Experts in the fight against terrorism have been “stunned” to see how in recent days jihadist volunteers have managed to massively spread their propaganda through the social networks most used by Spaniards thanks to the “huge loudspeaker” of the media. The fuse was lit in the middle of last week when threats regarding the Champions League matches at the Santiago Bernabéu and Civitas Metropolitano began to make headlines, which had been spread by two media platforms related to the Islamic State, Al-Azaim Foundation and Sarh al-Khilafah. And in that “springboard” lies the success of these propaganda campaigns against which the Security Corps and Forces fight: generating social alarm and a climate of terror.
Both the General Information Commissariat of the National Police and the Information Service of the Civil Guard agree in emphatically stating that the terrorist threat has not increased in Spain in the last week. The target soccer matches took place without any incident of this nature. But first, the Ministry of the Interior had to call for calm and the Government Delegation in Madrid announced a reinforcement of the police force due to the magnitude of the propaganda campaign. It even snuck into the political debate: the extreme right took the opportunity to point out “those who open borders” as those “responsible” for the “pain that the savages will cause.”
After the fall of the Islamic State caliphate in 2019, propaganda is what has served the organization to maintain terrorist tension around the world. In fact, despite the fact that the Islamic State loses its central structures, "the phenomenon of propaganda increases because it begins to be supported by volunteers who participate in a very specialized way," point out the intelligence service of the Civil Guard. In addition to the entities that bear the official seal of the organization, such as the Dabiq and Rumiyah magazines or the Al Naba newspaper – which are now only the tip of the iceberg – the true echo chamber of the Islamic State is made up of a kind of franchised structure. responsible for creating and disseminating terrorist propaganda. “The fact that it spreads through unofficial channels does not mean a reduction in risk,” the sources add.
However, as the National Police point out, a restricted public has access to the "incessant" propaganda of the Islamic State to circumvent the security forces, who find themselves with enormous difficulties in pursuing its authors because they hide behind profiles. undetectable due to the lack of information that the platforms offer about them. Telegram is the clear example and therefore one of the favorite networks of terrorists. Terrorist content jumps from smaller channels to larger ones thanks to the commitment of jihadist volunteers who are in charge of translating and making the material visually attractive.
In the vast majority, propaganda remains in those circles with the objective of attracting followers to the terrorist cause. Either for transfer to conflict zones or to commit an attack on western soil. But when the mainstream media echo it – “involuntarily playing into their hands,” the Police point out –, social alarm is generated, which they also seek. And, incidentally, that it may reach some subject who does not consume the specialized channels, but who is encouraged to attack encouraged by these incitements.
Police sources assure that they have detected the presence of freelance journalists in small groups of jihadist volunteers who "with the aim of informing or knowing how the terrorist phenomenon works" have captured the threats to "immediately" publish them in the media. The agents who have intervened in these channels have verified that after publications in the media, the members have boasted that the intimidations have had a media echo.
At this time, the fight against propaganda focuses on preventing terrorist content from circulating freely on the Internet, but due to the very nature of the medium, it is “highly complicated” to reach the structures that facilitate and favor its dissemination. “It is an enormous challenge,” experts acknowledge. Operations in Spain generally focus on neutralizing a threat from a tactical point of view with the arrest of individuals who could commit an action after consuming propaganda. However, strategic success would consist of damaging global propaganda structures.
Security forces predict that in the coming months, with the Paris Olympic Games as a backdrop, propaganda with the target at sporting events will increase. This was the case with the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where propaganda activity intensified, although in the end there was no terrorist incident.
