The research in question focuses primarily on how the terrorist organization ISIS operates and how it uses propaganda to further its goals on a global scale. In the first part of the essay, different definitions of ISIS are presented, along with examples of other terror organizations that are connected to the Islamic movement, such as the Taliban, Book haram, Al-Qaeda, etc. Different meanings of propaganda are provided in the section on ISIS propaganda and paints a vivid picture on how the group disseminates falsified information in a misleading nature to promote a certain point of view for commercial, ideological, or political purposes. The study has also tackled impact of propaganda which is a one-sided communication disseminated in favor of one idea or group. The study proceeds to discuss various types of propaganda employed by ISIS including depiction of professionalism and entertainment among others. The theoretical review has discussed various theories including anomie, rational and general strain theory as well as their relation to ISIS propaganda. The ensuing discussion addresses ethical concerns regarding use of propaganda by ISIS. Methodological review brings to light methods of study and research designs employed in data collection and analysis. The research has ended with a conclusion which has summed up the principle ideas presented in the entire study.
Overview
ISIS, an Islamic terrorist organization, is infamously known for their ruthlessness and the sophistication of their propaganda arm. Notably, ISIS is responsible for publishing a magazine called “Inspire” which comes in many languages. This magazine teaches their extreme religious principles, as well as how to make homemade devices. These devices have been used in terrorist attacks globally. For example, the Boston Bombers admitted to using this magazine in order to transform a pressure cooker into an explosive device. Unfortunately, this has led to many other attacks. While there are several ways terrorist organizations display and broadcast their propaganda, ISIS is exceptional. Their propaganda is not limited to written work. They are also well known for social media, videos (YouTube) and even an ISIS phone application. Not only is their propaganda drawing in people from the Middle East, but it is also strong enough to draw in people from the United States and Western Europe. This paper will discuss ISIS propaganda in detail. How has ISIS used propaganda? What types of propaganda do they favor? And is it working? ISIS has effectively been using propaganda to recruit westerners and its effect has been enhanced by mainstream news organizations which use these graphics and videos when reporting on ISIS.
Key Issues & Fact File
Definition of ISIS
Over the last few decades, there has been an eruption of various militia groups, most of them threatening the global peace. Most of these groups hide in religion but are a terrorist organization in the real sense with some targeting the rival religions and others seeking revenge. Despite the reason behind their formation and operations, they all disrupt the peace of the world and especially to the innocent individuals (Chaziza, 2016). Some of these groups include Al-Qaida, Al Shabaab, and the largest of them all, ISIS. Most of these groups although carrying out their operations globally, mainly originate from the Middle East. Below is a table detailing a list of Islamic terrorist organizations. The table includes the name of the organization, any known aliases, date formed, country of origin, and the founder of the organization.
Table 1: A list of the main Terrorist Groups
NAME
OTHER NAMES/alias
DATE FORMED
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
FOUNDER
Islamic State
ISIS, ISIL
1999
Iraq
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Boko Haram
Islamic State West Africa Province
2002
Nigeria
Abubakar Shekau
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
TTP, Taliban Movement of Pakistan, Taliban group in Pakistan
2007
Pakistan
Baitullah Mehsud
Taliban
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,IEA
1994
Afghanistan
Mohammed Omar
Al-Qaeda
al-Qaida
1988
Afghanistan
Osama bin Laden
Al Shabaab
Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, Mujahideen Youth Movement, Hizbul Shabaab
2007
Somalia
Moktar Ali Zubeyr "Godane"
In this context, I shall direct the focus on the definition of ISIS and the fact file.
There have been many different definitions as well as perceptions of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). The group goes by various names such as, ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), as well as Daesh which is an Arabic acronym for “stomp on”, in which “ISIS hates it so much they have threatened to cut out the tongue of anyone who uses it” (Greene & Thompson, 2016). The group can be defined as a rebellious jihadist set mainly in Syria as well as Iraq. It is said to have been influenced by Wahhabi movement with the aim of establishing a state of Islam widely held in Sunni parts of Syria and Iraq. It is seen to have gained its global prominence in the year 2014 after driving the Iraqi government to exit the major cities. Other key activities making the group a threat and prominent player in the world is the capture of Mosul and the massacre at Sinjar among others.
Currently, ISIS is said to be on the list of the top fatal terrorist organizations globally. The group has a slogan stating, ‘Salil Al-Sawarem' meaning ‘The Clinging of the Swords' which were highly publicized in social media when they leaked their promotional videos to the public. ISIS employs highly graphic scenes and images which can be easily found on various social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. In these videos, they occasionally highlight ISIS's savagery while bringing forward some of their military victories. They also feature various activities they carry out such as amputation scenes, killing in masses, tries of assassinations, and madness or deadly attacks among others (Brooking et al. 2016). Though the group claims to be protecting their ‘own' that is Muslims in the regions of the Middle East from the western countries while seeking revenge, they experience significant resistance among the Middle Eastern region. This is evident through an examination of prominent TV shows, YouTube channels, and other social media platforms in the region that often promote anti-ISIS sentiment (Brooking et al. 2016).
The group operates under some foundations or ideologies in attempts to conquer other territories. One of the foundations of the group is merely installing as well as spreading fear in the sense that the general public develops the fear of the group. Apparently, the idea is acquired from a publication of Al-Qaeda going by the title ‘The Administration of Savagery.’ The release was written by Abu Bakr Naji who is a jihadist and posted in the year 2004 for the public (Al-Rawi, 2016). It contains different possibilities but in detail concerning the establishment of the Islamic state.
They believe for the achievement of this state, chaos, deaths as well as savagery prevail. As a result, depicting as well as practicing savagery is a priority in ways justifiable by the jurisdiction of Islam. The main aim of the intimidation is to make the Muslims as a religion to feel vulnerable as insecure in the world and turn to the group for help, commonly referred to as mujahideen. In the document, Naji argues that ‘in did the jihadist will lead and cause deaths and suffering among the people.
Table 2: Recent Deadliest Single-day terrorist attacks in US
Date
Fatalities
Injuries
Article
Location(s)
September 11, 2001
2,996
6,000+
September 11 attacks
New York City, New York, Arlington, Virginia, Shanksville, Pennsylvania
June 12, 2016
50
53
Orlando nightclub shooting
Orlando, Florida
December 2, 2015
16
24
San Bernardino attack
San Bernardino, California
November 5, 2009
13
33
Fort Hood shooting
Fort Hood, Texas
Soon the struggles will be disremembered while the fighters or the terrorists will engage in installing security, basic needs such as food, shelter, and medical services alongside the establishment of Islamic courts with sharia laws (Al-Rawi, 2016).' According to Brooking et al., the leaders of the group assert a division and target a particular group of audience in attempts of enticing recruits. Those who join gain an active support while a negative attitude is given to those who fail to adhere to the jihad.
ISIS is labeled by the united nations as well as other individual countries such as the United States, Russia and Europe, as a terrorist organization. The group is mainly infamous in sharing their videos while beheading innocent people such as aid workers, international and local journalists and destruction of tourist attraction sites. Besides, the United Nations claims the group is responsible for the abuse of human rights and the cause of war and crimes (Chaziza, 2016). The group has been executing crimes and conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and is alleged to be very dynamic in eighteen countries across the world with the number growing quickly particularly to Islamic countries.
Though all the sources of income to support the group is not established, research shows it has different sources of revenue. Some of these sources include fundraising using social media networks, kidnapping for money, smuggling and oil production, armory support from foreign fighters, and proceeding with activities earning them money from the areas they acquire. These activities include control of petroleum reservoirs, finance sectors, and extortion (Kajtár, 2017).
However, there has been a perception in the general public and especially other religions associating the group with the Islamic faith. According to Al-Rawi, the group does not in any way represent Islam as a religion, and their motives are not in any way close to that of Islam as a religion. The group only taints Islam as a religion addicted to violence, but it is against the law and the beliefs of Islam (Al-Rawi, 2016). ISIS is well known for its use of propaganda and hiding behind the Islamic religion. For instance, it uses a version of a Muslim flag with a symbol that makes the general public stereotype the religion towards the cult.
In conclusion, it is important for the world and the United Nations to come together and fight the evil in society. Unanimity of the world is the only cure for the end of the radicalization that is puzzling the world’s peace. Killing the cause of the problem gives a permanent solution. Similarly, if these groups of terrorists are disrupted from their sources or their base of operation, it is possible to do away with them. Disrupting the source of income of the terrorist is another method that needs to be put in place. Without the necessary resources to carry out their operations, it will make them weak and easier to fight.
ISIS and Propaganda
Propaganda is a term stemming from the word propagate. As affirmed by the American Historical Association (2017), the concept of propaganda was introduced by the Catholics in the 1600’s in an attempt to curb the spread of Protestants. The term propaganda may refer to the information, the mode of communication, or the form of persuasion used. In whichever of the aforementioned cases, propaganda influences the opinions, beliefs, actions attitudes, and emotions of the target audience. Propaganda is typically disseminated in a misleading nature to promote a certain point of view for commercial, ideological, or political purposes. Since its inception, propaganda has taken numerous forms including speeches, artwork and films. The use of propaganda is set at different times and for various reasons. For instance, it is employed during wartime to facilitate victory by winning public support.
Propaganda is presented using a manipulative approach. For example, facts are presented selectively in favor of a certain agenda to encourage its acceptance. Also, loaded language can induce emotions and diminish rational responses when a certain agenda or information is being presented. Although the use of propaganda is not exclusively negative, its intentions are usually manipulative. This involves distorting the truth, emphasizing on benefits of one group, underlining the virtues of one idea and suppressing counter-arguments. Propaganda can be broadcasted through direct communication, one-way communication, or mass communication.
Impact of Propaganda
Propaganda is a one-sided communication. The information disseminated is typically in favor of one idea or group. With regard to how it is presented, propaganda ends up being more appealing to emotions over intellect in most cases. The effects of propaganda usually grip the audience at a visceral level. Although many people may recognize some propagandas openly, some of their emotions such as pain, anger, and joy may become appealing. Thus, many people are lured into propaganda despite it being false. Propaganda can be confronted through various ways including exposure of truth, avoidance, and exposure to counter ideas.
The ISIS propaganda has impacted in the United States and its allies in many ways. Although the effects are negative, combined forces among the U.S. and its allies have been embraced to minimize the damage which may be caused by these propaganda messages. One of the main impacts is the fact that more people have grown an interest in the Islamic related group. Since the propaganda messages have been going viral, many people have learned about the existence of the groups which may have a negative influence on the youths who can be ill-informed and grow an interest in joining ISIS. The propaganda has also served as a way to recruit more foreigner fighters. The videos, graphics and text messages sent especially through social media are mainly targeted towards vulnerable youths in the Western countries (Celik, 2017).
Table 3: ISIL Number of Soldiers by Country Estimates
Country
Estimated ISIS Soldiers
Iraq
30,000
Syria
50,000
Tunisia
6,000
United Kingdom
760 – 1,500
United States
250
Netherlands
220
Algeria
200
Malaysia
200
Another impact is that with the growing influence, ISIS has become part of the modern media. Further on, ISIS has also affected some mainstream news organizations. These organizations usually spread graphics and video clips publicized by ISIS. Although these mainstream news organizations are usually doing so to get their readers informed on the current news and updates, it ends up making ISIS videos and propaganda go viral and reach a wider global audience.
The Types of Propaganda Used by ISIS
There are numerous types of propaganda based on various factors such as social psychological research and logical myths. The aims of each type purpose to find a certain weakness and manipulate it to convince the audience even when the arguments are not necessarily valid. ISIS has been using various types of propaganda as discussed below.
Using fear tactics is one of the primary types of propaganda used by ISIS. The fear instilled is typically related to the Judgment day and eternal damnation. When sending their propaganda messages, ISIS makes use of explicit and violent graphics. These graphics instills fear to pressure people towards joining them and free from becoming victims of such occurrences. This may also be observed in their video clips. For instance, they beheaded some American Journalists and shared those videos to the public. Additionally, when they assault those who do not join them or when engaging in war, the group typically records those videos and releases them to the public.
Another type of propaganda used by ISIS is the depiction of professionalism and entertainment. This has been observed in their videos specifically the ones involving the beheading of prisoners. Their videos and mode of presentation are visually comparable to that of reality TV shows. For instance, John Cantlie, a British photojournalist held by ISIS has been the subject of a mock current affairs series (Rose, 2017). ISIS has so far aired three episodes of him. It has also been noted that in these videos the angle switches mid-speech which is a technique in the modern documentary. Notably, to make it similar to a reality TV show, the videos end with the words “Join me for the next program” (Rose, 2017). This was similar to the beheading event in which the masked kidnappers would always point out who would be the next victim during the end (Rose, 2017). This is meant to entice the viewers and inspire them to stay tuned, just like it happens, in reality, TV shows.
Transfer technique is also a type of propaganda in use by ISIS. This type is also known as association. It involves projecting negative or positive qualities of an entity to make one seem more acceptable while the other is discredited. This leads to an emotional response that stimulates those who have been targeted to identify themselves with the acceptable entity. The technique utilizes symbols overlaid on other visual images. ISIS has been using this technique for a long time to discredit their opponents and visualize themselves as the ‘acceptable entity’. ISIS makes use of transfer technique by utilizing religious symbols. These symbols transfer the connotation which the audience has towards these symbols onto the goal of the Islamic State.
In propaganda, euphemisms type refers to the use of words and phrases to make something that is harsh or unpleasant and acceptable. It denotes the use of polite expressions to replace harsh words. The expressions or phrases are used to justify various extremist acts. ISIS makes widespread use of the euphemisms when justifying their death and murder. When justifying these murder actions, ISIS uses expressions like “sacrifice” and collective action from God (Rose, 2017).
ISIS is also using another type of propaganda by depicting their diversity. In the recent times, the group has featured foreigners who are part of their fighters. This type of propaganda sends a message of their multiethnic composition and act as an encouragement to foreigners to join them. They feature the foreigners in their video, in which the foreigners request other westerners to join the Jihad fighters. In a video publicized by ISIS named “No Life without Jihad”, foreigners from various countries were featured urging foreign Muslims to join them (Becker, 2017). One of the foreigners was a British man while another had an Australian accent. The foreigners also described how other foreigners had become loyal fighters and encouraged others to answer the call of Allah.
ISIS has been using children as a new type of propaganda. In various instances, children have been featured in their videos. The United States and its allies have condemned this as the children are innocent and should not be used in propaganda which promotes violence. Although they are just children, they are later turned into committed, competent and full-fledged militants (Bloom, 2015). Recently, ISIS released a propaganda video featuring an alleged child of a United States soldier. The child aged 10 years speaks fluent English in an American accent (Winter & Connor, 2017). The boy is featured with another boy who is 7 years old. The young boy also threatens the United States and mentions the U.S. President Donald Trump. According to Laith Alkhouri, ISIS has featured various children in their videos but this was the first instance to use an American child (Winter & Connor, 2017). This type of propaganda by ISIS is meant to depict how they are spoon-feeding their ideologies to the American children. Additionally, it is meant to show that the United States power has no control over them in teaching their ideologies.
ISIS’ Way of Using Propaganda/Social Media and Technology
ISIS uses propaganda for two key reasons. Firstly, it is meant to provoke the United States and its allies. Secondly, it inspires and recruits followers and supporters outside the Middle East. With their increased use of propaganda effectively, these objectives have been met to a certain degree. For instance, regarding the objective to provoke the United States and its allies, this has been achieved following the beheading of journalists and aid workers, which made Western powers to get back into combat in the region. In regard to the second objective, some of the citizens in these target countries have already been lured into joining ISIS. For instance, three of the five Americans taken into custody for terrorism charges had supposedly tried to join ISIS (Rose, 2017). Another use of the social media by ISIS is to promote its propaganda and facilitate the creation of an Islamic empire. In addition, it is using the social media to empower its supporters and coerce them to take part in the process (Durr, 2016). The use of social media by ISIS has been at a larger percentage targeting the westerners.
Twitter has been the main social media platform being used by ISIS to convey its propaganda messages (Magdy, Darwish & Weber, 2015). It shares its views to other global platforms, thus inspiring its followers and supporters to get involved in the process too. ISIS also uses Twitter to amplify the interest of its supporters and followers who often have an influence on their propaganda messages. Another social media platform is the YouTube (Wiechert, 2016). This platform is used for uploading their video clips. These include recruitment videos, videos captured during wars, videos to inspire followers, videos verbally attacking the United States and its allies, videos depicting the strength of ISIS and videos of ISIS beheading or questioning their prisoners. These videos have been going viral in most cases due to their use by the Mainstream Media organizations when reporting on ISIS occurrence.
Figure 1: Growth of Pro-ISIS Twitter Accounts
Propaganda messages can be conveyed through many materials and media such as sports, TV shows, films, movies, paintings, websites, art, blogs, radio shows, and the social media. With the increasing use of social media especially by youths all over the world, ISIS has mostly engaged in using the social media to spread its propaganda. In social media, ISIS uses various mechanisms to generate the propaganda messages to their target audiences. These include the use of text images, video clips, videos documented like TV reality shows, text messages, and graphics. In these messages, they depict their strength and condemn their enemies, and urge more people to join their forces.
ISIS uses videos as the primary way to spread their propaganda messages to social media. For instance, they have been filming amateur videos of its foot soldiers. These video compilations show the soldiers being engaged in training and other activities. Additionally, they display some of their weapons, both in use and in storage. Some of these weapons are usually stolen from their enemies through an ambush. The videos are then uploaded to social media where users all over the world access them. Apart from their own mechanisms of making the videos go viral; the mainstream news organizations are also involved. This involves mainstream news organizations looking for the outer audience and to attract the people who use these videos since they cannot access those videos in any other way (Rose, 2017). It mainly occurs to those news outlets which cannot be able to send their journalists to those specific war areas to capture the videos themselves. For instance, ISIS uploaded their video to YouTube showing the recruitment of new followers. The video ended up being reported all around the world by many mainstream news organizations making it go viral.
ISIS has been using social media to condemn the United States and depict a bad picture concerning its government. This has been evident in their messages on Twitter and the videos uploaded to YouTube (Celik, 2017). They consider the United States as their worst enemy, together with its allies. For example, ISIS uses the prisoners to warn the United States government to stop intervening in ISIS matters (Rose, 2017). This was evident when Foley and Sotloff were forced to condemn the United States in a video clip. As they had been coached, the prisoners accused the United States of criminality and warned them not to intervene in ISIS matters.
Conclusion
The use of propaganda has been effective in many ways. For instance, the United States also used propaganda to lure young men to join the army and win public support during the world war. ISIS has embraced the use of propaganda to promote the Islamic religion and to get more followers. They have been using many types of propaganda such as instilling fear and euphemism. To achieve their objectives, they have been using social media especially Twitter and YouTube (Wiechert, 2016). To some extent, some of this propaganda has been successful as there have been a number of westerners who have already joined ISIS (Shane & Hubbard, 2017). This has been possible due to the fact that these messages reach out to many audiences as they go viral in most cases. This is accelerated by the mainstream news organizations that use these graphics, images, and videos as a way of distributing their articles on ISIS.
Theoretical Review
General Strain Theory
Robert Agnew founded general strain theory in 1992. The theory focuses on criminology. Since the beginning, general strain theory has gained considerable empirical evidence. Additionally, the theory has stretched its principal scope by explaining the phenomena external to criminal behavior. Previously, Robert King Merton had developed strain theory. However, as noted by Robert Agnew, Merton’s theory lacked full conceptualization on the broad possibilities of strain in the society. This limitation of full conceptualization revolved mainly around youth (Agnew, 2010). Merton asserts that innovation results from the society's emphasis on desirable goods but provides insufficient opportunity to actualize the desirable goals. For instance, members of the society may be in need to attain material success, but due to financial constraint they might resort to crime to achieve their desired goal. Agnew who further adds that many other factors may lead youths to engage in criminal behavior other than financial constraints also embraces this assumption.
Agnew suggests four typical characteristics of strains, which have the highest probability of instigating crime. The first component outlines that strains are seen as unjust. Secondly, strains are viewed as high in magnitude. Thirdly, strains are related to low social control. Lastly, strains generate some incentive or pressure to engross in criminal coping. In addition to these four characteristics, Agnew describes three categories of strains. The first category is related to the lack of ability to attain positively valued goals (Agnew, 2012). The second category relates to the removal of positively valued stimuli. Agnew (2012) affirms that the last category focuses on presenting a threat to a member of the society who has noxious or negative stimuli.
Males have a higher rate of delinquency as contrasted to females. Agnew (2012) ran an analysis to explain this difference by examining how the different genders varied between perception and response to strain. The study concluded that females typically experience more strain than their male counterparts, especially subjective strain. The study further found out that males and females experience different types of strains and respond to them with differing emotion. For instance, females are more concerned with close relationships and thus have lower incidences of violent crime. However, males are more concerned with material success, and will, therefore, have high incidences of violent crime. Notably, with regard to emotional response, males display different reactions relative to females (Agnew, 2010). For instance, females typically blame themselves whereas males blame others.
General Strain Theory Relation to Isis Propaganda
ISIS propaganda extensively draws on the strain-based explanations of terrorism. The general strain theory affirms that crime is likely to occur when individuals undergo ‘collective strain' characterized by unjust, high magnitude, and low social control. These collective strains create a collection of members who have weak ties with the rest of the society. ISIS propaganda has seen the creation of a terror group that isolates itself from the global community and has weak or no ties to the outside community. The general strain theory considers rebels to rise from strains in the society. The rebels reject society norms. The rebels also alter cultural goals and establish new goals, which benefit them as the primary recipients. This characterization of the general strain theory is evident in ISIS. The ISIS militia rejects the established goals of the society and the government and establishes its own laws, which govern them and fuel their followers to engage in inhumane activities. Unemployment, inequality, and financial crisis lead to strain and crime. Most of the young people joining ISIS are society rejects, poor, unemployed, and from the lower class. The youth thirst for financial gains, emotional relationships, and ways to avenge the society’s hostility. This makes them establish new goals, losing positively-valued stimuli, and developing negatively-valued and aversive stimuli (Cullen et al., 2008).
Rational Choice Theory
Cesare Beccaria authored the theory around late 18th century. The rational choice theory is concerned with understanding and modeling economic and social behavior. It is also known as rational action theory or choice theory. The theory tries to explain that social behavior comes from individual actors behavior as each person makes an individual decision. The theory further focuses on methodological individualism. The paradigm explains that each individual has a preference among the available choice alternatives. The preference is considered transitive and complete. The choice option chosen by the individuals is determined by the available information, benefits, and cost. Rationality is used in human decision-making, philosophy, political science, and sociology. An example of rationality is the instrumental rationality, which involves engaging in cost-effective ways to achieve a certain goal without considering the worthiness of the goal.
According to the early neoclassical economists such as William Stanley Jevons, consumption choices are based on how well a product maximizes the individual's happiness or utility. The theory tries to predict the pattern of choices and the outcome of the choice process of individuals. The theory is surrounded by ongoing controversy due to insufficient empirical evidence. Analytical philosophers and economic theorists have conducted many studies in an attempt to strengthen the theory. Assumptions in this model include the perfect information, choice under uncertainty, inter-temporal choice, and limited cognitive ability. The advantage of rational choice lies in its ability to allow individual preferences to be categorized as real-valued utility functions. This makes it possible to describe an agent's constraints and objectives. This facilitates analyses of personal, household, and traditional economic matters including investment, savings, education, and crime.
Rational Choice Theory Relation to ISIS Propaganda
The rational theory can be applied to determine what motivates individuals to join terrorist groups such as ISIS and what stimulates them to engage in the radical acts associated with those groups. Terrorism is mainly driven by social, political, and economic factors. ISIS aims to establish an Islamic state, thus constituting as a political rallying. The rational theory asserts that an individual can engage in terrorism for many reasons. Notably, with regard to rational theory, the primary way through which individuals join ISIS is a way to satisfy their God. However, political and economic interests are also crucial factors. Terrorists usually have an uncertainty of how their opponent will act. As such, each party strives to maximize and reach its own goals (Victoroff, 2005). This leads to each player, for instance, ISI
