can be sure that violent extremists will also exploit new media technology whenever it becomes available.
