Power of the Swarm: Where Next for Counter-Messaging?
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In the wake of the June 12 IS-inspired attack in Orlando, FL, many questions have been raised about what is being done to fight IS – not only on the ground in Iraq and Syria, but also on the Internet, where a war of ideas and influence is taking place. This is not a new question. For years, policymakers and researchers have been assessing how best to deal with extremist content on the Web. This is not just a matter of deciding what content to take down – if content should be taken down at all – but also crafting compelling counter-messages and narratives that can stand up to and disrupt slick, and at times convincing, IS propaganda. ICSR has been exploring this issue since its nascence, in addition to publishing several papers and reports on the subject, ICSR has advised the United Nations, the White House, the State Department, and the US Congress on this matter.