Committee on Foreign Affairs House of Re

Countering the Virtual Caliphate Committee on Foreign Affairs House of Re

The Internet is awash with terrorist propaganda and this includes horrific videos of beheadings, of firing squads, of torture of men, women, and children. ISIS operates a vast network of online recruiters; online propagandists. The mission of these individuals is to expand their ranks across multiple continents, including our continent, including right here at home. So this is on the Internet, what would be called their "virtual caliphate." They use popular media sites, through which ISIS can reach a global audience. Once lured in, they communicate privately on platforms with sophisticated encryption, encouraging tens of thousands-including many from Western countries-to travel to Syria, Iraq, Libya and join the fight. Increasingly, the virtual caliphate is calling on its followers, not to trek to Syria, Iraq, Libya, or other terrorist camps that they have set up, but instead to attack where they are, at home. That is the new messaging. Orlando is a grim example of that. ISIS' online presence is just as critical to the organization as the large amounts of territory that it controls.