IS, A Global Caliphate, And Exceptionalism: An Ideological Criticism Of The Islamic State’s Rhetoric In Dabiq
September 18, 2023
In July of 2014, a spokesperson for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) made a televised announcement that captured the attention of the world – the terrorist organization decided to tweak its name to simply the Islamic State (IS), to indicate its intention of moving beyond Iraq and the Levant and conquering ...
Grading The Quality Of ISIS Videos: A Metric For Assessing The Technical Sophistication Of Digital Video Propaganda
September 18, 2023
This article offers a method for systematically grading the quality of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) videos based on technical production criteria. Using this method revealed moments when ISIS production capacity was severely debilitated (Fall 2015) and when they began to rebuild (Spring 2016), which the article details. Uses for this method include ...
Regulating Terrorist Content On Social Media: Automation And The Rule Of Law
September 18, 2023
Social-media companies make extensive use of artificial intelligence in their efforts to remove and block terrorist content from their platforms. This paper begins by arguing that, since such efforts amount to an attempt to channel human conduct, they should be regarded as a form of regulation that is subject to rule-of-law principles. The paper then ...
Emotional Effects Of Terroristic Communication: Between Professional Propaganda And Media Coverage
September 18, 2023
Like no other terroristic organization, the Islamic State anchors forms of direct communication in its communication strategy. Although classical mass media still serve as multipliers in order to spread fear, modern terrorists increasingly focus on social media to address relevant recipients. Spreading their messages via mass media, terroristic communicators have to accept balancing media coverage: ...
Combat Branding And The Islamic State: A Missing Link To Generating A Terrorist Recruit Profile
September 18, 2023
Profiling has its traditions in criminal investigations where it is used to assist in apprehending an offender by examining and attempting to understand his or her psychological motivations and personality. Terrorist specialists and theorists have applied traditional profiling techniques in hopes of distinguishing nonterrorists from terrorists and in an endeavor to understand the motivators for ...
The Online Caliphate: Internet Usage And ISIS Support In The Arab World
September 18, 2023
Experts argue that the internet has provided expanded opportunities for violent extremist groups to propagandize and recruit. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, is an exemplar in that it has heavily invested in an online presence and uses online communities and social media to attract and retain supporters. Does ISIS’s online presence ...
Branding A Caliphate In Decline: The Islamic State’s Video Output (2015-2018)
September 18, 2023
Although video releases have been central to the Islamic State’s efforts to represent itself to its audiences, an extensive quantitative and qualitative study of these sources over a longer period of time is still lacking. This paper therefore provides an overview and analysis of the entire corpus of official videos released by the Islamic State ...
Computer support to analyze IS propaganda

September 18, 2023
This paper discusses the use of computer support to analyze IS propaganda. We focus on thematic analysis of the textual content of various types of online propaganda, and investigate two different ways to identify themes in the data. One approach is theory-driven and builds on previous analysis of IS propaganda, and the other approach is data-driven and ...
Towards the “olive trees of Rome”: exploitation of propaganda devices in the Islamic State’s flagship magazine “Rumiyah”
September 18, 2023
This paper aims to contribute to understanding how the last flagship magazine of the Islamic State – “Rumiyah” – attempted to influence and manipulate Internet users. Its primary objective is to analyze the propaganda methods exploited in all thirteen issues of this magazine. In order to do so this paper utilises content analysis to investigate ...
Techniques for analyzing digital environments from a security perspective
September 18, 2023
The development of the Internet and social media has exploded in the last couple of years. Digital environments such as social media and discussion forums provide an effective method of communication and are used by various groups in our societies.  For example, violent extremist groups use social media platforms for recruiting, training, and communicating with ...