Facebook turns hunting ground for ISIS to procure young blood
KOZHIKODE: Fair warning FBians. Think twice before you like or share videos/posts on Facebook. The Islamic State (IS)’s cyber wing is watching you. They use the revealed social media preferences to shortlist a person as a probable recruit and carry out further indoctrination drive to attract gullible young blood to its fold.
Intelligence agencies across the country and the state, in general, have been wary of the online recruitment operation of the IS. The agencies have been pursuing a deradicalisation operation to free those young blood who have fallen for it.
It was based on the submissions made by a couple of youths in Maharashtra that the agencies were able to dig deep into the online recruitment ring of the IS.
According to a senior police officer, the cyber wing of the IS is scouting for vulnerable youth on social media. “The cyber wing, which runs various fake accounts, posts videos and articles exhorting people to take up arms to protect Islam,”said Thiruvananthapuram Range Inspector General Manoj Abraham. “If anyone likes or shares this particular post, the IS contacts the person online to establish a strong personal connect,” he said.
Manoj said the cyber wing of Kerala Police has been tracking the online activities of certain suspected fake IDs which have been propagating IS/jihadi ideologies.
“We have alerted the Central agencies concerned about those fake profiles which have been running online recruitment,” he said. Investigation into the missing case of 21 Keralites who left for Syria to join IS in June 2016 has revealed Abdullah Rasheed, who played a prominent role in luring in others to go to Syria, was very much active on social media.
“Once vulnerable youths are identified on social media, local agents of the IS keep constant track of them. Abdullah Rasheed was one such local handler who facilitated the journey of the Malayalees to Syria,” said an intelligence officer.