Islamic State’s

Online Strategy:

Then and Now

Prof. Maura Conway

Dublin City University

@galwaygrrl

Structure of Presentation:1. What’s the Problem? 2. ISIL/ISIS/IS’s Online Activity: 2015 3. IS’s Online Activity: 20174. Disruption & Its Impacts 5. Future Trends

Structure of Presentation:1. What’s the Problem? 2. Daesh/ISIS/ISIL/IS’s Online Activity:

2015 3. IS’s Online Activity: 20174. Disruption & Its Impacts 5. Future Trends

• Analysis of open and closed-source data

Significant role for Internet in contemporary terrorism

• Variety of activity, not just ‘radicalisation’, but attack preparation, etc.

• Exposure to large amounts of extremist content, and networking around it, can cause some individuals to become violently radicalised

What’s the Problem?

‘Islamic State’ Online: 2014 – 2015

• High volume

• Multiple languages

• Widely across many platforms

• Professional appearance/ structuring (e.g. aerial drone footage, al-Kasasbehvideo, Cantlie series, magazines)

• In-tune with online youth culture (#yodo, CoD, cats, selfies, etc.)

• Interaction around the content, with other ‘fans’ and fighters ‘in the field

‘Islamic State’ Online: 2014 – 2015

• High volume

• Multiple languages

• Widely across many platforms

• Professional appearance/ structuring (e.g. aerial drone footage, al-Kasasbehvideo, Cantlie series, magazines)

• In-tune with online youth culture (#yodo, CoD, cats, selfies, etc.)

• Interaction around the content, with other ‘fans’ and fighters ‘in the field

‘Islamic State’ Online: 2014 – 2015

• High volume

• Multiple languages

• Widely across many platforms

• Professional appearance/ structuring (e.g. aerial drone footage, al-Kasasbehvideo, Cantlie series, magazines)

• In-tune with online youth culture (#yodo, CoD, cats, selfies, etc.)

• Interaction around the content, with other ‘fans’ and fighters ‘in the field’

Vibrant online community

Crowd-sourced Jihad

• Content glamourising the Syria conflict, esp. suicide attacks

• Content exhalting virtues of the Islamic State

• Direct exhortations to:

- Travel to Syria (‘Foreign Fighter’)

- Commit acts of terrorism in home/third countries

• Practical instructions on accomplishing above

Crowd-sourced Jihad

• Content glamourising the Syria conflict, esp. suicide attacks

• Content exhorting virtues of the Islamic State

• Direct exhortations to:

- Travel to Syria (‘Foreign Fighter’)

- Commit acts of terrorism in home/third countries

• Practical instructions on accomplishing above

Conflict Context

Technology Context

Crowd-sourced Jihad

• Content glamourising the Syria conflict, esp. suicide attacks

• Content exhorting virtues of the Islamic State

• Direct exhortations to:

- Travel to Syria (‘Foreign Fighter’)

- Commit acts of terrorism in home/third countries

• Practical instructions on accomplishing above

Conflict Context

Technology Context

Immersive Experience

‘Islamic State’ Online: 2017

• Under pressure in ‘real world’:

– Conflict is raging

– More people needed to fight

– Loss of territory less safe spaces

– Social Media operators targeted (al-Adnani and others)

– Cyber infrastructure targeted (hacking and ‘hard’ attacks)

Decline in output from July/August 2016

Down 36% by end Feb. 2017 (570 items)

• Online circulation of that content impacted by takedown strategies

Disruption: Twitter

Loss of Community

Where’s IS’s Online Community Now?

Future Trends

Two enormously fast-changing realms, so very difficult to predict, but …

• Increased use of messaging apps

• Live-streaming (Magnaville)