Willingly manipulated?

I asked a young man why he watched the two videos of the slaughtering by Daesh of the 21 Egyptians in Libya, and before that the burning of the Jordanian pilot in their “entirety”.

He simply said “to be sure they were killed”, but quickly added: “So I can hate Daesh more!”

If this is the answer given by all other viewers of such clips, it means the Daesh propaganda machine is working.

By producing graphically shocking videos, Daesh seeks to sow fear, panic and confusion among the targeted audience, many of which give in to curiosity.

Social media that in turn seek sharing and likes are the free-of-charge vehicles at Daesh’s disposition.

Developments show that Daesh, with this “seductive” weapon, won many battles without an actual physical fight.

But there are some people who think that such satanic strategy can be foiled by much simpler tactics: IT giants should deal with these videos as they do with X-rated materials.

Social media professionals should not carry these videos in the first place and searchers on the webs should stop searching or sharing such items.

In other words: strict and complete boycott of this vicious propaganda campaign.

If Daesh is denied the advantage of broadcasting its clips as a strategic weapon, it will certainly miss the ultimate goal it seek to achieve with viewers. Consequently, its strategy will start crumbling.

There is an urgent need to keep the devil in leash before more of its deeds fall into our laps.

It is never too late to reverse the tide and push this group’s horrendous filmed crimes back to their own dark rooms. 

Saleem Ayoub Quna,
Amman