Many ISIS fighters, sympathizers, recruits, recruiters, and “lone-wolf” attackers often have something in common: they have been radicalized online or have been exposed to extremist content via online channels. Whether it’s through Twitter accounts, YouTube, or other platforms, potential ISIS sympathizers have easy access to radicalized interpretations of Muslim ideology, ISIS propaganda (Dabiq magazine), and other influential materials at their fingertips via mobile phones or computer screens. What can be done by the government and nonprofit and private sectors to counter this information flow? What is being done by the government and could be done in the information space writ large to help undermine the hateful, violent, messages coming from extremist groups around the globe?
In March 2016, President Obama signed an executive order establishing the Global Engagement Center (GEC), an interagency entity housed at the State Department that is charged with coordinating, integrating and synchronizing U.S. counterterrorism messaging to foreign audiences. The Center is led by former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict Michael D. Lumpkin. The Obama administration recognizes that to successfully defeat ISIS, it, along with its partners, needs to discredit the ISIS ideology in the eyes of potential recruits and sympathizers. The Center is coordinating whole-of-government efforts to do just that. The Center is also focused on cultivating and supporting a global network of partners—governments, NGOs, and other organizations—who can serve as credible messengers against ISIS and provide positive alternatives.
New America is pleased to host Meagen LaGraffe and Dr. Tara Maller for a panel discussion, moderated by Peter Bergen, on how the GEC, in partnership with NGOs and the private sector, will continue to fight ISIS online.
Participants:
* Meagen LaGraffe -- Chief of Staff, Global Engagement ...More...
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