UAE anti-terror centre launches ‘Deluded Followers’ campaign

ABU DHABI // A joint anti-terror initiative by the UAE and the United States is using a hashtag as another weapon in its online fight against extremism.

The Sawab Centre launched the #DeludedFollowers Campaign on its Twitter and Instagram accounts with the aim of shedding light on ISIL’s recruiting methods.

The campaign hopes to expose ISIL enlisting tactics such as portraying the Iraqi and Syrian conflicts as a war of civilisations between Islam and the West, alleging the mistreatment of Muslims around the world, distorting Islamic terminology and spreading disunity among people and their leaders.

Through these methods, the centre said, ISIL targets those who feel desperate, are on the margins of society, and impacted by chaotic and unpredictable social and economic conditions.

New recruits are exploited and mistreated by the organisation and often put on the front lines of the conflict, according to numerous official reports.

Seen as expendable, the most recent conscripts are regularly used as suicide bombers and human shields by ISIL, according to the centre.

Sawab is publicising this treatment online through ISIL defectors’ testimonials.

It has also stressed that educating societies about the danger of joining terrorist organisations is a crucial piece in the greater worldwide effort in limiting resources available for terrorism.

The centre, named after the Arabic word for “the right and spiritual path”, was formed in July of last year.