[infowar.de] Terrorists lure young online with comedy

[Ralf Bendrath <bendrath -! - zedat - fu-berlin - de>]

<http://techdirt.com/articles/20061115/165743.shtml>

Yucking It Up With Terrorists Online

Not quite sure what to make of this one. You tend not to think of 
terrorists as having much of a sense of humor. After all, it often seems 
like part of the problem is their lack of a sense of the absurd about what 
they're doing. The more people learn to laugh at themselves, you would 
hope, the less likely it seems they are to go on a rampage blowing up 
others. However, it appears that terrorist organizations are learning that 
in the internet age, ads are content too. Rather than long, boring 
speeches by their leaders, they too are looking to make use of the latest 
in user generated content: specifically putting up "animated videos, 
comedy clips and Top 10 video lists" in an effort to recruit new 
terrorists. Of course, this will only increase the belief from some (who 
seem to have a lack of humor of their own) who like to blame the internet 
for terrorist activities. Instead, though, perhaps it's an opportunity to 
use the same tools to convince people to stay away from such activities.

Das Original:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TERROR_COMEDY

Nov 15, 6:35 PM EST

Terrorists lure young online with comedy
By TANALEE SMITH
Associated Press Writer
	
SINGAPORE (AP) -- Terrorists who have long embraced the Internet for 
propaganda and planning have begun to post comedy and Top 10 lists to draw 
in young recruits, experts say.

Bouchaib Silm, a researcher with the terrorism department at Singapore's 
Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies, said Web sites are becoming 
more modern in design, incorporating content designed to hook a younger 
generation of sympathizers and potential recruits.

Sites can no longer simply show videos of Osama bin Laden giving an 
hourlong speech as he sits in front of a bare wall, Silm said.

"The young of today will not listen to him," he said. "They will get 
bored. So the recruiters need something new to attract them."

He said some sites have recently offered animated videos, comedy clips and 
Top 10 video lists of the most devastating terror attacks.

"There is a shift in technology and presentation," he said. "The point is 
to attract an audience."

Silm made the remarks at the Digital Terrorism conference in Singapore on 
Tuesday.

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