Encrypted Jihad: Investigating the Role of Telegram App in Lone Wolf Attacks in the West

Publisher:
Henley-Putnam University
Publication Type:
Journal Article
Citation:
Journal of Strategic Security, 2017, 10 (3), pp. 27 - 53
Issue Date:
2017-10
Full metadata record
The study aims to capture links between the use of encrypted communication channel -Telegram and lone wolf attacks occurred in Europe between 2015-2016. To understand threads of ISIS communication on Telegram we used digital ethnography approach which consists of the self-observation of information flows on four of ISIS’s most celebrated telegram Channels. We draw on public sphere theory and coined the term terror socio-sphere 3.0 as the theoretical background of this study. The collected data is presented as screenshots to capture a visual evidence of ISIS communication threads. This study shows that ISIS Telegram channels play critical role in personal communication between potential recruits and dissemination of propaganda that encourage ‘lone wolves’ to carry attacks in the world at large. This study was limited to the number of the channels that have been widely celebrated.
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