Lies on Wings - Al-Shabaab and the Exploitation of Modern Digital Technology for Propaganda and Disinformation

Abstract

Terrorism, especially the kind perpetrated by religious extremists, has been a global phenomenon since the twilight years of the last century and was further buoyed by the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. Terrorists seek to influence an audience, and as such, information has always been integral to their success. Propaganda is a planned activity that aims to influence emotions, motives, objective reasoning, perceptions, attitudes, and ultimately the behaviours of target audiences. This approach includes disinformation, which is used to influence audiences and exploit existing biases, beliefs, and emotional vulnerabilities to make falsehoods seem plausible or even desirable to believe. Disinformation has become widespread with the proliferation of social media applications. Forged documents, fake maps, deep fakes, internet frauds, doctored photographs, fake websites, encrypted messaging apps, dark web forums, and manipulated Wikipedia entries are just some of the ways that information is being deliberately distorted to deceive. For terrorists, disinformation is another potent tool in their box. This article examines the nature of Al-Shabaab disinformation campaigns and the exploitation of modern technology to spread disinformation, achieve plausible believability and influence public opinion and eventually recruit more operatives to their cause. The methodology is qualitative research focusing on content analysis of terrorist disinformation and how technology is used to deploy such content. Through an interdisciplinary approach, this article sheds light on the intersection of terrorism, technology, and disinformation, providing insights into the evolving landscape of modern warfare in the information era.