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Proto-State Media Systems: The Digital Rise of of Al-Qaeda and ISIS – A Book Review
January 25, 2023
Book Review by Andrew Glazzard Terrorism is, as we know, propaganda in word and deed. Terrorists communicate symbolically (through their choice of targets, or their methods of attack) as well as directly through statements, stories and appeals. There is, therefore, no shortage of studies  addressing how terrorists exploit mass media, from the made-for-television spectaculars of ...
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Islamic State: Death of Leader Is Big Step Towards Becoming a Different Kind of Terrorist Organisation
March 2, 2022
By Elisa Orofino A “proto-state”, a “socio-political movement, the ”beast“ – all names given to a single group that, at its height, seemed to embody the west’s worst nightmare. Islamic State appeared to be a motivated, well-led insurgency group dedicated to building its own “caliphate” in conquered areas across the Middle East. Now, the recent violent ...
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Who Is Accused ISIS Propagandist Mohammed Khalifa? Part II
January 5, 2022
This is part two of a two-part series. Read part I here [Ed.]. By Anne Speckhard And Molly Ellenberg In the summer of 2014, Khalifa got married to a Somali woman from Kenya whom he met online. She was studying medicine in Sudan before traveling to Syria. At the time of the interview in 2019, Khalifa ...
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Who Is Accused ISIS Propagandist Mohammed Khalifa? Part I
December 29, 2021
This is part one of a two-part series. Read part II here [Ed.]. By Anne Speckhard And Molly Ellenberg Mohammed Khalifa, otherwise known as Abu Ridwan al-Kanadi, is a Canadian citizen now facing federal prosecution in the United States for his participation in ISIS, particularly for his role in the terrorist group’s media department. The New York ...
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Book Review: Jihadi Audiovisuality and Its Entanglements
May 5, 2021
Want to submit a blog post? Click here. By Eurasia Review A new book looks at the use of audiovisual media by jihadi groups and their supporters as well as at how these contributions are being countered Recent attacks by jihadists in Kabul, Dresden, Paris, and Vienna have brought the problem of Islamist terror back into ...
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ISIS and the Militant Jihad on Instagram, Part III: Counter-Narrative Strategies
January 6, 2021
This article is the third of a three-part series. Part one is HERE and part two is HERE. [Ed.] By Anne Speckhard and Molly Ellenberg ICSVE has over the past two years, in partnership with Facebook, run over 125 campaigns in countries and languages all over the globe with good success in reaching the target audience ...
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ISIS and the Militant Jihad on Instagram, Part II: Terrorist Propagandizing and Recruitment Strategies
December 30, 2020
This article is the second of a three-part series. Part one is HERE and part three is HERE. [Ed.] By Anne Speckhard and Molly Ellenberg Research on Instagram in Regard to Terrorist Propagandizing and Recruitment Strategies Most research on the impact of Instagram focuses on the different communities that exist on Instagram. While some communities, such as ...
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ISIS and the Militant Jihad on Instagram, Part I: Identifying Supporters
December 23, 2020
This article is part one of a three-part series. Part two is HERE and part three is HERE. [Ed.] By Anne Speckhard and Molly Ellenberg Identifying ISIS and Militant Jihadist Supporters on Instagram Identifying those supporting jihadist ideology and groups on Instagram is a relatively simple task. By searching on Islamic terms and names often associated ...
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Is ISIS Dead or Alive?
March 4, 2020
By Moign Khawaja It has been almost two years since the Islamic State, also known as IS or ISIS, lost its final stronghold in eastern Syria and four months since its leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi was killed in a US military raid. Have these two game-changing events led to the demise of the group ...
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From the French Revolution, the First Amendment and the Third Reich to Twitter and Facebook: The Impact of Legal Histories on the Fight Against Online Extremism – Part 2: The United States
February 19, 2020
By Nery Ramati The need to develop legal tools in order to cope with the dangers of online extremism and terrorism has been an issue that has kept legislators, government officials, and security forces around the globe very busy in recent years. In liberal democracies, the legal challenges are intensified due to the obvious dangers ...