IS bid to groom Aussies
ISLAMIC State has adopted a white Australia policy — using social media to recruit Aussies who aren’t Muslim but can be turned into terrorists and fly under law enforcement radar.
Radical Islamic State supporters are flooding encrypted online message services with lists of hundreds of potential targets for Australian terror attacks. The lists include phone numbers and addresses of potential target sites and have been likened to a “lolly grab bag” for would-be attackers.
And Australia has the biggest number of online nikah or Islamic marriage groups of any country in the world, seeking to bolster support and numbers by marrying off radicals.
On some days there are 200 to 300 people in the groups.
Dr Robyn Torok, who researches social media and online radicalisation at Edith Cowan University’s Security Research Institute, said online propaganda was now “through the roof”.
With the fall last month of Raqqa, the IS nominal capital, Dr Torok said the propaganda had stepped up as IS sought to recruit new members willing to carry out attacks across the Western world.
She said encrypted apps now included lists of places in Australia that would be good targets. These were not attacks in the planning phase but were suggestions for anyone who might like to take them up.
“They absolutely flood it,” Dr Torok said.
“You will get 400 threats against Australia every day.
“They are doing that in the hope that some lone person will take it up and do it.
“They give restaurant numbers, phone numbers and say ‘this would be a good place to hit’. That doesn’t mean there is specific attack planned.”
Dr Torok said it was like a “lolly grab bag”, putting the propaganda out there in the hope that someone might feel inclined to take it up.
“It’s a propaganda machine. It’s all in desperation because they need that discourse,” she said. “Propaganda is more through the roof than it has ever been.”
Dr Torok said there was also a noticeable increase in online recruitment, where white Australians with grievances against the government and society were targeted in online chat rooms, such as Facebook.
They believe that white Australians, not always Muslim, could be recruited and fly easily under the radar.
“They are looking for white Australians who are disgruntled or anti-social or who have violent tendencies or who are questioning their faith,” Dr Torok said.
“And they are still wanting to use second and third-generation aggrieved Muslims. They are going to continue using that in a dynamic way. They want to convey to us that, ‘You are not as safe as you think. We can use anyone’.”
She said the online recruitment was slick and clever, with radicals using multiple fake names and accounts.
They target an online discussion group, such as a school or parents’ chat, on the lookout for people who feel isolated and appear vulnerable and chat with them online.
Dr Torok said the recruiters often worked in unison, one finding out a person’s interests and grievances and then pass- ing it on to another recruiter to focus on them.
The discourse now focuses on the failings of government and law enforcement.
The recruiters believe it is easier to recruit someone who is Catholic and has a basis of faith than someone who is an atheist.
There is also a focus on building a power base in South-East Asia, including calls for Australian fighters to go to the Philippines.