Why would-be terrorists can still radicalize online
SAN FRANCISCO — After a string of deadly terrorist attacks in Europe and the U.S., Facebook, Twitter and Google moved to more aggressively flag and boot terrorist recruiters and propaganda arms from their platforms. That may not be enough. In the wake of a truck attack by a self-proclaimed ISIS supporter in New York City Tuesday evening, which left 8 dead, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called the Internet “the training ground” for violent attackers, echoing a frequent complaint by lawmakers that the major Internet platforms still make it too easy for extremists to learn and organize.
In the case of Sayfullo Saipov, a 29year-old truck driver from Uzbekistan, at least some of his motivation came from online. He told investigators during an interview in his hospital room on Wednesday that he was inspired to carry out an attack in the United States by ISIS videos he watched on his cell phone.
Investigators found 90 videos and 3,800 photos of ISIS-related propaganda on one of two cell phones found in the truck he had rented, according to a criminal complaint filed by federal prosecutors on Wednesday. They included videos that appear to be of a prisoner being run over by a tank, ISIS fighters shooting a prisoner in the face, a video of a beheading and a video providing instructions on how to make an explosive device.
From the wording of the complaint, it appears the videos had been down- loaded to the phone and were not streamed from the Internet. It wasn’t clear where Saipov had obtained the videos or the images found on the phone.
In past attacks, the search for means and motivation has quickly shifted to the availability of how-to and inspirational content found online — and frustration from lawmakers followed in rapid succession. For instance, the suicide bomber who in May killed 22 people at the end of an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England used YouTube videos to learn how to build the explosive device.
Experts who study the networks that distribute extremist material say U.S. companies are doing a much better job of keeping terrorists and their supporters of their platforms. But even as they do so, those who seek it out are shifting where and how they look.
Facebook, Google and Twitter are now removing extremist content “at a rapid clip. And if you’d asked me that same question two years ago, I would have given you a different answer,” said Seamus Hughes, deputy director of the program on extremism at George Washington University.
Facebook has ramped up efforts to remove terrorists and posts that support terrorism. It says it uses artificial intelligence to help track down content in addition to relying on staff and the larger Facebook community, including matching to detect known terrorism photos or videos and or wording that might praise or support terrorist organizations.
Facebook general council Colin Stretch said Wednesday during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing that Facebook is aiding law enforcement in its investigation.
Google is blocking more terrorist content on its YouTube platform and using targeted advertising so that when people search for terrorist content, they’re instead shown videos that undermine extremist recruiting efforts.
Twitter says new tools allow it to be faster, smarter and more efficient about taking down accounts that violate its policies on terrorist content. From January through June, it suspended almost 300,000 terrorist accounts, a 20% drop from the previous period. Of those, 75% were suspended before their first tweet.
Those moves haven’t wiped out the videos and viral posts that would encourage a curious would-be recruit to find a calling. They’ve just made it more difficult.