Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have been recognised as powerful tools within private and public sector, which unfortunately, can also serve as a potential weapon if in wrong hands. They have been used by criminal groups to spread their propaganda and ideology to thousands of online sympathisers across the world and to recruit new soldiers. ISIS became the first terrorist group to use the social media to such extent, becoming a mirror of human violence.
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Credit: www.preventtragedies.co.uk/stop-terrorists-extremists-online-presence
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| Credit: https://dribbble.com/shots/244490-Social-Media-Icons |
Social
media savvy – the group released nearly 1,150 propaganda events, such as videos,
articles, essays and photos. It has been suggested that terrorists are ‘more
strategic plagiarists than geniuses’, who simply ‘adapted their time-tested
terror tactics to the new rules of the social media age’ (Brooking, 2016).
Media specialists from North Carolina studied how the group built its message.
They found that ISIS mimic ‘Hollywood visual style’, using saturated colours,
clear subject and focus from different angles (Brooking, 2016).
From 2,050 results collected by
Awan via Facebook and Twitter, the study has found that whilst there was a strong
online backlash against ISIS, there was also a ‘pervading sense of online
propaganda and an extremist narrative that was leading in some cases to the
glorification of the role of ISIS’ (Awan, 2017). Five distinct categories were
established after analysing the different methods used by ISIS online for
propaganda purposes. These were videos, chatrooms, websites, images and the use
of hashtags, retweets and likes . Based on these results, seven
types of people have been identified: Cyber Mobs, Loners, Fantasists, Thrill
Seekers, Moral Crusaders, Narcissists and Identity Seekers (Awan, 2017) .
Offender behaviour
characteristics
Type
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Characteristics
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Cyber Mobs
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Using social media platforms to create a mob
mentality and urging others to fight for the Isis goal. This is done through
group posts, videos and comments of hate directing groups of Muslim’s to
fight. Often personified through retweets, likes and views of specific ISIS
propaganda materials.
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Loners
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Often
done through individual posts and comments. This individual is someone who is
attracted to the ISIS campaign but clearly is exposed to individual
grievances and has a lone mentality.
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Fantasists
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Someone using social media platforms to
fantasise over the ISIS movement. In particular, these individuals have
blurred the lines between reality and fiction and are making direct pleas to
fight for Isis.
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Thrill Seekers
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People
who are promoting ISIS propaganda through videos and posts and forums.
Indeed, some of these individuals claim to be directly using the Internet for
online extremist purposes. These individuals are describing the sense of
adrenaline rush they are receiving by watching and partaking in fighting on
the battlefield whether online or offline.
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Moral Crusaders
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These individuals are talking about the moral
duty to fight. Many of these individuals are also constructing arguments
based on ideology and theology to promise people external rewards.
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Narcissists
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These
people are using political, foreign policy and individual grievances to whip
up a climate of revenge seeking and wanting to fight for the ISIS mission and
goals.
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Identity Seekers
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Mostly this is users who appear to be seeking
some form of identity. Primarily people searching for some form of
masculinity and therefore the ISIS recruitment drive appeals to them. This
applies to males and females.
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Table adapted from Awan (2017).
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| Credit: City of London Police |
References:
Awan, I. (2017). Cyber-Extremism: Isis and the Power of Social Media. Society 54 (2), 138 - 149.
doi:10.1007/s12115-017-0114-0.
Brooking, E. T., & Singer, P. W. (2016). War Goes Viral How Social Media Is Being Weaponized. Atlantic, 318(4), 70-83.