The American and French revolutions had their pamphleteers. Soviet dissidents hadsamizdat. Jihadists spread their message on audio and video cassettes, before switching to YouTube. Every generation’s rebels and insurgents have used the medium of the day to get their message out. So it should be no surprise that ISIL (or is it ISIS?) uses Twitter.
But as the Sunni militants continued their assault on Iraq this week, we’ve learned just how sophisticated they are. Not only does every wilaya (administrative district) in Iraq and Syria have its own Twitter feed (pdf, p. 3); the organization is also adept at gaming Twitter. One method is an app ISIL supporters can download—named “Dawn of Glad Tidings”—which then tweets on their behalf, magnifying the group’s visibility. And compared with other extremists, ISIL isexceptionally prolific, flooding the social web, often with extremely graphic images. ISIL alsoissues a rather slick annual report that lists every one of its thousands of attacks as methodically as the US State Department.
All this provides a wealth of intelligence on ISIL and its allies, including how other Islamists think of them (not very highly, it seems). This is a headache for social media companies, which try to shut down accounts filled with pictures of beheadings, only to have intelligence agencies ask them not to. Indeed, it might seem a little odd for a body that depends on evading the authorities to be so very public about itself.
But this barrage of activity also serves to intimidate foes, whip up fans, and get funders reaching for their wallets. Like corporations, NGOs, and governments everywhere, ISIL is playing in the global information space, and it’s playing to win. —Gideon Lichfield
I love great art, no matter the medium.