About
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is a Jihadist militant group of Sunni Muslims based in Iraq which originated as part of the global Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda. The group has gained notoriety for their aggressive propaganda campaigns and prolific social media presence, which came under even more scrutiny by the press in June 2014 after the group released morbid photographs of an apparent massacre of captured Iraqi Army soldiers via Twitter.
Online History
The Dawn of Glad Tidings
The Dawn of Glad Tidings[2] (Dawn) is a Twitter app launched by ISIS for android phones. The app is available to download through the Google Play store. The app launched for the public in April 2014, and has sent out up to 40,000 tweets per day.[3] On June 15th, 2014, the group sent out a tweet through Dawn which featured a picture of Baghdad with their flag flying above it with a message reading, “We are coming, Baghdad,” calling attention to their move towards the city.
A fan page for the group titled “Shia Ibn E Mutta,” which is a phrase against Shia marriages, was active on Facebook until June 16th, 2014, at which point Facebook removed it. It was removed shortly after The Washington Times[9] published an article titled “HUSAIN: Facebook refuses to take down ISIS terror group fan page,” which covered Facebook’s previous refusal to remove the page. Before the page was removed it had gained over 6,000 fans. Content contained on the page included graphic photos of violence carried out by ISIS and suggestions as to how the group can take over the city of Baghdad.
Social Media Censorship in Iraq
In response to ISIS social media campaign, the Iraqi government began to block the country’s access to social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook as early as June 13th. That day, Twitter sent out a tweet[7] saying:
“Users in #Iraq are reporting issues accessing our service. We’re investigating their reports and we hope service will be restored quickly.”
Without access to other forms of social media, Iraqi citizens began using the secret sharing app Whisper[8] in large numbers.
Search Interest
External References
[1]The Independent – Who are Isis? The rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
[2]The Atlantic – How ISIS Games Twitter
[3]Bustle – ISIS’ TWITTER& FACEBOOKSTRATEGY IS CALCULATED, YOUTH-ORIENTED, ANDDANGEROUS
[4]Telegraph – Iraq crisis: Isis takes to social media to spread fear
[5]Twitter – Islamic_States
[6]Twitter – ISIS_Media_Hub
[7]The Guardian – Iraq blocks Facebook and Twitter in bid to restrict Isis
[8]9news – Whisper app use surging in Iraq
[9]Washington Times – HUSAIN: Facebook refuses to take down ISIS terror group fan page
