Anonymous recently released the handles of some 9,200 Twitter users who support the extreme Islamic State, to pressure Twitter into taking action against accounts being used to spread extremist ideology and propaganda. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, however, has received death threats if the social media site suspends or bans the ISIS supporters or deletes ISIS sympathizers from its webpage. Should Twitter take Anonymous’s, or ISIS’s threat more seriously?
Government officials insist that fighting the Islamic State terror group requires much more than taking down websites or removing Twitter accounts; they claim that a propaganda war by experts is the only feasible solution to weaken the group’s pull on social media.
“It is not a panacea; it is not a silver bullet. People exaggerate, people think this is worthless or they think it a magic thing that will make the extremists surrender. It is neither one of those. It is slow, steady, daily engagement pushing back on a daily basis,” a US official said of the government’s own online anti-Islamic State campaign.
Harassing the Islamic State group online is a meaningless exercise? Guess not, since social media is a powerful tool for ISIS looking to lure potential vulnerable, young and educated recruits into the terror outfit.
Some experts are definitely in favor of Anonymous’ attacks on Islamic State’s cyber-assets. Foreign Policy’s Emerson Brooking believes that the US government should pay Anonymous in Bitcoin to fight ISIS as the group appears to be much more capable, and much more willing, than the government at battling extremism online.
“If the United States is struggling to counter the Islamic State’s dispersed, rapidly regenerative online presence, why not turn to groups native to this digital habitat? Why not embrace the efforts of third-party hackers like Anonymous to dismantle the Islamic State — and even give them the resources to do so?” he asks.
Brookings Institution fellow J M Berger and his colleague Jonathon Morgan ‘found substantial evidence’ that account suspensions seriously damages Islamic State’s online operations. “In September 2014, Twitter began to crack down on ISIS supporters suspending tens of thousands of accounts. The size of ISIS’s support network on Twitter is shrinking as a result. The hashtag that ISIS uses to promote its own messages has been taken over by opposing spammers, trolls and activists, who frequently tweet five times as much anti-ISIS content as ISIS can muster on any given day. ISIS users call the suspensions devastating, and their fury provides evidence that suspensions hit them where it hurts,” Berger said.
According to The New York Times, the US government wants to counter ISIS’s social strategy by consolidating anti-ISIS social messaging under an expanding State Department branch called the Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications. It would seem that the government has finally discovered a reason for an open propaganda arm, which might account for its unwillingness to take the actions needed to bring down ISIS’s online presence in the way that Anonymous has.
“The high-quality videos, the online magazines, the use of social media, terrorists Twitter accounts — it’s all designed to target today’s young people online in cyberspace,” Obama said during a White House summit on countering extremist violence.
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Since 2001, I’ve always wanted to start a computer club called Anonymous. The idea might have caught on. I’d like to make a suggestion for your OpISIS campaign. There are ways to access a multitude of mid to high resolution satellite images. In the past, these images have been used to solve a multitude of serious crimes, including but not limited to murders, AMBER alerts, and terrorist attacks. Anonymous should use this information to combat ISIS and other evil doers. Plus, I’d like to point out that a lot of pictures taken with smart phones contain location data. Also, there are cameras everywhere, such as on top of traffic lights and security cameras. For example, the satellite images can track a kidnapper in a car. When the car goes under a traffic camera, Anonymous now has the make, model, license plate number, face of the suspect, and more. Alternatively, if a Twitter feed has an picture of terrorists with location data, one can play a satellite feed in reverse to find out where they came from and forward to find out where they went. This technique works wonders. Oh, there’s ways to analyze faces, voices, eyes, and freckles, too! Cheers!!!
Thank u…. we already switched tactics. In certain phones like galaxy s5 we can edit or location data and forge it. And in AND around IS there is no traffic cam. We know there is are gigapixel cams…. still who cares. If almighty’s might is with us. We shall win. Otherwise we will lose even with your support.
So basically what you are saying is that you want anonymous to be the NSA frank? Let them destroy ISIS the way they do now but let’s not make them do the governments job and invade privacy (I think this is firmly against anonymous’ principles)
The NSA is not doing a good enough job xD
they ben saying on the internet that usa helicopters has been seen dropping off crates of guns to isis have also seen they think us gov. is the one that started isis
If they will employ any tactic necessary and use every resource they can get their hands on , then we should too. Religious extremism, no matter the ideology, is BAD.
If they will use any and every resource they can get their hands on, we should too. Religious extremism is dangerous, no matter the ideology. Keep up the good work.
What do we do to take down the twitter accounts?
‘US government should pay Anonymous in Bitcoin to fight ISIS’. please, anon is not a military contractor. they fight not for money. nor a government. they fight for the world. they fight for us. we should be thankful for them
Indeed, “Anonymous is not your personal army.”
I beleive Twitter should take Anonymous threats more serious than Isis Isis can’t be allowed to continue with there crap if Twitter wants there websites protected and to be able to stop Isis just ask and the NSA sucks so they need somone like us to help them stop Isis recruiting for there horrible cause
I think taking down Isis twitters and facebook, emails and etc is a great way to help fight Isis. Yes, there needs to be people fighting Isis physically, but at least with Anonymous fighting them online, it helps Isis to get less people recruited into their stupid little group. I’m glad Anonymous is fighting against Isis and if I knew how to hack, I’d join Anonymous in the fight, but Idk how to hack…..
Thank you, Anonymous, for fighting against Isis.
Thank you to Red Cult team and any other Anonymous hacker or hacker groups out there involved in OPISIS. You have my gratitude and support.
i’m always in for anon if you guys show an ip of them i go hardcore with my team idc what you wan’t ddos rat fishing SAY IT AND I WILL DO It
I second mamawolf and will also “bite” where i can as much as possible!!!!!
I’m currently looking into linux code to start hacking myself to ultimately help you track these people down, alongside other missions I’d like to be part of one day. But I’m currently somewhat terrible at it :3 but I’m reading and watching videos on daily basis and make my tries locally to avoid getting into trouble.
Anyhow, I’d like to ask for a few pointers or links even for educational sites that could be to great help in understanding how to do this. Also, my goal is not only to be able to use programs that will do stuff for me, but rather learn how to do it myself from anywhere
Anonymous, we love what you are doing. But helping our government get out of the situation that they created. I mean they funded isis they helped start the group they are giving them weapons. Why would you help them continue to lie to the American people. The best thing you can do is to keep exposing the reasons why our government continues this deceptive behavior, like you did on Malaysia air flight 370. Please continue your awesome work. Can’t wait for the next episode.