As ISIS Loses Territory, CEP Calls for Leaders to Address Recruitment and Radicalization Online

(New York, NY) – The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) calls on President Trump and ministers from 68 countries gathering in Washington, D.C. this week to focus on the defeat of ISIS on the cyber-battlefield, given the extremist group’s continued ability to weaponize the Internet and social media platforms to radicalize, recruit, direct, and inspire attacks.

CEP’s ISIS report charts the group’s formation and details how ISIS has lured more than 33,000 recruits using online propaganda, including videos and magazines produced in English, French, German, and a variety of other languages. CEP monitors pro-ISIS Twitter accounts in English, French, German, Arabic, Turkish, and Italian, and has reported hundreds of accounts that promote terror or advocate violence.

Despite its recent loss of territory in Iraq and Syria, ISIS affiliates continue to grow and have carried out successful attacks in Afghanistan, Yemen, Turkey, Morocco, Pakistan, Tunisia, the Philippines, Lebanon, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and the Palestinian territories. Supporters have also carried out ISIS-inspired or -directed attacks in a variety of Western countries, including the United States.

To explore the history, leadership and ideology of ISIS, please click here.

Members of CEP will be available for comment on the ISIS Summit throughout the week, including:

  • Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, CEP CEO and former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Representative for U.N. Management and Reform
  • Fran Townsend, CEP President and Former U.S. Homeland Security Advisor
  • Tara Maller, CEP Senior Policy Advisor and former CIA Analyst  

 

For requests for interviews, please contact CEP at [email protected].

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