March 13, 2015
By David Wroe
...Reformed jihadists (click here) who have been to the Middle East and returned home disillusioned could be used as poster boys and girls to combat the tidal wave of extremist propaganda on the internet.
As the federal government prepares to ramp up a counter-messaging campaign against up to 100,000 pieces of propaganda per day by the Islamic State terror group and its supporters, Fairfax Media has been told that one option is to encourage former extremists to speak out.
The approach has been used in Britain, where several high-profile disillusioned extremists have tried to dissuade others from joining jihad and travelling abroad. One has even created the online cartoon character Abdullah X, who considers going abroad to fight but realises the futility of it and the hypocrisy of jihadist leaders.
Attorney-General George Brandis recently announced $18 million to combat extremist propaganda online – a task whose urgency was grimly underscored this week when Melbourne teenager Jake Bilardi was believed killed while carrying out a suicide bombing in Iraq....
By David Wroe
...Reformed jihadists (click here) who have been to the Middle East and returned home disillusioned could be used as poster boys and girls to combat the tidal wave of extremist propaganda on the internet.
As the federal government prepares to ramp up a counter-messaging campaign against up to 100,000 pieces of propaganda per day by the Islamic State terror group and its supporters, Fairfax Media has been told that one option is to encourage former extremists to speak out.
The approach has been used in Britain, where several high-profile disillusioned extremists have tried to dissuade others from joining jihad and travelling abroad. One has even created the online cartoon character Abdullah X, who considers going abroad to fight but realises the futility of it and the hypocrisy of jihadist leaders.
Attorney-General George Brandis recently announced $18 million to combat extremist propaganda online – a task whose urgency was grimly underscored this week when Melbourne teenager Jake Bilardi was believed killed while carrying out a suicide bombing in Iraq....
