HAIDER S. AL-KENANI/IRAQI COUNTER TERRORISM OFFICE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
No doubt the terrorists are trying very hard to appear victorious on the Internet in order to gain support and deceive people. During the past decade, the world witnessed Da’ish and its supporters collaborating on social media sites. In 2005, they were using the so-called Suhab Media Corp. owned by al-Qaida. Today, Da’ish owns two larger and more sophisticated media corporations, Al-Furqan Media and Aleitsam.
In the past they enjoyed the freedom to surf among extremist websites to spread their terror ideology and recruit uninformed youth. In some instances, they would exchange bomb-making formulas and lab results, and select targets.
As technology has grown more sophisticated, their tactics have changed. Today, Twitter is the application of choice to spread propaganda. They invented a sophisticated tactic for their announcements to reach the maximum numbers of readers. According to some reports, Da’ish owns 45,000 accounts on Twitter, and once a message is sent, another group will copy the announcement to its followers. Eventually these announcements reach legitimate websites like Facebook and illegitimate extremist websites. Furthermore, the use of bots to mimic visits to their websites allows extremists to claim more adherents than actually exist.
When posting a YouTube clip, they have multiple users upload the same video from different locations and under different names to make the clean-up operation harder. Da’ish’s propaganda machine is completely dependent on social media, making the Internet a living artery for the terrorist group. As security officials, we must defeat them on social media and expose their lies to our citizens.
We have tracked terrorist activities online since 2005, when al-Qaida broadcast videos of executions on multiple extremist websites. Initially we acted to block violent extremist websites; however, with new technology and the increased presence of social media, we changed our tactic from blocking sites to countering propaganda. We have specialized teams to confront terrorists on social media to counter their lies. Once Da’ish promoters claim responsibility for a crime or bomb and brag about it, our team responds that the terrorists have committed crimes against innocents and that their quotes from the Quran used to justify their actions are distortions and an insult to Islam.
Because our team contains experts in religion, Islamic history and psychology, we are able to expose all of Da’ish’s lies, leading readers to condemn the crime and align with our bloggers. On many websites, Da’ish promoters claim to control Diyala and Anbar, but our team counters the lies by providing current videos and images of Iraqi troops in the regions. As a result, Da’ish supporters start avoiding some of the sites and think twice before posting lies.
We started noticing the disappearance of Da’ish promoters from their favorite forums because they were unable to convince readers with inconsistent stories that cost them popularity. The majority of Da’ish puppets are delusional, hiding behind computers repeating what their masters have taught them, especially when they reside in different countries and are uninformed about geographic locations and names of towns. On the other hand, our team is well-informed and furnishes firsthand battlefield information, making Da’ish promoters look like fools in the social media.
We are fighting a unique asymmetric war with no defined front line, and we must unite regional and international efforts to counter terrorist organizations online. This battlefront is considered vital for our enemy, since it’s where they receive funds, recruit and spread lies. We must deny them the opportunity to spread their ideology, deceive uneducated youth and seed hatred among mankind.
Despite our team’s massive effort in this battlespace, we continue to face challenges: Extremist websites have multiplied dramatically, come in many languages and operate throughout the world. They also use a variety of applications with different protocols such as computers, smartphones and even PlayStations.
We must stay current with cutting-edge technology and train hard so that we remain steps ahead of our enemies. These criminals are invading our homes via the Internet and using religion to claim they are defending Muslims, but in reality they are leading young people to destruction and distorting the image of Islam. All of our friends and partners must be united in this fight.
Iraq’s SOF Internet team counters enemy propaganda
The Iraqi Special Operation Force’s (ISOF) Internet team plays a critical role in winning the trust of Iraqi citizens as well as boosting the morale of military personnel and promoting the military’s professionalism and skill around the region and world. It publishes information about the readiness of the Iraqi military in general and ISOF specifically. Although information published by the team strengthens the confidence of Soldiers and gives citizens a sense of security, it also counters terrorist operations that aim to spread violence and civil disorder.
One of the important topics the team addresses is technology and weapons purchased by the Iraqi government. For instance, the team announced the arrival of Abrams tanks, giving brief information about the tactical ability of the tank and its superb resistance to anti-tank weapons. Another report detailed the purchase of an Apache attack helicopter, the aircraft’s effectiveness at aerial reconnaissance and its ability to destroy mobile and stationary targets. The ISOF Internet team also promoted Iraq’s acquisition of 12 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and the country’s negotiations to obtain the famous gunship UAV Predator.
The Iraqi Internet team is highly educated in the military spectrum — members’ comments and responses showcase professionalism and expertise. For example, the team published technical comparisons based on scientific research comparing the American Apache helicopter, Abrams tank and F-16 fighter jet to the Russian Mi-28 helicopter, T-90 tank and MiG-35 fighter jet.
Many are unaware of the Iraqi military’s sophisticated technology. The efforts of the Internet team shed light on this valuable information, which has generated many positive comments and more than 10 pages of responses, making it a true military-to-military forum. Forum participants include Iraqis, as well as citizens of neighboring countries who express support for and trust in the Iraqi military.
Teams like this are a first-line defense against terrorist groups that aim to undermine the military and spread propaganda and misinformation about fake terrorist victories on the ground to create panic and terrorize citizens.
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