How did Zulfi Hoxha, the first American Islamic State member known to behead individuals in a propaganda video get radicalised? According to a recent piece in the Atlantic, he has left many clues on the internet. And one of them is an interaction with a now defunct US government Twitter account
‘Think Again Turn Away’
In October 2014, he engaged in conversation with the US State Department’s “Think Again Turn Away” account. The account was setup by the government in 2013 to address radicalisation on social media. But eventually, the Twitter account was trolled by the jihadists themselves
Seventeen-year old Ali Amin was one of them trolling the account. He was arrested and ultimately sentenced to 11 years for encouraging his high school friend to join the Islamic State, the Atlantic adds. But that was not the only problem. The Twitter account ended up giving a stage for jihadists from groups including IS and al-Qaeda to voice their arguments
Jihadists turn trolls
Rita Katz, the Director of SITE Intelligence Group wrote about the account in TIME in 2014. A Twitter account mocking Think Again Turn Away had a profile picture showing Arabic text from the IS banner inside of the Department of State seal and the IS flag on top of the White House. According to Katz, the account’s info section read: “Dedicated to raising awareness about the upcoming conquest of the Americas, and the benefits it has upon the American people”