How mainstream media can spread terrorist propaganda

Tech Against Terrorism

In the case of the recent terrorist attack in Christchurch, British and Australian tabloids were instrumental in making the gunman’s attack video and manifesto go viral. There have been a number of occasions where the work of the tech sector to take down extremist content from online platforms has been undermined by mainstream media outlets. Join Lorand Bodo as he speaks to Kyle Taylor, executive director of Hacked Off, a group which campaigns for a free and accountable press in the UK, and Abdirahim Saaed, a journalist for BBC Monitoring, who tracks and analyses the propaganda output of salafi-jihadist groups like ISIS and Al-Qaeda. Focussing on the UK landscape, this episode explores how news media can provide some of the most effective PR for terrorists, promoting and giving tremendous reach to their messages of hate, by spreading videos and images. It particularly focuses on the importance of imposing stringent and robust rules on UK newspapers, which currently lack independent regulation. It's clear we need a solution, because right now we’re playing directly into the terrorists’ hands.