Get Good Guys to Fight ISIS Online

The Straits Times

20 November 2016

Twitter posts, first-person shooter video games and rap videos – the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group has tapped virtually all forms of media to reach out to its followers.

In one computer game, players assume the persona of a young militant, gunning down American soldiers while Arabic music plays in the background. This is the form that terrorist propaganda and ideology take these days.

So while ISIS is slowly ceding its territory in the Middle East, on the Internet, it is spreading its tentacles far and wide, an Insight round-table discussion heard.

The terror group’s use of social media has been a great “force multiplier”, helping it to attract followers and influence youth around the world, said Associate Professor Kumar Ramakrishna, head of policy studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies and one of the panellists.

ISIS’ online influence and capability is something that security agencies are trying hard to match, said Prof Kumar.

… Another panellist, Mr Remy Mahzam, an associate research fellow at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, said ISIS has been successful in creating icons and personalities online. The challenge is for the “good guys” to do the same, he said.

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