U.S. government trying to counter ISIL 'twitter consensus'.

• Author: Tadjdeh, Yasmin
• Position: Homeland Security News

* The Islamic State has proven itself to be a social media juggernaut. Supporters and members of the terrorist organization post to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social media accounts hundreds of thousands of times a week. Subsequently, millions of eyeballs see the group's propaganda multiple times a day.

Experts say the Islamic State--which is also known as ISIL or ISIS--has an acute understanding of how to use social media to its benefit, cultivating relationships with supporters around the globe and recruiting them to light in Iraq or Syria, or even coordinate attacks in their home countries.

The U.S. government and allied nations around the world are working to counter the group's propaganda, but some experts worry that it is not enough.

ISIL has thousands of members that not only fight on the ground, but on the internet as well, said Daniel Cohen, coordinator of the military and strategic affairs and cyber warfare programs at the Institute for National Security Studies.

Over the past year, ISIL has created dozens of media centers. These facilities pump out thousands of pieces of propaganda that target various demographics, he said.

"Every video that they produce has a targeted audience, and they decide exactly to who they want to translate it to," Cohen said during a speech at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. Some videos are translated into 14 different languages.

ISIL is also planning to open its own television station, which will broadcast videos and images 24 hours a day, he said.

Most of ISIL's propaganda focuses on trying to make the terror organization seem normal or part of a burgeoning community, Cohen noted. Some images show members eating bananas with Nutella or playing Call of Duty.

"Most of the pictures by ISIS are not ... [of] a fighter holding a gun, it's more about eating couscous or hummus," he said. ISIL is "trying to show that it's a normal life. They're trying to show that life continues even if everyone is against them."

Countering ISIL's message on social media will be critical to stopping its momentum, but there are not enough resources to completely stop the flow, he said.

"We need to find a way to ... shut down the narrative they are trying to show and fight them in the same fight, in the social media battle," he said. "We're trying to do it, but it's only a start."

The United States has emerged as one of the leaders in stymieing ISIL's message. During the White House's...