Report
How Do Terrorist Organizations Use Information Technologies- Understanding Cyber Terrorism
September 18, 2023Globalization with advanced information technologies has changed the life of the people in the world. When something occurs in one part of the world, other part of the world can be informed easily within seconds. Current information technologies such as internet, social media, blogs and news channels have enabled the people to create virtual groups ...
Occasional Paper – The Islamic State’s Diminishing Returns on Twitter: How suspensions are limiting the social networks of English-speaking ISIS supporters
September 18, 2023Since late 2014, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) social networks on Twitter have been subjected to periodic account suspensions. In a study of metrics for a network of English language ISIS supporters active from June to October 2015, suspensions held the size and reach of the overall network flat, while devastating the reach ...
Countering violent extremism through media and communication strategies – A Review of the Evidence
September 18, 2023This report presents the analysis of a corpus of academic and grey literature relevant to a key challenge facing our society. How can media and communications be used to counter identity-based violence (IBV) or Violent Extremism (VE)? Part I focuses on “Counter-Narratives”, looking at the evidence relating to strategic policy communication strategies and counter-propaganda techniques. ...
Islamic State Propaganda and the Mainstream Media
September 18, 2023In this Lowy Institute Analysis, Lauren Williams examines Islamic State’s use of the Western media to disseminate its propaganda. Williams argues mainstream media outlets have a responsibility to treat Islamic State-produced material more critically, expose the weaknesses of its messages, and place greater effort into counter-messaging. KEY FINDINGS Islamic State’s media arm has a clearly ...
Opinion No. 2014-3 on Article 9 of the Bill on Scaling Up Counter-Terrorism Provisions
September 18, 2023The French Digital Council has been given a mandate to examine Article 9 of the bill on scaling up counter-terrorism provisions. These provisions amend Article 6 of the Act of 21 June 2004 on confidence in the digital economy (LCEN) by providing for the administration to block websites containing speech and/or images constituting incitement to ...
Implementation of Security Council resolution 2178 (2014) by States affected by foreign terrorist fighters
September 18, 2023The present report is the second in a series of reports to be issued pursuant to Security Council resolution 2178 (2014), which requires the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate to assess Member States’ capacity to stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters, identify good practices in that regard and facilitate the delivery of related technical assistance ...
Sectarian Twitter War: Sunni-Shia Conflict and Cooperation in the Digital Age
September 18, 2023Amid mounting death tolls in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, sectarian discourse is on the rise across the Arab world—particularly in the online sphere, where extremist voices are amplified and violent imagery and rhetoric spreads rapidly. Despite this, social media also provides a space for cross-sectarian discourse and activism. Analysis of over 7 million Arabic tweets ...
#Greenbirds: Measuring Importance and Influence in Syrian Foreign Fighter Networks
September 18, 2023This is the first in a series of papers that draws on information from this database. It examines the question of how foreign fighters in Syria receive information about the conflict and who inspires them. ...
Hizb’allah’s Communication Strategy: Making Friends and Intimidating Enemies
September 18, 2023Managing external communication has proven an increasingly significant concern to Lebanese Hizb’allah. The nature of how Hizb’allah conducts its external communication is the subject of the present report. It is argued that the organisation relies on a sophisticated strategy that enables it to address a variety of target groups efficiently with differentiated aspects of its ...
Jihad Trending: A Comprehensive Analysis of Online Extremism and How to Counter It
September 18, 2023This report hopes to contribute to developing research in the ever-evolving arena of radicalisation with a particular focus on the role of the Internet. Our aim is to provide a resource for both policy makers and practitioners that offers an in-depth insight into the means by which extremists use online tools to propagandise and recruit. ...