Social media security

Taking Back Social Media: Producing A Counter Narrative To Terrorist Propaganda

It is no secret that social networking sites have become hotbeds for terrorist activity. Over the past several years, Islamist jihadi organizations in particular, including the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Al Qaeda, have demonstrated mastery of social media as a mechanism for spreading propaganda, recruiting followers and luring thousands of foreign fighters abroad to receive jihadi training in Iraq and Syria.

Terrorist organizations and criminals, particularly gangs, have become extremely adept at exploiting social media to reach disenfranchised individuals who are receptive to radicalization. Individuals looking for purpose and importance are lured by all the propaganda that promises to make them feel like they matter—or could even become a hero.