Combating terrorism on the Internet and in social media

Recent research has shown a slew of societal benefits associated with social media:

• Faster flow and wider distribution of information
• The ability to make and strengthen relationships with new people
• Reduce the need for face-to-face interaction
• Crowdsourcing and crowdfunding of efforts
• Accessibility to opportunities, including education and employment

But what happens when those benefits are applied under the context of terrorism?  Modern terrorist, extremist militias and paramilitary groups have taken to the Internet to do just that - to take advantage of the readily available plethora of fast, wide-reaching communications channels to recruit, instruct, and coordinate.

Want proof?  Look no further than this post on the Cats of ISIS.  Cat videos aside, for a more serious look, take a browse through the well-engineered and professionally crafted Dabiq, the online magazine of the Islamic State (IS).

The U.S. and its allies are sprinting to catch up, even initiating its own State Department moderated YouTube channel as a counterpropaganda mechanism for IS recruiters, and in some cases, taking advantage of IS social media for ordnance targeting.

Interested in reading further?  Check out this Popular Science article which provides a more in-depth discussion on the topic.