The Terror Times: The Depth and Breadth of the Islamic State Alternative News Outlet Ecosystem Online
07/09/2022
A new report from ISD, authored by Moustafa Ayad, Nadeem Khan and Aymenn al-Tamimi, uncovers the depth and breadth of the network of “news outlets” providing support to the Islamic State online.
The report explains how these outlets position themselves as a counterbalance to mainstream media, providing an “independent” perspective on conflict zones where they prey on sectarian divides and promote local Islamic State affiliates.
The report also details how the outlets develop contingency plans to allow them to rapidly reconstitute in the case of takedowns, effectively evading moderation across social media platforms including Facebook and Telegram. It also unveils the 43-emoji code used by the network to describe types of attacks and enemies of the group, as well as evading content moderation.