The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) recently launched an electronic and printed newspaper named Dabiq in Arabic and English.
Based on a report published in Al Arabiya the printed newspaper is being distributed to areas in Syria under ISIS control, and the electronic version was distributed via e-mail. The social media accounts close to ISIS said a newspaper named Caliphate 2 would be published soon.
This is part of ISIS’s expanding media and social media presence.
A Twitter application called “Fajr al-Bashaer,” or “Dawn of Good Tidings” is used to recruit fighters, spread the organization’s propaganda and garner financial support. After requesting user data and personal information, the application – flagged by Twitter as “potentially harmful” – sends news and updates on ISIS fighting in Syria and Iraq.
The jihadist group has also launched a 10-page online magazine called “The Islamic State Report,” to explain how life within its state would look like and to recruit more fighters.
Peter W. Singer – director of the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence, and a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program – told Al Arabiya News that ISIS’s increased activity on social media “in many ways reflects the new nature of media technology’s cross with warfare.”
The growth of jihadist activity on social media is in line with the wider use of the virtual space by people in general, he added. The first issue of Dabiq, was published July 8th under the banner “The Return of the Caliphate” and distributed in Arabic in Syria and Iraq. The English edition was posted online.
“Dabiq magazine is an example of what the media will be like in the next stage in areas under ISIL’s control, for the magazine is filled with the usual jihadist trite rhetoric promoted by terrorist groups,” said strategy analyst Maj. Gen. Yahya Mohammed Ali, who is retired from the Egyptian army.
Based on a report by The Extremist group has also reportedly issued Islamic State passports to give an air of legitimacy the unrecognised area of the Middle East under their control.
Photos of the passports showed its exterior cover is black, based on the jihadist flag, with the inscription “State of the Islamic Caliphate” on the cover. The document likewise also had a statement that allegedly says, “If the holder of the passport is harmed we will deploy armies for his service.” Printed in a government printing facility in Mosul, the new document will be distributed to 11,000 citizens living in cities bordering Iraq and Syria.
