The use of digital technologies for propaganda by Caucasian jihadist movements

Abstract

The report examines the use of digital technologies, particularly internet resources and social platforms, by Caucasian jihadist and terrorist organizations. It focuses on the ideological propaganda conducted by these groups online, the formation of "online jamaats," the recruitment of new members, and the organization and management of terrorist activities.   As digital technologies have developed, jihadist organizations have increasingly adopted and integrated them into their operations. Notably, various multilingual online publications, such as Dabiq and Inspire, have been utilized to promote the organization’s ideological vision, educate supporters, and mobilize them.   To understand the use of digital technologies by jihadists in the Caucasus region, it is crucial to examine the period of the Russo-Chechen wars when the use of modern technologies in the information war intensified. In 1999, before the start of the Second Chechen War, the Center for Strategic Research and Political Technologies, operating under the Ministry of Information and Press of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, established the website www.kavkazcenter.com. This site operated in Russian, Turkish, Arabic, and English, positioning itself as an independent international Islamic internet agency.   The significance of internet resources for Caucasian jihadist organizations escalated with the onset of the Second Chechen War, during which some Chechen separatist forces began transforming into a jihadist movement. KavkazCenter became a tool for North Caucasian radical Islamists to disseminate ideas about establishing Sharia law in the region and forming a unified "Caucasian Islamic State." In the early 2000s, alongside the formation of "combat jamaats" in the North Caucasian republics, the website worked to popularize jihadist fighters online and conducted ideological propaganda through articles, studies, audio lectures, and video addresses from Caucasian radical Islamist leaders.   These efforts aimed to create new identity constructs, analyzing events through a jihadist religious-ideological lens, rejecting Caucasian nationalism, and consolidating religious identity to liberate from Russian colonialism. The propaganda portrayed not only the Russian military and security forces as enemies, but also individuals within the administrations and judicial systems of the North Caucasian republics, as well as representatives of traditional Islamic currents, who were labeled as collaborators.   Subsequently, the site's administration activated other local websites under its control, covering the armed activities of jihadist groups in Dagestan, Ingushetia, North Ossetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Karachay-Cherkessia. Concurrently, internet forums became active, systematically conducting religious propaganda and recruiting young people.   KavkazCenter aimed to attract young Caucasian Muslims, particularly since the internet was especially popular among the younger generation, and worked effectively to create a virtual unified "Caucasian Islamic State." From its founding until 2007, the agency significantly contributed to the ideological groundwork for the creation of the "Caucasus Emirate." After this period, there was a notable increase in the use of social networks for terrorist purposes.   The research also explores propaganda and recruitment activities conducted on social networks by jihadist movements following the outbreak of hostilities in Syria in 2011. Specific examples include internet calls urging supporters to migrate with their families to territories controlled by jihadist organizations, resulting in thousands of people from the Caucasus region migrating to Syria and Iraq to perform the so-called "hijrah" after being radicalized. The study analyzes groups formed on Russian- and Georgian-language internet resources and social platforms.   Additionally, examples of how social platforms have been used to recruit, instruct, and engage "lone wolves" in terrorist activities and attacks are discussed.   Finally, the presentation addresses the economic aspects, focusing on the use of digital technologies—such as cryptocurrency—for covert financing of jihadist organizations and fund transfer. It also considers the potential use of the darknet for obtaining necessary resources, including weapons and military equipment.