The 'caliphate's' ministry of information: Part 1

Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part article. Read part two here.

The Islamic State group (IS) will "remain and expand" chants Abu Maysara al-Iraqi, IS's media official, along with his boss Ahmad Abousamra, the group's minister of information, and other members and supporters.

"We declare war against the infidels from the US to Japan and all the tyrants in between." "We are coming, we love death, and your 'spring' is a lie." "The only truth is that Abubakr al-Baghdadi is the caliph so let all hell break loose wherever you may be oh supporters of the state." "You will receive our letter

 wherever you may be, we possess what others do not, al-Zawahiri is a heretic. Your reward for joining us will be martyrdom."

These IS slogans reflect its ideology, something al-Araby al-Jadeed will examine as part of its analysis of the group's 'ministry of information'. The group has successfully promoted its slogans and conveyed its messages through the media using a coherent and concerted media and social media campaign. The group has even used computer viruses to promote its worldview, as this investigation reveals.

Twitter

IS possesses an electronic army of Twitter users to promote its statements and material as part of its strategy of psychological warfare. These users tweet IS material which is automatically re-tweeted by a large number of twitter accounts that have been hacked using a Trojan horse malware named al-Fajr, which was developed by IS computer experts. This malware has successfully sent up to 40,000 tweets in one day before being detected and blocked by Google, according to a French IT security expert.

Al-Araby al-Jadeed has been analysing IS tweets for ten months since the group seized control of the Iraqi city of Mosul. We've observed a distinct differrence between messages aimed at Muslim and non-Muslim audiences. The group's strategy is to try and frighten non-Muslims by using brutal images and threatening messages. However, it is sending messages to Muslims that focus on its effectiveness at governing areas under its control. The group paints a rosy picture of life under its control using photos of well stocked markets in secure environments. However, it also depicts the group as being tough on criminals and those who oppose it by publishing images of executions and other forms of violence.

Hollywood

IS uses high definition videos in multiple languages to convey its ideological message. Professional propaganda videos produced by skilled European members of the group try to captivate viewers using cinematic tricks and techniques that are a far cry from the crude jihadi videos common ten years ago. IS now has over 35 specialist production staff according to a media activist who recently left the Syrian city of Raqqa, each paid between $1,000 and $1,500 per month.

According to Musa al-Sheikh Mohammad, a graphics expert who works for a French production company, IS uses an advanced cinematic camera. He believes this is a Red Digital Cinema Camera, commonly used by Hollywood film studios. According to Sheikh Mohammad, this type of camera needs to be operated by professional cinematographers because it is an extremely sensitive piece of equipment.

IS also uses clips from Hollywood movies in some of its videos for dramatic effect. These include scenes from Kingdom of Heaven depicting Saladin who led the Muslim opposition to the European crusaders in the Levant, to draw parallels between the leader who holds hero status among many Muslims and Baghdadi, the group's current leader. 

The militant group has also shocked many observers by using unmanned drones to film aerial shots of the city of Kobane in northern Syria, to illustrate its resources and professional capabililties. However, the group's videos are not on par with Hollywood movies. Perhaps it is more accurate to describe them as promotional trailers designed to attract attention and create a sense of dread and anticipation.

Dabiq

Dabiq is an online magazine published by IS in English and French. The group also distributes paper copies in areas under its control. The magazine's content has developed from discussing the need to build an Islamic state to "international conspiracies" against it. It also publishes op-eds and essays by IS members explaining the group's beliefs and ideology, and offering political and economic analysis.

Ali Safar, a Syrian writer, told al-Araby al-Jadeed the material published by Dabiq promotes "the worst manifestation of radical Islamist culture, because it is based on takfir [declaring others heretics] and inciting violence through a well-formulated ideology".

TV and radio

IS has launched al-Bayan radio station in Iraq and Syria which broadcasts al-Baghdadi's sermons, news bulletins about IS victories, and world news regarding the war against the group. It has also announced plans to launch a TV channel called al-Khilafah Channel, which already exists online and broadcasts material focused on recruiting new members.

Hackers

Experts believe that IS has an electronic army protecting the group's social media and other online accounts from being hacked or disabled. These skilled members are as important as the group's fighters, because they carry out the group's online media war. They have successfully stopped IS's online accounts from being hacked by activist groups such as Anonymous, which have tried to cripple their online activity.

These are the tools used by IS's ministry of information to spread its terror propaganda and portray itself as a strong organisation that acts in a brutal way against its enemies.

This is the first of a two-part article. Read part two here.

This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.