1. New battlegrounds: Extremist groups' activity on social networks in Kosovo, Albania and FYROM
- Author:
- Vesë Kelmendi and Shpat Balaj
- Publication Date:
- 11-2017
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS)
- Abstract:
- Online platforms are used extensively as a propaganda tool to convince young people to support the various groups fighting in Iraq and Syria. Many individuals outside of the conflict partake in propaganda efforts on social media, using their profiles to provide electronic support to ISIS and other extremist groups. An analysis of various profiles indicates that those engaged in the Syria conflict use their profile to disseminate information about the conflict, which can be used for propaganda. The typical feature observed across these profiles is the virtual association between them. Websites and profiles that share the online propaganda of extremist groups have been identified in Kosovo, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Albania. The distribution of this propaganda in the Albanian language by ISIS and other organizations has increased support for the so-called “Islamic State”.
- Topic:
- Violent Extremism, Radicalization, Islamic State, Conflict, and Social Networks
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe, Kosovo, and Albania