Just in time for Craig Whitlock’s helpful survey of Jihadi internet propaganda, Ekhlaas member Usud al-Tawhid (Lions of Monotheism) has posted a message about the Islamic State of Iraq’s method of media distribution. The message is by an Abu al-Zarqa’ al-`Iraqi, who claims to be a member of the ISI.
AZ warns forum members not to post media material from Iraq outside of official channels online. He relates that he once made this mistake when he published clips of an attack carried out by a certain “Dr. Fathi” (probably alluding to this). AZ’s action angered people in the ISI’s Media Ministry and resulted in AZ and another brother being hauled before a Sharia tribunal.
A brother informed AZ that Furqan is the only entity that can publish media material for the ISI. By this, AZ says, the brother meant that members of the ISI’s Media Ministry in al-Furqan were the only people allowed to upload material to the internet and send it to al-Fajr Media Center for distribution.
AZ explains to the brothers that there are several good reasons why the members of Furqan only want to publish media material through official channels:
- They do not want to cause hardship for their videographers and those who expose themselves to danger. (Presumably, he means that publishing material through unofficial channels increases the security risks.)
- They do not want to make things hard for people in the Media Ministry or Furqan.
- When material is published unofficially, the infidels think that their efforts are succeeding and that the information specialists are not able to publish material on the Internet because of security constraints. This, AZ says, is a very important point. Publishing through official channels demoralizes the infidels because it demonstrates that their plan isn’t working and that mujahids are still able to communicate.
- (Basically the same as point #3).
- The videographers capture an operation and give it to the brothers who clip the important material. Then the material goes to brothers who produce a product. Then the product goes to the Media Ministry and through it to the Fajr Center to determine the right time for publication.
After going through the benefits of posting ISI material through official channels, AZ attaches a letter that explains how to post ISI material when you don’t know how to contact the ISI: Compress the material, password protect it with with a number, and save it to one of the online file sharing sites. Then contact the administrators of Ekhlaas, Boraq, Hesbah, or Firdaws and give them the link. The administrators will send the material to Fajr, and Fajr will determine the right time to publish it.
Download (Arabic): 6-24-08-ekhlaas-isi-media-distribution
One Response
The “Dr. Fathi Incursion” was originally previewed at the tail end of one of ISI’s other video productions, and as AZ mentions, about a month later (if I recall correctly), he posted the video in parts, but without the usual Furqan fanfare and trademarks. He was then reprimanded and I think most interestingly from a propaganda standpoint for “leaking” videos and undermining Furqan’s, and therefore the ISI’s, credibility and professionalism. The ISI continues to attempt to present Furqan as a sort of brand name in Jihadi media despite the fact that anyone with basic computer software knowledge can take random online footage on an IED in Anbar, slap the Furqan logo on it, and claim it as a recent operation in Mosul.