With the horror of the 9/11 attacks against the United States, the nation has become much more aware of the role of our government plays in averting crisis such as this both at home and abroad. The global crackdown on terrorism has effectively deterred organizations from launching large scale attacks on the US. But a another component of the terror threat is emerging. Even though the US has contributed greatly to the success of counter terrorism, the terrorists continually evolve and now have the capabilities to organize, fund and enable physical attacks and cyber-attacks completely online. It if for this reason that the US must continue to supply resources to the counterterrorism effort and invest in further research to combat this national security threat.
One of the main ways terrorists use the internet is to share propaganda. Propaganda is a material designed to persuade an individual into thinking or acting a certain way. Propaganda may include images, magazines, audio, video and even video games that promote terrorism. Violence is commonly promoted in terroristic propaganda (The use of the Internet). Because of its broad reach, the internet drastically increases the number of people that these messages can reach …show more content…
Propaganda is tailored to appeal to individuals with different demographic factors. Age, for instance, gender, or even socio-economic background might identify the target audience. The use of propaganda via the internet is particularly effective in reaching teens and young adults. Material produced for this ‘special interest group’ includes cartoons, music videos and even video games. Terrorist propagandists target this group by taking cartoons and children’s’ stories and mixing in messages that promote violence and romanticize terrorism, such as suicide bombings. Some terrorist organizations have gone as far as to design video games to be used for recruitment and training (The use of the