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The author seeks to highlight just how central this unofficial Islamic State ecosystem is to audiences inspired by the group and how the interplay between this ecosystem and youth requires reframing the challenge rather than doubling down on the same playbooks. This article will first present the connection between these young peoples’ use of social media and their attacks. The author will then seek to create the tie-in between the real-world threats posed by these youth-led plots and the unofficial digital ecosystem of the Islamic State, going beyond and expanding the author’s previous work into the ecosystem. 16 This tie-in will be followed by an analysis of the unofficial Islamic State ecosystem, expanding on what the author has already published about it, and will do so by diving into the outlets and tactics central to the ecosystem, and will conclude with recommendations for digital counterterrorism practitioners and researchers. The article will build on a broader report by the author on the Islamic State’s online activities that was published by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) on February 12, 2025.

The aim of the article is to present the phenomenon of radicalization of young Muslims from both Muslim countries and Western Europe, which takes place using new media. The paper uses the method of critical analysis of sources because it allows the interpretation of facts and relating them to the motives of conduct and the increase in popularity of radical religious movements. Referring to the theory of mediation and mediatization of religion, the article analyzes the impact of new media on Islam and presents some of their effects, which contribute to the creation of a radical version of this religion. The radicalization of religious views among young Muslims takes place on three levels: religious-cultural, social and political. All of these fields are dominated by social media. Ease of access to them gives a sense of belonging to the global Islamic community, which results in the belief in the unique strength and unlimited possibilities of the entire community. In their analysis, the authors showed the relationship between the characteristics of new media users and their low resistance to the propaganda of radical Islamist movements and terrorist groups used against them, as well as the opportunities that new media provide to terrorist groups in using Islam to build and strengthen their structures.

This study investigates the evolving challenges intelligence and law enforcement agencies face in countering Salafi jihadist terrorist activities across digital platforms, focusing on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and data fusion technologies in open-source intelligence (OSINT) methodologies. Through an analysis of case studies involving ISIS and other non-state actors, the study examines how terrorist organisations adapt their digital strategies to evade detection while exploiting social media platforms, instant messaging applications and websites for recruitment, propaganda, and operational planning. The study demonstrates the necessity of developing advanced technological solutions such as the integration of AI-enhanced OSINT capabilities, combined with data fusion approaches, that can improve analysts’ ability to process multilingual content, identify threat actors who use online anonymity, and detect patterns of terrorist activity across multiple network layers. However, the study also reveals critical ethical and operational challenges in balancing effective counter-terrorism measures with privacy rights and civil liberties. The study concludes that while OSINT, AI and data fusion tools can substantially augment human analysis capabilities, successful counter-terrorism efforts require a carefully calibrated approach combining technological innovation and human expertise.

This study sheds light on the emerging threat of terrorists, particularly Hamas and other Palestinian terror organizations, leveraging online crowdfunding and cryptocurrencies. The recent events of October 7, 2023, highlight the pressing nature of this issue. A systematic case analysis reveals the sophisticated exploitation of digital finance for discreet resource accumulation, circumventing traditional oversight. The findings expose unidentified typologies and funding pathways, significantly bolstering terrorist resilience against interdiction efforts. This study provides vital knowledge to catalyze policy adaptations at this critical juncture by probing real-world implications that still lack coordinated responses. Ultimately, this study raises awareness about evolving asymmetries and underscores the importance of closing gaps in vigilance, necessitating academic and policy attention to inform agile, ethical countermeasures before technological vulnerabilities widen further.

This article, which combines social network analysis and open-source intelligence, discusses the functions, structure, and evolution of al-Qaeda’s (AQ) information ecosystem on the surface web in the second half of 2023. It argues that despite preferring Rocket Chat as a primary communication channel, this terrorist organisation developed an extensive and robust propaganda distribution network detectable from the surface web. The pro-AQ ecosystem on this Internet communication layer relied primarily on standalone websites, message boards, and blogs, interconnected with a broad range of file-sharing services and channels on encrypted communication apps. Aside from them, the group manifested limited activity on mainstream social media. In the second half of 2023, the group demonstrated resilience to content takedowns, as most of its key domains used to disseminate propaganda continued to be active under the same or changed URLs. This study shows that, in contrast to the Islamic State, alQaeda’s information ecosystem was largely decentralised, which was primarily caused by the differentiated approaches of its branches to maintaining their presence in this environment. The lack of centralisation of AQ’s propaganda distribution network may be considered both an advantage and a disadvantage. On the one hand, it potentially increases its resilience to content takedowns. On the other hand, however, it also demonstrates a lack of coordination between branches, which decreases their media operations’ potential efficiency and reach.

This book explores the social forces among and between online aggressors that affect the expression and perpetration of online hate. Its chapters illustrate how patterns of interactive social behavior reinforce, magnify, or modify this expression. It also considers the characteristics of social media that facilitate social interactions that promote hate and facilitate relationships among haters. Bringing together a range of international experts and covering an array of themes, including woman abuse, antisemitism, pornography, radicalization, and extreme political youth movements, this book examines the specific social factors and processes that facilitate these forms of hate and proposes new approaches for explaining them.

Cutting-edge, interdisciplinary, and authoritative, this book will be of interest to sociologists, criminologists, and scholars of media, communication, and computational social science alike, as well as those engaged with hate crime, hate speech, social media, and online social networks.