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FEDERALhearing transcript

High Impact

Congressional Hearing on Countering Online Extremist Recruitment

Original title: COUNTERING THE VIRTUAL CALIPHATE

January 1, 2016

national security counterterrorism internet propaganda ISIS foreign policy social media

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The Frame

What this does

This hearing evaluates the effectiveness of federal efforts to disrupt online terrorist recruitment, which the committee links to domestic and international security threats.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

U.S. State Department

The agency is responsible for implementing the new Global Engagement Center strategy.

ISIS

The organization is the primary target of the U.S. government's counter-messaging and online disruption efforts.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2016.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

The House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing to examine the U.S. government's strategy for countering ISIS's online propaganda and recruitment efforts. The committee discussed the transition from the Center for Strategic Counter Terrorism Communications to the new Global Engagement Center.

Key Facts

The hearing was held on June 23, 2016, by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
The committee identified ISIS's online propaganda as a 'virtual caliphate' used to recruit fighters and encourage domestic attacks.
The committee cited online propaganda as a factor in terrorist attacks in Brussels, San Bernardino, Orlando, and Paris.
The State Department's previous counter-messaging efforts were criticized for being ineffective due to the use of official government branding.
In March 2016, the President issued an Executive order to replace the Center for Strategic Counter Terrorism Communications with the Global Engagement Center.
The Global Engagement Center is tasked with leading government-wide efforts to diminish the influence of international terrorist organizations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the 'virtual caliphate'?

The term refers to the use of social media and the internet by ISIS to disseminate propaganda, recruit followers, and encourage individuals to carry out attacks in their home countries.

Why was the Center for Strategic Counter Terrorism Communications replaced?

The committee noted that the center's messaging was ineffective because it was branded with the official State Department seal, which made the content less credible to the intended audience.

Why It Matters

This hearing evaluates the effectiveness of federal efforts to disrupt online terrorist recruitment, which the committee links to domestic and international security threats.

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift100% confidence

Branding Shift in Counter-Messaging

The government explicitly acknowledged that using official State Department branding on counter-extremism content was counterproductive, leading to the creation of the Global Engagement Center.

State Department Global Engagement Center

Connected Entities

personPeter Neumann“Director, International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation”Map →

personAaron Lobel“Founder and President, America Abroad Media”Map →

personSeamus Hughes“Deputy Director, Program on Extremism, George Washington University”Map →

personEdward R. Royce“Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs”Map →

organizationGlobal Engagement Center“Government entity tasked with countering international terrorist influence”Map →

organizationCenter for Strategic Counter Terrorism Communications“Predecessor to the Global Engagement Center”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance75
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy40
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment10
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz20
Current news / social attention level

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