Given the ubiquity and permanence of the Internet in today’s increasingly connected world, it should come as no surprise: Criminology Assignment, UCC, Ireland

Given the ubiquity and permanence of the Internet in today’s increasingly connected world, it should come as no surprise that terrorist and extremist organizations such as the Islamic State have found a powerful and useful tool on the Internet. In a relatively short amount of time, the IS has established a notable online presence and, like other terrorist organizations, has since continued to use the Internet as a means of data gathering, planning and coordination, networking, fundraising, recruitment, and administering propaganda.

In particular, the IS has shown to be alarmingly effective at both recruiting new
members from all around the world, with an estimated 20% of these new recruits coming from Western nations, and at maintaining a sophisticated and productive propaganda machine that is run by savvy technical professionals with incontestable expertise.

Part of this effect is due to the IS creating and disseminating propaganda and recruitment materials that are aimed at specific audiences and demographics, taking into account the unique social and political circumstances of different nations and locations, then tailoring the content of their message accordingly. This tendency is exemplified by the al-Hayat Media Center, a media arm of the IS that produces content aimed more exclusively at Western audiences. Since its inception in 2014, the al-Hayat Media Center has released several videos, all professionally produced and shot in high-definition, as well as the equally high-quality periodical magazines, Dabiq and Rumiyah, which are translated into several languages including English.

Content produced by al-Hayat is easily accessible and can be found online with no more than a little light Googling. Due to the ready availability, it is not unrealistic to think that those who may be more receptive or sympathetic to the message of the IS, and potentially more prone to radicalization, may come across al-Hayat content at some point, and while watching a few videos is almost certainly not enough to lead to full-on radicalization, that exposure may well be the start of a slippery radicalization slope.

But what exactly are the messages that are being delivered by al-Hayat, and who are they being specifically addressed toward? It has been suggested that the breadth of the IS’s media strategy is insufficiently understood. By applying a thematic analysis to several al-Hayat-produced videos, this study endeavors to address this deficiency by identifying and deciphering both the stated and latent messages contained within the IS’s Western-focused propaganda.

By focusing on the content and the message of al-Hayat’s videos, some conclusions may be drawn regarding the specificities of who the target audience is, the methods in which this target audience is being addressed, and the potential impact that such videos may have on the larger radicalization process.