On the heels of the disrupted jihadist plot to kill a British Muslim soldier (Terror Web Watch), counterterrorism officials and the media are paying attention to the Internet?s role in the spread of radical jihadist propaganda. According to British officials, six British jihadist sympathizers planned to kidnap, kill, and post the resulting carnage on the Internet.
The Online Force Multiplier
The central role of the Internet in this plot highlights how jihadist operatives and sympathizers use technology as a force multiplier. Jihadists use the Internet in part to aid in the efficient distribution of propaganda. Much of jihadist propaganda is designed to recruit potential operatives, raise funds, and wage psychological warfare against the West.
The assertion recently made by the Associated Press that jihadist sympathizers and operatives have only recently utilized mainstream web sites, like YouTube.com, to distribute propaganda is incorrect (source). TRC has observed radical jihadist propaganda on a variety of mainstream sites, including YouTube.com, MySpace.com, Archive.org, and LiveLeak.com, for almost one year (Terror Web Watch). Typically, jihadist propaganda is first uploaded to a series of file upload sites. The propaganda?s release is then announced on a series of jihadist web sites with links back to the file upload sites. Once the propaganda is downloaded, it usually spreads to a series of more mainstream sites like YouTube.com and LiveLeak.com.
The distribution of jihadist propaganda to mainstream sites appears to be a deliberate strategy by jihadist sympathizers and operatives. The contours of this strategy can be found on at least one jihadist-affiliated web site. An Islamic Army in Iraq site celebrating the exploits of the mythical sniper Juba contains the following note to sympathizers:
Distribute Juba video in the different forums and websites to let the world know what is going on to the occupiers in Iraq. Distribute Juba video among your family, neighbors and friends.
While it is unclear whether these videos are distributed to mainstream sites by hardcore operatives or more loosely affiliated sympathizers, the net effect is the same. In the end, jihadist propaganda is distributed to a wider audience, thusly aiding the global jihadist movement?s goal of reaching otherwise unreachable potential recruits.
Countering Online Propaganda
It is very difficult to prevent jihadist operatives and sympathizers from distributing propaganda via the Internet. Many government officials appear to agree with this assessment. According to Jeremy Curtin, Acting Coordinator of the State Department?s Bureau of International Information Programs, ?it?s practically impossible to stop these videos. You can close one channel and another one will open up.?
Additionally, it is unlikely that actionable intelligence can be gathered by attempting to track users who upload propaganda to mainstream sites. In many cases, jihadist sympathizers with no direct connections to a terrorist group or autonomous cell upload propaganda to mainstream sites.
A more effective approach might be to use much of the violent and gruesome propaganda distributed by jihadist sympathizers and operatives against them. It is no accident that al Qaeda in the Land of the Two Rivers discontinued the practice of posting gory decapitation videos on the Internet. This practice was stopped in part because al-Qaeda leaders like Ayman al-Zawahiri realized the gruesome nature of these videos repelled many potential Muslim recruits and sympathizers. Other than advocating the ?crusaders? withdrawal from Muslim lands, jihadist leaders have failed to present a strategic vision of how they plan on governing. Therefore, the ongoing release of violent videos and other propaganda should be used to highlight the jihadist movement?s focus on violence and lack of attention to building a stable future.
