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Get ready for The Pentagon's hip new online propaganda campaign:
The Pentagon has been given formal approval to start an online propaganda campaign against the Islamic State following a recent push by the US Department of Defense (DoD).
Congress approved the National Defense Authorization Act for 2016 last week and included in it a whole section (1056) on "Information operations and engagement technology demonstrations."
The section states that the Secretary of Defense "should develop creative and agile concepts, technologies, and strategies across all available media to most effectively reach target audiences, and to counter and degrade the ability of adversaries and potential adversaries to persuade, inspire, and recruit inside areas of hostilities or in other areas in direct support of the objectives of commanders."
In other words: counter the unexpectedly sophisticated and effective propaganda machine that the Islamic State has put into place in Iraq and Syria.
The section authorizes the Pentagon to carry out these operations for seven years – until October 2022 – and notes that it expects funding requests in that time: "The Secretary of Defense should request additional funds in future budgets to carry out military information support operations to support the broader efforts of the Government to counter violent extremism."
George Washington University has published an analysis (PDF) of the "American Isis Twitter scene".
Don't do drugs and join ISIS, kids.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday December 08 2015, @07:42PM
, and the greatest propaganda machine is the bullet.
If it's so great, why does it consistently fail to work?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by edIII on Tuesday December 08 2015, @10:41PM
I should have been more clear. In this *specific* instance the only propaganda capable of working *is* the bullet. That was my point, that ISIS is wholly beyond all attempts at diplomacy or education. Those are men literally lost to the devil inside of them, and as such, *only* respond to fear. It's how their personal economies are setup inside of them.
Some men can only be killed, not stopped, nor educated, nor redeemed. I actually believe there is a snowball's chance in hell you could negotiate with AQ if we wanted to do so. Like speaking with the Palestinian terrorists, some of them truly only wish for their own people to not be so, well, oppressed and without hope. Sure, they ask for Sharia law, but that's not unreasonable given their culture, and not the same thing.
ISIS has no morals, or the ability to even engage in such conversations at all. AQ never created a sex trafficking group, and instead put out pamphlets and manuals internally about proper behavior. ISIS has, and continues to act well outside of Islam, operating a sex trafficking group, and acting exactly like a criminal organization.
Just what kind of diplomacy or propaganda do you think has a hope of working? What would you say to them? Why do you think it would turn them away from the life of crime and justice that ISIS offers?
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.