Tweeting terror.

• Author: Nicodemo, Allie
• Position: Social Media - Terrorists' usage of social media

"Although extremist groups appear to advocate for a return to the Dark Ages, they show a sophisticated mastery of modern social media technology "

EXTREMIST organizations like the Islamic State group (ISIS or ISIL) and A1 Qaeda have recruited more than 25,000 foreign fighters from over 100 countries, according to the United Nations. Their numbers have increased around 70% in the last several months. How are these groups able to attract so many followers so quickly?

Although extremist groups appear to advocate for a return to the Dark Ages, they show a sophisticated mastery of modern social media technology. When a terrorist organization disseminates a message through social media, it does not just reach the citizens of one country or region. "It has a global footprint," says Hasan Davulcu, associate professor in Arizona State University's School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering.

When the Islamic State group posts an execution video, for instance, every "share" accelerates its spread across the Internet. Once an online message has gone viral, it becomes extremely difficult to counter. At least 46,000 Twitter accounts are used by Islamic State supporters, according to a Brookings Institution report.

Davulcu has been addressing this challenge with a global, interdisciplinary team of specialists. In 2009, ASU received a highly competitive Minerva Project grant from the Department of Defense. The Minerva Project initiative seeks to understand the social, cultural, behavioral, and political forces that shape various regions of the world.

Davulcu and Mark Woodward, associate professor in the School of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies, led the project, collaborating with researchers from around the world who specialize in communications, anthropology, religious studies, political science, and sociology. Their task was to create a tool that could track and analyze online messages produced by radical and counter-radical Muslim groups in Southeast Asia, West Africa, and Western Europe.

Building this tool was a daunting prospect. It would require incredibly sophisticated software that had the ability to analyze multiple languages and multiple cultural contexts. Davulcu is skilled at mining data online from websites and social media platforms, but he needs to know what to look for. That guidance comes from social scientists providing extensive on-the-ground cultural knowledge of each of the nine countries...