Transcript 6_Media - James JF Forest


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