My Islamic State Social Network
My first conversation with Islamic State was about my reporting. I had just shared an article I’d written about the terrorist group recruiting Western fighters on my Twitter when I saw that someone using the Twitter handle Abu Omar had also posted a link to the piece on his own account. His profile photo unabashedly displayed the black and white IS flag. As I clicked around his profile, I received a Twitter message from him:
“Your article is pretty good,” he wrote in English. “But it lacks some important details.” Abu Omar is not his real name; it’s his preferred nom de guerre. I’ve agreed to use pseudonyms for all my Islamic State contacts because they do not want their identities known, and it’s important for me to have access to them.
I thanked him for his feedback, careful to craft a response that wouldn’t scare him off. A few messages later, he was ranting about atrocities committed by the West and how IS is defending Muslims. Abu Omar said he was in Syria with Islamic State. I was continents away, in my apartment in Brooklyn. We exchanged Twitter messages until 4 a.m.
Read more from Alessandria Masi for CPJ’s annual publication, Attacks on the Press.
Image: A member of Islamic State sent the author a message, which translates as: ‘When you have understood the value of this box once it is sealed, you will have understood a reason for this garment.’ (Alessandria Masi)
