lecture 6: media & the internet

What is the role of the media and the Internet in facilitating terrorist radicalization?

A symbiotic relationship between terrorists and the media:

- Terrorists seek to communicate to and influence audiences

- News organizations seek dramatic stories to increase their readership and ratings

Media as a “showcase” for terrorism Demonstration and communication effects Organizational Learning effects

Perception management is central to Al-Qaida’s war against the West

AQ has its own media branch (as-Sahab); audio, video distribution

Leadership clearly describes network’s doctrine, strategy (and even some tactics) in its Internet and news media articles

Attacks are filmed and uploaded to the Internet complete with ideological spin even before the commanders can even give a full report on the incident“We are in a battle, and more than half of this battle is taking place in the

battlefield of the media. We are in a race for hearts and minds of our umma” [the global community of Muslims]. . . We must get our message across to the masses . . . This is an independent battle that we must launch side by side with the military battle.

- Ayman al-Zawahiri

“Anyone who knows the media will discover that the mujahidin have been able to move from the defensive to the offensive in the field of psychological warfare. Unlike previous decades, when it was possible to play completely with the news, the leap in communication technology has made it impossible for anyone to monopolize information.

-- Abu-’Ubayd al-Qurashi, “The War of the Ether,” Al-Ansar, 20 November 2002

The Internet has come to replace traditional media as the main conduit for influencers to communicate with their intended audiences (However: no substitute for personal interaction)

Websites, blogs, videos, e-mail are used for:

Propaganda, recruitment, radicalization and indoctrination

Training (in strategy and tactics) Fundraising (soliciting donations) Communicating with cells, leadership Target surveillance Identification, exploitation of online

vulnerabilities

Target the Arab and Muslim youth—the largest, most educated (and in terms of the Internet, most connected) segment of Muslim societies.

Video clips, photos, audio material, books, articles, or military manuals, in order to: Indoctrinate Arab and Muslim audiences; Encourage feelings of pride, a sense of belonging, and a

new identity (in-group cohesion) Recruit support Intimidate Western audiences

The Internet provides the best means to influence the Muslim nation (the umma).

Marxist view of human endeavor: “from each according to your ability . . .”

Making the ideology more accessible to the masses

Tips in how to use encrypted communications

How to get to a training camp, what to expect, what not to bring with you

The importance of the buddy system How to build a bomb in your mother’s

kitchen

Contemporary terrorism places population (hearts and minds) as center of gravity Who influences our behavior, how, and why?

The modes of influence have increasingly moved to the Internet, where terrorists seem to have several advantages

Objectives Attracting more supporters or sympathizers Cultural contexts are key (language, music,

images), particularly for tapping into the powerful emotions that lead directly to changes in behavior

The media and terrorists share a symbiotic relationship

Terrorists can use the Internet to facilitate a variety of activities, including: Mobilization, radicalization and recruitment Soliciting support, fundraising Instructional guidance (strategies & tactics) Sharing information with other affiliated groups Operational communications Target surveillance, intelligence gathering Identification, exploitation of online vulnerabilities

How does the media and Internet facilitate influence and the shaping of perceptions?

Role of media and Internet goes beyond radicalization