Terrorists use Web against 'idiot' Americans

Terrorists use Web against 'idiot' Americans
Fostering anti-war sentiment by posing online as citizens

Islamic terrorists are engaged in a "media jihad" in which they encourage jihadists to pose online as Americans to foster anti-war sentiment in the U.S.

According to the Middle East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI, a posting on the Al-Mohajroon Islamist website with the username Al-Wathig Billah provides instructions on how to infiltrate popular American Internet forums and use them to distribute jihad films and spread anti-war sentiments.

"Our experience shows that such instructions often yield compliance," Eli Alshech, director of the Jihad and Terrorism Project at MEMRI, told WND.

The instructions direct jihadists to "raid non-political forums and trivia forums which American people favor."

Contributors are encouraged to register as Americans and to use a purely American-sounding username: "Choose an icon that indicates that you are an American, and place it next to your nickname."

As reported by MEMRI, the Al-Mohajroon website instructs media jihad as follows:

"There is no doubt, my brothers, that raiding American forums is among the most important means of obtaining victory in the fierce media war … and of influencing the views of the weak-minded American who pays his taxes so they will go to the infidel American army. This American is an idiot and does not [even] know where Iraq is … [It is therefore] mandatory for every electronic mujad [to engage in this raiding]."

And again:

"Obviously, you should post your contribution … as an American … You should correspond with visitors to this forum, [bringing to their attention] the frustrating situation of their troops in Iraq … You should invent stories about American soldiers you have [allegedly] personally known (as classmates … or members in a club who played baseball and tennis with you) who were drafted to Iraq and then committed suicide while in service by hanging or shooting themselves."

WND asked Alshech how a viewer could identify if particular postings on popular sites such as YouTube, LiveLeak and Google Video were examples of media jihad.

"It is very difficult to identify a specific posting as media jihad," Alshech said. "One should know a forum very well and pay attention to writing and posting patterns.

Alshech referred WND to an Islamic website that posted anti-war images of U.S. troops in Iraq as well as at least one example of a media jihad clip produced for Google Video.

Alshech said one of the most effective ways to counter media jihad is to press the government to urge forum administrators to follow closely suspect postings "to make sure jihadists do not exploit the freedom of speech so valued in democratic countries."

Alshech advised WND that fighting media jihad requires playing an activist role.

"It is also important to urge forum members to follow up some of the more suspicious postings in order to expose lies," Alshech said. "This will make other members skeptical about the postings."

A few months ago, for example, jihadists posted a video message showing a military ID of one soldier they claimed was killed in Iraq, he said.

U.S. bloggers, however, followed up the story and discovered the soldier was alive – he suffered identity theft in Iraq, but he had not lost his life.

YouTube, LiveLeak, and Google Video did not respond to WND requests to comment on this story.