This week's blog updates

This week's key stories in the Virtually Islamic 2.0 blog: 

Iran 'disinformation' report

'True Origins of ISIS'

Islamophobia Defined 

Building pictures of online activity

The Page 99 Test (my response)

Matthew Hedges Freed 

Spotify goes Palestinian 

Raed Fares 

Afaq

9News, The secretive IT unit helping Islamic State supporters hide in dark corners of Internet, 24 Sep 2018  "Afaq's purpose is to help Islamic State jihadists and supporters to remain safe and secure online, while they actively recruit would-be fighters and spread violent propaganda across the Internet."

Gender and jihad

Nikita Malik, Forbes.com, Why Do We Underestimate The Role Of Women In Terrorist Organizations?, 26 Sep 2018 "It is important to remember, moreover, that Islamic State was the first terrorist organization to spearhead a systematic campaign to reach out to women – using gender specific propaganda to do so. The group later inspired others, including the Pakistani Taliban (Tehreek-e-Taliban, or TTP) to follow suit and produce content tailored specifically for its ‘jihadi sisters’, and elaborate on their role in promoting the mujahideen (fighters)."

New and Noted: The Islamic State in Britain

CUP, Michael Kenney The Islamic State in Britain

al-Baghdadi speech

Reuters, Islamic State chief, in rare speech, urges followers to fight on "Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in his first purported speech in nearly a year, has called on followers to fight on despite recent defeats, according to an audio recording posted on the group’s media outlet."

ISIS report

ICSR, Reintegrating ISIS Supporters in Syria: Efforts, Priorities and Challenges

IS loyalty pledge

Reuters, Islamic State militants renew loyalty pledge to 'caliph' Baghdadi, 4 Apr 2018

"How resilient is the Islamic State's digital operation in 2018?"

Twitter thread from Raphael Gluck, who asks "How resilient is the Islamic State's digital operation in 2018?"

The Ghosts of Islamic State

Christoph Reuter, Spiegel, The Ghosts of Islamic State

Hyperlinked Sympathizers

Samantha Weirman & Audrey Alexander, Hyperlinked Sympathizers: URLs and the Islamic State, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism

'How ISIS and Russia Won Friends and Manufactured Crowds'

Renee DiResta, Wired, How ISIS and Russia Won Friends and Manufactured Crowds

"The Islamic State built a global brand using the power of social media. Now, Russia is following a similar playbook—and it’s all too easy."

“Virtual Planners” in the Arsenal of Islamic State External Operations

“Virtual Planners” in the Arsenal of Islamic State External Operations - R. Kim Cragin and Ari Weil, Orbis

Islamic State’s English-language magazines, 2014-2017

Ingram, Haroro. “Islamic State’s English-language magazines, 2014-2017: Trends & Implications for CT-CVE Strategic Communications.” The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague 8, no. 15 (2018) One for the reading list. I look at some of these issues in my next book. "This paper provides a quick reference guide to IS’s English-language magazines released between June 2014 and September 2017 examining key themes and propaganda strategies deployed across three issues of Islamic State News, four issues of Islamic State Report, fifteen issues of Dabiq and thirteen issues of Rumiyah"

Parsons Green: Alleged bomber 'trained by IS in Iraq'

BBC News, Parsons Green: Alleged bomber 'trained by IS in Iraq' "Asked in the Home Office interview whether he had had any training from the Islamic State group Mr Hassan allegedly said: "They trained us on how to kill. It was all religious based"."

Their son went to Syria. They’re facing 14 years in prison for trying to send him money

Toronto Sar/thespec, Their son went to Syria. They’re facing 14 years in prison for trying to send him money "Jack Letts, who has both British and Canadian citizenship, converted to Islam as a teenager and went to Syria in 2014. By the following year, he told his parents he was desperate. Scared that Daesh would kill him, he begged them to send money for smugglers so he could escape."

App used in battles against Islamic State `was a game changer´

Press Association/Daily Mail, App used in battles against Islamic State `was a game changer´, 18 Feb 2018 "An app created using a map seized from Islamic State was a “game changer” in the battle to defeat the extremists in Raqqa, a British man who fought the murderous group has said."

UK unveils extremism blocking tool

BBC News, UK unveils extremism blocking tool, 13 Feb 2018 "ASI Data Science said the software can be configured to detect 94% of IS video uploads."

Germans Shocked by Young Jihadists

VOA, Germans Shocked by Young Jihadists, 11 Feb 2018 "Now, a top German official is calling for cancellation of laws restricting security surveillance of children under the age of 14. Hans-Georg Maassen is the head of the country’s domestic intelligence agency. He argues that Germany is facing serious risks from what the media calls “kindergarten jihadists.”"

The bureaucracy of evil: how Islamic State ran a city

Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, Guardian, The bureaucracy of evil: how Islamic State ran a city part 1 of a series by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad

New & Noted: Music of the Islamic State

Nelly Lahoud & Jonathan Pieslak, Music of the Islamic State

Survival Vol. 60, Iss. 1, 2018