Taking the battle to social media

Understanding of how the web functions will help us defeat extremist messaging online

Understanding of how the web functions will help us defeat extremist messaging online. Christopher Pike / The National

The threat of extremism in the Middle East constantly evolves and adapts to prevailing conditions. In recent years, extremist groups such as ISIL have embraced social media platforms as a way to disseminate their propaganda and recruit new fighters. They have demonstrated a savvy understanding of how the web functions to get a maximum number of people involved in their hateful missions in Syria and Iraq.

How to combat these online threats was a subject of discussion in Abu Dhabi this week, with Nabil Al Khowaiter, chief executive of Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, raising a salient point that requires deeper discussion. As The National reported yesterday, he said GCC governments can’t completely control social media so more effort must be devoted into fighting extremist ideology on the web by producing better and more positive content.

This is correct. To defeat extremists online, governments and individuals must think of innovative ways to reclaim the web. The best way to do that is to create positive content that travels quickly throughout the internet from blogs to news sites through to social media platforms.

One recent example is ISIL’s use of Toyota light trucks in Syria and Iraq. When the US treasury department asked Toyota why so many of its vehicles were being used by ISIL, it was a seemingly benign request. Toyotas regularly appear in ISIL propaganda videos on the internet and members of the American government wanted to understand why, even if it out of the car company’s control.

While the story might have remained out of the public eye, one US counter extremism project decided to publicise it. The result was a viral internet story about ISIL’s reach and its negative messaging. This in turn prompted millions to question ISIL’s strategy, demonstrating how content can be promoted to make it appealing on the internet so that millions view it.

By engaging with the web and social media on its own terms through the creation of content that stimulates and informs like the Toyota story, we can counter ISIL’s extremist propaganda and beat it at its own game.