By Samah Abdul Fattah | 2024-12-02

The digital presence of the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS), which once flooded social media with slick recruitment videos and calls to violence, is now a shadow of its former self, experts said.

"There is a real and noticeable decline in interaction with ISIS activity on websites and social media platforms," Ibn al-Walid Center for Studies and Field Research New Media Department director Mazen Zaki told Al-Fassel.

"The advanced media productions it used to release continuously -- whether images, videos or audio recordings -- have significantly decreased," he said.

Counter-terrorism awareness campaigns have had an impact, he said, by showing how ISIS "distorts religious teachings and Qur'anic verses to serve its own interests and those of its leaders."

"As a result, the group's propaganda is no longer as compelling or attention-grabbing as it was in previous years."

These campaigns also exposed "the reality of the group's terrorist activities," including attacks on civilians and the destruction of infrastructure, he said.

And they shed light on ISIS's extortion schemes, in which the group forced civilians to pay money under the guise of religious donations, he added.

"All these widely reported revelations have led to the mass defection of ISIS followers on social media platforms," Zaki said.

Meanwhile, platform crackdowns have shuttered hundreds of ISIS-linked accounts, with major networks now swiftly removing extremist content.

"Most of these accounts and pages -- once a primary source of the group's news -- no longer exist," Zaki said. "It has become extremely challenging, if not impossible, to access updates on the group or view its propaganda."

Public rejects extremism

Political analyst Abdul Nabi Bakkar attributes ISIS's media collapse to widespread rejection of radical groups and ideologies.

Extremist groups initially attracted followers with "grandiloquent slogans," he said, but ultimately "dragged the Middle East into a dark tunnel of conflict."

"The reduction in the group's followers on social media has directly led to a decrease in recruitment," Bakkar said. "Propaganda was one of their most effective tools for attracting new recruits by enticing them with promises."

This recruitment drought has "led to a decline in the group's influence and a weakening of its military capabilities" across Syria, Iraq and beyond, he said.

Money troubles have further hobbled ISIS's media machine.

"Producing content requires modern technologies and a dedicated team," Bakkar noted. "With the near cessation of funding, this has become increasingly difficult."

Recent ISIS content shows clear signs of deterioration, he added.

"The quality of the media they continue to produce has noticeably deteriorated, indicating that less advanced technologies are now being used."