Fighting Daesh in cyberspace

IBRAHEEM AL-OTHAIMIN

arabnews

ON Sept. 16, 2015, Kvissel, a small village in the far north of Denmark woke up to the echo of the tragedy of Lisa Borch, who stabbed her mother to death after watching video footage of the decapitations of Daesh victims, David Haines and Alan Henning. The Independent reported that investigations revealed Borch was in a relationship with a young man of Iraqi origin. It was believed that the pair had planned to flee to Syria and fight for Daesh. It was also revealed that when police examined Borch’s computer she was found to be addicted to watching Daesh videos.
Despite the tragic ugliness of this story, it is only one among dozens of such stories that have been recounted by people and the media. This shows the capability of Daesh to misuse social media by manipulating teenagers’ heightened emotions and spirit of adventure in order to recruit them, as in the case, among many others, of Yazeed Abuniyan, who was reported by the Saudi Interior Ministry to have been recruited in this way.
According to the first of two important studies conducted by a research team at King Saud University, titled “Hidden Power of Daesh in the new media,” Daesh uses social media to attract youngsters, knowing that young people spend much of their time on the Internet. The study confirms that 80 percent of the informational stock of the organization basically depends on websites that are available to all with no violation of any network protocols.
The second study, conducted by Watani Alemarat Foundation in cooperation with Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, Alameen Service, and Dubai Centre for Electronic Security, concluded that most of the recruitment conducted by Daesh was carried out through social media. It showed that the organization had over 90,000 pages on Facebook and Twitter in Arabic and 40,000 pages in other languages.
Thus, it is clear that this organization makes use of social media, particularly Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, as prominent tools for mobilizing young people and encouraging them to join its ranks.
I believe that the success of this organization in the media depends on two factors:
Firstly, its media propaganda uses sophisticated technology, having moved on from the video clips recorded on low-quality cameras by Al-Qaeda to the use of filming technologies and advanced sound effects typically seen in Hollywood movies. This organization has attracted huge numbers of youngsters who have experience in using social media and formulating attractive media messages targeting the youth through these advanced technologies.
One of the clearest examples of the way in which social media is used for propaganda is the video clip showing the killing of Maaz Al-Kasaasbeh, the Jordanian pilot. Specialists in film production, graphics and videography were impressed by its perfect scenery, professional graphic design and high-resolution videography from different angles, which we only see in high-quality international films.
Another example is the story of 23-year-old Junaid Hussain, who was described as Daesh’s electronic mastermind. He was imprisoned in 2012 for hacking Tony Blair’s personal account. He joined Daesh and founded a team of hackers, whom he called the “Cyber Caliphate.” Before his death, he hacked into the US Department of Defense’s Twitter account.
Moreover, in April 2015, a group of Daesh-affiliated youngsters hacked the French TV5 Monde for the first time, taking down 11 channels broadcasting to different continents, to express their opposition to France’s decision to join the international coalition against Daesh.
The above examples affirm that the organization is keen on attracting professional youngsters who are highly experienced in the use of the Internet to recruit people and provoke horror.
Secondly, weapons of propaganda are funded by Syrian and Iraqi oil money. In a report by Sabra Al-Qasimi titled “The Seven Media Wings of the Communication Department of Daesh,” it is mentioned that the organization has allocated nearly $3 billion of its budget to funding media operations. Therefore, it has been able to import latest cameras and equipment, which has enabled it to take high-tech footage of a similar quality to that of Hollywood films. Many reports indicate that the organization’s income from oil export operations to regional countries has increased to $3 million a day. Therefore, high technology combined with huge spending, are the secret behind success in media recruitment.
Finally, I believe that it is necessary for official and non-official moderate religious institutions to play an active role in using websites and social media as a preliminary step toward spreading a culture of moderation, tolerance and acceptance of others, in order to reduce the phenomenon of religious and sectarian extremism. Social media have become the source of religious knowledge for the youth; therefore, it should be embraced and not ignored. We find ourselves in a virtual battlefield fighting against an organization that uses digital gadgets, as its weapons. Therefore, it is essential that we arm ourselves with the appropriate weapons with which to defeat this insidious opponent.