ARGUMENT: MEDIA-PLATFORM EVASTIONThe Cross-Platform Evasion Toolbox of Islamic State Supporters
Extremists exploiting platforms for their own ends and learning along the way is a tale as old as the internet and one that has become even more pronounced in the era of ubiquitous access to social media. Moustafa Ayad writes that over the past three years, a set of exploitation and evasion tactics have become central for Islamic State supporters online, and they are only getting more elaborate.
Extremists exploiting platforms for their own ends and learning along the way is a tale as old as the internet and one that has become even more pronounced in the era of ubiquitous access to social media. Moustafa Ayad writes in GNETthat over the past three years, a set of exploitation and evasion tactics have become central for Islamic State supporters online, and they are only getting more elaborate.
He adds:
It has been documented that at one point, Islamic State supporters were using third-party applications to acquire digital phone numbers linked to real users on platforms such as Facebook to lock them out of their accounts and repurpose them for propaganda dissemination. Now, Islamic State supporters are developing stand-alone brands for unaffiliated news outlets to pump out whitewashed Islamic State content to thousands across multiple platforms. The outlets have their own editorial standards, branding, and regional expertise.
Understanding both old and new tactics and strategies by Islamic State supporters online is key to anticipating the next moves by these terror groups and their supporters and how they adapt to innovations in moderation by tech companies. This Insight will provide a historical overview of Islamic State supporters’ platform exploitation and evasion tactics and highlight gaps in platform moderation and current research into Islamic State ecosystems on platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, X [formerly known as Twitter], and Telegram. It will focus on what has been termed the Islamic State supporters’ ‘exploitation and evasion toolbox’ and five new tactics that continue to confound platform moderation. These strategies are becoming a staple of terrorist support ecosystems, underlining the lengths supporters of the Islamic State will go to evade platform moderation and how adept they have become at eluding takedowns and spreading propaganda unencumbered.
He notes that,
‘News outlets’ named ‘Media Site,’ ‘World News’, and ‘Breaking News’ [all outlets’ names have been altered throughout the piece to avoid driving traffic to the accounts] are the next generation of platform exploitation tactics by Islamic State supporters currently laundering official Islamic State media for larger audiences. They are branded news outlets that can hoodwink moderators and audiences into falling for an elaborate ruse while continuing to be a successful frontline of the propaganda war by the Islamic State media mujahideen.
