Confronting the Expanding Virtual Caliphate

ISIS is using social media and the Internet to garner unprecedented numbers of Western-based supporters.

- Emily Norcross

The alarming trend has everyone from the White House to private non-profit groups across the country scrambling for ways to counter the terror group’s messaging.

Terror attacks in Nice, Orlando, San Diego, Paris, and Brussels are all recent examples that highlight the effectiveness with which ISIS is using the Internet as a platform to influence would-be extremists. In the book ISIS: The State of Terror, Jessica Stern and J.M. Berger write that “as part of its quest to terrorize the world, ISIS has mastered an arena no terrorist group had conquered before – the burgeoning world of social media.”

The FBI is actively investigating 900 suspected ISIS supporters throughout the United States, according to FBI Director James Comey. Traditionally, these individuals have been labeled “homegrown” terrorists, but, as we learn more about how ISIS does business, it could be more accurate to call them “virtually grown” terrorists. ISIS has operationalized social media – not only as a means to spread its extremist propaganda, but also to identify, engage, and ultimately sponsor the membership of would-be radical extremists in Western countries.

Whereas other terrorist organizations maintain stringent prerequisites for membership, ISIS takes a more relaxed approach that allows them to maximize their sphere of influence via the Internet. To become a member of al Qaeda, one must obtain a personal referral from a member of al Qaeda's inner circle. ISIS, on the other hand, leverages its vast network of online recruiters to nurture relationships with potential radical extremists and then vouch for new members. As first reported by