Abstract
The study examines the application of the post-World War II U.S. Armed Forces propaganda analysis methods as a valid framework for the analysis of modern extremist social media. Using Jihadist and Islamic extremist, Al Qaida core, affiliate and associate (AQAA), digital media products, the framework examines persuasive devices used to attempt to appeal to potential recruits and ultimately incite them to violence. The findings of the content analysis extend previous examinations and provide a unique lens in which to view the appeals used in messaging to encourage potential violent actors in civil society. The examination categorizes tools of persuasion with the aim to validate the applicability of a historical framework in exploring modern messaging, informing future counter-narratives, and providing law enforcement cues in the analysis and determination of ongoing threats in their respective jurisdictions.
Highlights
The United States describes a terrorist organization as a foreign organization that engages in terrorist activity as “defined in section 212 (a)(3)(B) of the INA (8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(3)(B)), or terrorism, as defined in section 140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. § 2656f(d) (2))” (Department of State, 2012)
The nature of a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) is an organization that threatens the security of United States, its defenses, people, interests or relations (Department of State, 2012)
U.S Code 18 Part I, Chapter 41 § 875 further addresses the topic of interstate communications and communicating a threat as it relates to commerce
Summary
The United States describes a terrorist organization as a foreign organization that engages in terrorist activity as “defined in section 212 (a)(3)(B) of the INA (8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(3)(B)), or terrorism, as defined in section 140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. § 2656f(d) (2))” (Department of State, 2012). Some researchers in communications find that any attempt to limit freedom of speech with regards to jihadist propaganda would serve only to reinforce a perception of “victimhood” or grievance used by Islamist organizations to garner a sense of outrage from the Muslim community This concept is buoyed by Western media which often presents the actions of violent extremist organizations as ‘evil’ in turn, thereby creating an ‘us-versus-them’ or a ‘believer-versus-nonbeliever’ scenario. In 1998, the executive director of the Emergency Response & Research Institute (ERRI), Clark Staten, testified before a U.S Senate subcommittee that “even small terrorist groups are using the Internet to broadcast their message and misdirect/ misinform the general population in multiple nations simultaneously” (Denning, 2000, p.1) In addition to his testimony, he provided the subcommittee copies of Internet messaging which contained “anti-American and anti-Israeli propaganda and threats, including a widely distributed extremist call for jihad (holy war) against America and Great Britain” (Denning, 2013, p.14). The Internet merely provides convenience of access and immediacy to information sought
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