Defiant Message From ISIS In Response To Campaign Against Its Presence On Telegram, Other Platforms

December 3, 2019

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In an editorial published in the latest issue of its weekly Arabic magazine, Al-Naba', the Islamic State (ISIS) responds defiantly to the recent widespread campaign to suspend accounts belonging to its media apparatus, media activists, and supporters on social media platforms, most notably on Telegram. The editorial is ISIS's first official response to the suspension campaign.

Starting on November 21, 2019, leading internet companies began suspending numerous accounts of ISIS supporters, at the behest of Europol and European countries. The most notable results of this campaign have been seen on Telegram, which has served in recent years as the exclusive venue for the publication of official ISIS material. While the suspension campaign has hit ISIS hard, it has not completely disrupted the organization's media output. Further, the campaign has led ISIS supporters to seek other venues, and several have migrated to platforms such as Tamtam, Rocket Chat, and Riot, with some being suspended from these platforms as well.[1]

The editorial stresses the fortitude of the ISIS media apparatus and especially the ability of its activists and supporters to disseminate content to its members via the internet. It boasts that ISIS has retained an active presence online despite all the efforts of Western governments ["Crusaders"] and governments of Muslim countries ["tyrants"] to hamper the distribution of ISIS publicity material. The editorial notes that even if the ISIS presence online has been restricted, it is merely a matter of time until its media activists find an alternative platform, and it vows that the ISIS media apparatus, like jihad itself, will remain "until Judgment Day."

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[1] For more information, see JTTM report: ISIS Supporters Reeling After Telegram Presence Hit By Europol-Prompted Suspensions, November 24, 2019.

 

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