Term Paper on Social Media and Terrorism Recruitment

Global Terrorism

GVPT 406

Thesis Statement

Social Media for Terrorism Recruiting

Shane R. Tyler

June 14, 2015

Shane 1

Thesis Statement:

The use of social media by terrorist organizations for recruiting is a real and present danger which has breached our nation’s borders and plagues all levels of government, local, state, and federal.

Argument:

Terrorist organizations such as Isis have proven themselves to be fluent on social media sites such as YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and even Tumblr. Other terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda have had an internet presence spanning nearly two decades now. These organizations use the internet as a tool to recruit new members and to increase their stronghold on foreign soil.

In this paper, I will examine the use of social media by various terrorist organizations and more importantly examine how these organizations use these social sites to their own specific benefit or need. I will examine how terrorist organizations distribute material anonymously and how they are able to “meet in dark spaces”. This paper will also focus on social media techniques and approaches such as the use of uploaded videos by terrorist members showing real-world scenarios of these groups attacking towns and firing weapons to promote propaganda.