Recruits Hear Extremist Messages in ‘Surround Sound’

By Farah Pandith

Farah Pandith is an author, foreign policy strategist, and former diplomat. A world-leading expert and pioneer in countering violent extremism, she is a frequent media commentator and public speaker. She served as a political appointee under Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, and most recently she was the first-ever Special Representative to Muslim Communities, serving both Secretaries Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. She has served on the National Security Council, at the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in various senior roles. She has also served on the Department of Homeland Security’s Advisory Council, chairing its task force on countering violent extremism. She is a senior fellow with the Future of Diplomacy Project at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School as well as an adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.  She is the author of How We Win: How Cutting-Edge Entrepreneurs, Political Visionaries, Enlightened Busiess Leaders and Social Media Mavens Can Defeat the Extremist Threat.

Terrorist groups such as al Qaeda and ISIS have strategically disseminated propaganda that appeals to a wide variety of individuals. Although al Qaeda was the first terrorist organization to launch a media wing, ISIS has developed far more expansive media capabilities as it uses various platforms to attract new recruits or convince people to conduct attacks in their home countries. The U.S. government has implemented counter-messaging programs but has seen mixed results as the terrorist message continues to resonate with some disenchanted individuals here in the homeland. The Cipher Brief’s Bennett Seftel sat down with Farah Pandith, former Special Representative to Muslim Communities at the U.S. State Department, to discuss the tools used by terrorist to circulate their message, as well as how the U.S. can more effectively combat the extremist ideology.

The Cipher Brief: Can you describe the main platforms that al Qaeda and ISIS use to disseminate their propaganda?

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