Lecture%206:%20Media%20

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Lecture 6 Media The Internet

• What is the role of the media and the Internet in
  facilitating terrorist radicalization?

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Media and Terrorism

• 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

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Terrorist Media Campaigns

• Perception management is central to Al-Qaidas
  war against the West
• AQ has its own media branch (as-Sahab) audio,
  video distribution
• Leadership clearly describes networks 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
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From Media to Internet
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)
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Terrorism and the Internet

• 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

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Al Qaidas Online Efforts

• Target the Arab and Muslim youththe 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).

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Marxist view of human endeavor from each
according to your ability . . .
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Examples
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(No Transcript)
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Inspire magazines

• 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 mothers kitchen

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Inspire
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Conclusion

• 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

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Conclusion

• 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

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Shaping Perceptions

• How does the media and Internet facilitate
  influence and the shaping of perceptions?
• Role of media and Internet goes beyond
  radicalization

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Questions?