Jihadists Tap into Power of Media

One of the most powerful weapons in the hands of modern terrorists is the mass media. As the technologies advance, terror groups are expanding the way they use the media to influence their own people and those of us in free societies. In the Gaza Strip, BBC journalist Alan Johnston was held captive by terrorists for months and forced to praise his captors before the world. An American hostage under duress confessed his misdeeds to an Iranian audience. From Iran, the world watched as hostage sailors apologized on video to Iran, then posed for a happy photo-op with the president upon their release. And in Israel, thousands are demanding the release of kidnapped soldiers. No one knows if they will die or become bargaining chips for thousands of Hamas and Hezbollah prisoners. Today's savvy jihadist can find an audience of billions, just by flipping the dial or clicking on a mouse. That power can surpass an arsenal of sophisticated weapons. Itamar Marcus is the director of Palestinian Media Watch. He says today's media outlets are an absolute tool for terrorism. Marcus said, "They are terrorism's megaphone. They magnify terrorism very successfully for terrorists.so you don't need a terrorist act, you just need a threat of terrorism today, and you can put an entire population of hundreds of millions of people into a panic just because of a videotape. It's very, very successful." Experts say the terrorists have three audiences: their own countries, enemies such as the United States, and Israel and the wider international audience. Marcus says the biggest problem with coverage of terrorists is not reporting what they do, but buying into their agenda. He said, "The media should report the event, report the horrors, and then not go on and say, 'Well, had the West not done the following.,' or 'Had the British not made life so miserable for their Muslims.,' or 'Had Israel not built the Wall.' When they do this, they are absolutely playing into the hands of the terrorists by not just giving the story, but also giving their spin."