Terror groups using digital platforms to promote jihad, says researcher
Jun 22, 2020
Amsterdam (ANI) June 22, 2020: From the expansion of extremist groups and their worldwide recruitment policies, it has become evident that the threat of terrorism is not restricted to its region of origin anymore. The mass use of Internet and social media has obscured the borders of extremism and has imposed an undeniable menace to global peace. A latest report by the European Foundation for South Asian Studies or EFSAS discusses that information sharing has assisted in the dissemination of extremist beliefs across the globe at a faster pace and has appeared as an important tool in the radicalization of individuals and their subsequent recruitment as terrorists. Terrorist organizations have progressively taken advantage of these platforms to convey their agenda and achieve their goals, says EFSAS report. Terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Islamic state and Taliban are at the forefront of using the internet for their recruitment and expansion purposes. One prominent example is the opportunistic and perplexed level of technology LeT terrorists were relying on during the Mumbai 2008 attacks. Lashkar-e-Taiba has been organizing numerous online and offline social media workshops, which first provide the individuals with knowledge on how to exploit the online space in order to spread the LeT ideology and its objectives, and second, directly incite youngsters to engage in anti-India protests in the Kashmir Valley. With the rise of terrorist incidents related to online radicalization, generating counter and alternative narratives and promoting media literacy strategies appear vital to the protection of human rights, freedom of expression, universal access to information and intercultural dialogue. The report by EFSAS emphasizes that the suspension of extremist websites should indeed take place alongside with legal measures in order to send a message to terrorist groups that they cannot enjoy impunity in cyberspace.
