If you think ISIS is only targeting males to join forces you are mistaken. About 13 percent of Americans charged with ISIS-related crimes are said to be women. ISIS operated very much like a company marketing itself online. When most people think of this sort of terrorist group, they do not imagine a social media presence or a strategic marketing outreach, but that is exactly what is being done. ISIS has over 40 media organizations that are currently at work reaching out to people via social media and online messaging forums. Perhaps the most frightening new strategy is the targeting of teenage girls online. The editorial director of the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium (TRAC) named Veryan Khan explains this strategic push by saying, “There’s a priority for the Islamic State to attract females because it offers stability. If you want people to see you as a nation, a legitimate state, it’s important to attract females and have them start families.”
Another type of social media comes in the form of tumblr blogs by ISIS female members explain what to expect and what to bring. These posts include ISIS propaganda and photos. Online users are bombarded with ISIS recruiters, making it extremely easy to find information and create a sort of virtual community with other ISIS members and potential recruits. This is summed up in a statement made by Mia Boom, a Georgia University State Professor who states,
“The moment you indicate any sort of interest in ISIS or ask any questions about it on a social platform, you get 500 new followers on Twitter, you get 500 friends on Facebook, you start getting emails and messages constantly — it’s a kind of love bombing.”
ISIS members and supporters on social media show their allegiance by posting sayings in their description boxes or adding photos on the ISIS flags to their profiles. While Twitter has suspended over 250,000 accounts linked to ISIS members and recruiters, the use of private messaging sites are still prompting the sharing of ISIS information to young girls via the internet, making social media a dangerous aid to ISIS recruiters.
Young women all over the country and world are being targeting by creating the illusion of sisterhood and stability once they join. Propagandist photos of happy looking Islam women and men attempt to sway online users towards considering joining forces.
Work is being done to stop this online recruitment but it’s a tricky process. Hands-on work is being done behind the scenes as well as “counter-narratives” that appear in the search results when certain phrases are typed in. Religious figures also offer aid in providing counter-narratives as well. But the real question is how do we prevent people from being contacted online and targeting with ISIS marketing?