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Anonymous Takes Down Thousands of ISIS-Related Twitter Accounts In a Day (softpedia.com)

BarbaraHudson writes: Softpedia is reporting that Anonymous, along with social media users, have identified several thousand Twitter accounts allegedly linked to ISIS members. "Besides scanning for ISIS Twitter accounts themselves, the hacking group has also opened access to the [takedown operation] site to those interested. Anyone who comes across ISIS social media accounts can easily search the database and report any new terrorists and supporters. The website is called #opIceISIS [slow right now, but it does load] and will index ISIS members based on their real name, location, picture, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube accounts." Anonymous crowdsourcing their operations... welcome to the brave new world, ISIS. An article at The Independent reminds everyone that this information has not been independently confirmed, and that Anonymous is certainly capable of misidentifying people. It's also worth exploring the question of why Twitter hasn't already disabled these accounts, and why intelligence agencies haven't done anything about them, if they're so easy to find.

4 of 320 comments (clear)

  1. Re:what good will this do ? by nospam007 · · Score: 4, Informative

    "Sure they get some, but typically first world whiney brats on twitter aren't the type that can actually survive even being around where ISIS does actual recruiting."

    Suicide bombers/shooters are known for 'not surviving', it is kind of their thing.

  2. Re: what good will this do ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    Check out the videos Vice News made inside ISIS territory. People are not starving. They even have electricity. It's not Ethiopia in the 80s. (Even Ethiopia wasn't quite how it looked on the news.) They do use social media, mainly for propaganda purposes. And they hate the west because they are taught to, because that hatred serves the needs of the people in power, not for any other reason.

  3. Re:what good will this do ? by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 4, Informative

    They use the accounts, as well as facebook accoiunts, for multiple reasons:

    1 Communications between cells using code phrases
    2 Distribution of propaganda (fear and terror - after all, they're terrorists)
    3.Recruiting

    Take down one channel of communication (a twitter for facebook account), and you have to tell people where to look for the next one. Do it often enough, quickly enough, and you've crippled their means of communications to the outside world. Sure, accounts are free - but imagine if you had to buy a new burner phone AND tell everyone your new phone number, every day.

    --
    "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  4. Re:Why they haven't taken them down by fustakrakich · · Score: 3, Informative

    Twitter, BAH! If you want to be effective, follow their finances and arms deals, but be careful, you will find out things you don't want to know. Or you could file an FOIA request for the receipts at the state department. There you will find what makes this ride go 'round and 'round.

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”