The Australian Defence Force’s Embrace of [Un]Social Media

The Islamic State Group has harnessed the capability and capacity of social media to support its cause. It is rapidly shifting from open social media accounts, like Twitter, to more specialised applications such as Telegram and other encrypted networks, in an effort to both focus communication and protect personnel and supporters from monitoring and targeting. Despite the platform, the aim is the same—attract and then sustain a support base. Social media products, disseminated through social networking sites, have been and continue to be exploited by Daesh, adding more tentacles to the pernicious presence of violent extremism online.