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A study of the informational properties of the ISIS's content
Author(s) -
Afzal Waseem
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
proceedings of the association for information science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.193
H-Index - 14
ISSN - 2373-9231
DOI - 10.1002/pra2.2016.14505301056
Subject(s) - content (measure theory) , affordance , dimension (graph theory) , perception , politics , content analysis , islam , political science , psychology , social psychology , public relations , sociology , social science , geography , cognitive psychology , mathematics , law , mathematical analysis , archaeology , neuroscience , pure mathematics
Use of information networks by extremist groups to advance their totalitarian objectives is becoming a serious concern for global peace. The use of information networks is just one dimension; the other dimension and potentially more concerning is the production of sophisticated information content to influence public perception. One such group—the Islamic State of Iraq and al‐Sham (ISIS)—utilizing the affordances of information networks coupled with the sophisticated information content has been able to recruit a large number of foreign fighters from Western countries and hence is posing a threat to the national security of various nations. This research study analyses the content produced by the ISIS with an objective to identify (1) informational properties of and (2) information strategies used in their content. Initial findings suggest that ISIS's content is rich in information with affective, theological, political, and historical connotations. Furthermore, their content is designed with an objective to give highly positively and/or negatively skewed information.