The Taliban's massive social media presence that's being ignored

Austin Bodetti, alaraby, The Taliban's massive social media presence that's being ignored, 22 Nov 2017 "The insurgents have employed social media for more creative purposes, creating Facebook profiles of attractive women to trick Western soldiers into disclosing intelligence. Their affiliates in Pakistan even tried to recruit propagandists for an online magazine through a Facebook page." I have written about this phenomenon in the past, and have something in my next book relating to the Taliban.

'Inspire' and other magazines

strategypage.com, Information Warfare: Deadly Demographics Doom Online Magazines " Resurgence and Al Somood appealed to a specific audience (Somali, Afghan and Pakistani expatriates in English speaking countries) to mainly obtain recruits for al Shabaab and the Taliban. All three of these publications attracted a lot of attention from the mass media and politicians but otherwise were ineffective. For example not a lot of captured Islamic terrorists note these magazines as being an influence on them. The same pattern was found when analyzing online “chatter” among active Islamic terrorists. Some Islamic terrorist groups noted this and tried to adapt." Opinoin about the 'effectiveness' of Inspire and other magazines.

Taliban video

AFP/Herald Sun, Global chorus of outrage after Afghan woman executed by Taliban for adultery, 9 Jul 2012 "Senior US and British figures have led a global chorus of outrage after the emergence of a shocking video showing the Taliban publicly executing a 22-year-old Afghan woman accused of adultery."

Voice of Jihad Q&A service

Usman Sharifi, AFP, Taliban offer question-and-answer service online, 27 Mar 2012 "The facility on Voice of Jihad, the official website of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan -- the Taliban's own name for their movement -- allows readers to submit queries to spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid." Useful summary.

'Taliban Using Modern Means to Add to Sway'

Alissa J. Rubin, NYT, Taliban Using Modern Means to Add to Sway, 5 Oct 2011 "Punctually, at 8 o’clock every evening, the cellphone signals disappear in this provincial capital. Under pressure from the Taliban, the major carriers turn off their signal towers, effectively severing most of the connections to the rest of the world. "

The Taliban's Internet Strategy

Useful article/op-ed:

Bashir Ahmad Gwakh, RFE/RL, The Taliban's Internet Strategy, 10 Sep 2011 "Although the Taliban has numerous blogs and websites, two of their official websites, Al-Emarah.net and Shahamat.info (mostly videos), are their main official tools of propaganda. "Along with pictures and videos, they provide text materials in Arabic, Pashto, Dari, Persian, Urdu, and English."

I've been looking at Taliban sites for several years - there has been a long-term presence online (I wrote about them in Virtually Islamic).

Taliban Tweets

GMA News Online, Taliban boosts propaganda with English tweets, 13 May 2011 "In a move seen as an expansion of its propaganda's reach beyond the Afghan world, the Taliban has recently started posting messages in English on its Twitter account several months after tweeting only in pure Pashto, one of the Middle Eastern country's official languages." Widely reported

'Taliban Twitter' II

theglobeandmail.com, Taliban embrace information age with Twitter, English websites, 8 May 2011

I have previously blogged and written on this issue.

"Other attempts at expanding the Taliban’s marketing reach have run into obstacles. Its Facebook page was shut down earlier this year after just 20 days. But the Taliban has started sending out its statements as tweets from two Twitter accounts.

"To reach ordinary Afghans – most of whom are illiterate and have no Internet access – it relies on more rudimentary methods. It provides cassettes to compliant or intimidated mosque preachers and tribal elders. It operates radio stations in parts of four provinces where its control is solid. Some of its fighters carry mobile radio equipment consisting of little more than wire strung through tree branches and beat-up antennas held together with electrical tape. They then transmit cassette tapes of songs and religious exhortations."

Taliban Employs Modern Weapons In 'War of Words'

Bashir Ahmad Gwakh, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Taliban Employs Modern Weapons In 'War of Words', 16 Mar 2011: "'Wars today cannot be won without media. Media aims at the heart rather than the body, [and] if the heart is defeated, the battle is won.'

"This conclusion, reached by Abdul Sattar Maiwandi in an interview published recently on the website Al-Emarah, is not groundbreaking. The importance of winning the 'war of words,' as Maiwandi describes it, to winning an actual war has long been understood.

"But consider the source. Maiwandi is the editor in chief of Al-Emarah, which is an official Taliban website. And while the Taliban officially banned photography, movies, and the use of the Internet when it was in power in Afghanistan -- considering them un-Islamic -- today the militant group cannot deny the potential of such media as tools of propaganda and recruitment.""

Useful article, with screenshots and analysis. I write about some of this in iMuslims and other work. Also check out some of the feedback ...

'Battle of 'Aafia Siddiqui.'

Views from the Occident (Twitter Specials): "Battle of 'Aafia Siddiqui": Al-Qa'ida Central Releases Video of Attack on Pakistani Military Post in Landi Kotel, 24 Sep 2010: "Al-Qa'ida Central's (AQC) media outlet, the Al-Sahab (The Clouds) Media Foundation, has released a short video entitled 'Battle of 'Aafia Siddiqui.'"

Taliban net request

Jon Boone, The Guardian, Taliban call for joint inquiry into civilian Afghan deaths considered, 16 Aug 2010 "The Taliban overture, which came in a statement posted on its website, will revive a divisive debate about whether to conduct any formal talks with insurgents who are responsible for the majority of civilian casualties in Afghanistan, and whose assassination campaign now kills one person a day on average."

Taliban 'hacked'

Adam Rawnsley, wired, Taliban Webmaster: We’ve Been Hacked!, 10 June 2010 "Abu al-Aina’a al-Khorasani, an administrator an elite jihadi forum endorsed by the Taliban, warns in an online post that the “group’s main site and the site of its online journal Al-Sumud, have been the subject of an ‘infiltration operation.’”"

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

Views from the Occident (Twitter Speicals), Afghanistan taliban: the American Colonialist Agenda, 19 Apr 2010, " ... a statement from the Afghan Taliban, which refers to itself as the "Islamic Emirate [state] of Afghanistan" (as it did in the 1990s). The statement is run without edits."

Afghanistan Taliban magazine

Views from the Occident (Twitter Specials), Afghanistan Taliban Photography Magazine, 'In Fight' No. 14, February 2010

Taliban propagation strategies

Abdulhadi Hairan, huffingtonpost.com, A Profile of the Taliban's Propaganda Tactics, 1 Feb 2010 "Online internet forums and social networks are also used as part of this propaganda network. All the content posted on official websites is subsequently posted on Pashto and Dari forums for a wider audience and lengthy discussions. Videos are shared on youtube and other information on facebook, etc. As certain members of these online networks forward the videos and information to other groups and people, the propaganda content reaches to hundreds of thousands of people inside and outside Afghanistan and Pakistan and becomes part of the global campaign for jihad and, as a result, attract youths to join the insurgent forces or support it financially." This is a very detailed report on an under-represented area.

Taliban magazine

Views from the Occident, Afghan Taliban Photography Magazine, "In Fight" No. 12, December 2009 Issue "The December 2009 issue the Afghan Taliban photography magazine In Fight, which reproduces photographs of the ongoing insurgency in Afghanistan between the United States, NATO, and an ever-expanding Pashtun insurgency, led by the Taliban and several other groups, particularly those headed by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Jalaluddin Haqqani." [also links to back issues]

Mullah Omar message

Times Online, Taleban leader Mullah Omar gets on message with speech aimed at West, 26 Nov 09 "The message is a fascinating demonstration of how an austere and vindictive group of extremists has adopted the PR techniques of its Western foes.

"Many experts say the tactics show the influence of al-Qaeda in the use of technology, and an awareness that the militants must fight their own hearts and minds campaign."

The statement is widely available online.

Opinion piece/commentary

Maloy Krishna Dhar, frontierindia.net, Talibanized Pakistan and threat to regional security, 25 Oct 09 opinion piece (brief ref to iMuslims)

Istiqlal Media

Adam Rawnsley, wired.com, Taliban Steps Boldly in 2007, Invades YouTube, 13 Oct 09 discusses Istiqlal Media:

"The Taliban’s experiment with an official YouTube channel, however, might not be as effective at keeping the group’s propaganda online. While controversies have erupted over YouTube’s efforts to remove terrorist videos before, many such videos are frequently taken down. An official Taliban channel could be a lightning rod, making it easier to identify, report and remove the outfit’s videos and potentially placing Afghanistan’s militant Mullahs in another bandwidth crunch sooner than they think."

Afghanistan Elections

Heidi Vogt, AP, Afghans turn to the Twitterverse for election, 20 Aug 09 "While far smaller than the response after the Iran vote, the online activity in Afghanistan was an amazing contrast to the last presidential election in 2004, when the country was only a few years removed from Taliban rule that banned many types of technology, including TV and the Internet.

"Afghans now have cell phones even in remote areas. Those without computers or electricity at home go to Internet cafes to check their e-mail. And as elsewhere, Twitter is a relatively new phenomenon in Afghanistan."

The article points to Alive in Afghanistan, which also draws on Google Maps and overlayed reports (below).



Also see Twitter: #Afghanistanelection and #Afghan09