The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is a Sunni jihadist group active in Iraq and Syria. In June 2014 it declared itself the Islamic Caliphate and changed its name to the “Islamic State,” claiming religious authority over all Muslims across the world and aspiring to bring the Muslim world under its political control. The group conducts a comprehensive information operations campaign on its Turkish language news site takvahaber.net, where it uses certain themes and messages to flaunt its power, promote its ideology, and target those who criticize it. Close monitoring and examination of the group’s daily statements, videos and updates shed light on the group’s strategy, its target audience and strategic communications, while also providing insight into its goals and motivations.
ISIS’s Information Operations
It is unclear when the group adopted takvahaber.net as its news site, but it appears that the site has been operational since June 2010.1 The website defends ISIS through its articles, and hosts an array of videos, including the beheadings for which the group has been responsible. Some of the videos also make their way onto YouTube, and each article features a link which one can click to “like” the piece and “share” it on Facebook and Twitter, suggesting a wide social media presence. The site’s colorful, technically advanced home page looks like a news site at first, but one can quickly glean that it is an ISIS-affiliated site due to the posts there.
For example, on 15 September 2014 the home page featured the following main news items: “Interview with the Islamic State”; “The Islamic State’s Third Execution Video,”; and an article entitled, “It Is Kufr [infidel] to Join the Coalition against the Islamic State.” In the “Interview with the Islamic State” the site features an extensive interview Abu Ahmet el Bahreyni, described as one of the high-level leaders of the group, in which he discusses topics such as the stages of jihad and the Islamic State’s difference from other jihadi groups, and implies that ISIS is more evolved than al Qaida and is focused on the real mission of jihad, whereas other jihadi groups focused on fighting against the U.S.2
Themes and Messages
The group’s comprehensive information operations strategy includes carefully thought out themes and messages to reach and influence its target audience. There are several overarching themes which can be gleaned from the site.
• “The Islamic State has money, weapons and respect”:
Many of the articles send the message that the group is very powerful, is attracting the respect and allegiance of other groups and has plenty of weapons and money. For example, on 15 September the group declared that it had downed three planes, claiming, “The Islamic State’s air defense units have downed a war plane belonging to the Assad regime in Raqqa. This brings the number of downed planes up to three in the last few days!”3 On 16 September 2014 an article claimed that the Algerian al-Qaida had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (see Figure 2).4
An important piece with the message that ISIS has money and resources appeared on 12 August 2014, entitled, “The Islamic State has become oil rich from 80 thousand barrels of oil,” in which the group claimed:
The Islamic State controls 7 oil fields in Iraq that have the potential to produce 8 million dollars worth of oil daily….In addition to Iraq, the Islamic State also controls important oil fields in the Deir ez-Zor region of Syria. The Islamic State is following a strategy of gaining strength by taking over the oil and water resources along with the energy infrastructure in Iraq and Syria.5 (Figure 3).
In a similar message, under the photo gallery, one can click on a link to view “The Islamic State’s billion dollar weapons,” which features pictures of missiles, helicopters, armored vehicles, tanks and rockets.6 (Figure 4).
On 17 September an article entitled, “Saud: The Islamic State Cannot Be Wiped Out in 10 Years!” appeared, stating: “U.S.-supported Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Saud bin Faisal expressed that the fight against the Islamic State must last at least ten years. Faisal’s comments once again illustrated the helplessness of coalition countries against the Islamic State.”7
• “ISIS provides services to the public”:
Many of the photos, articles and videos depict ISIS as providing services for the public. One photo gallery is entitled, “The Islamic State’s Water Canal Project,” in which images are accompanied by the caption, “The Islamic State’s public works directorate continues to solve the public’s water problem.”8 Another one is entitled, “ISIS is distributing food and gas to the people of Anbar,” accompanied by images of ISIS militants distributing packages to children.9 The theme of providing services especially to children is a recurring one, as seen in the photo gallery entitled, “Islamic State [organizes] Activities for Children,” in which images of children are accompanied by this caption: “The Islamic State’s volunteers planned social activities for orphans.”10