Britain has spent nearly 200,000 pounds on ”social media activity” to deter would-be jihadis from leaving the country.
The method is a new way by diplomats in trying to stem the flow of Britons travelling to fight in Syria. According to the Independent, fighters for al-Qaida-linked groups in Syria”s civil war are efficiently using social networks such as Twitter and Facebook to recruit foreign fighters. They have posted messages and images exhorting young Muslims to join a holy war against Bashar al-Assad”s brutal regime.
According to the report, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) now aim to counter the pro-jihadi propaganda glorifying the conflict by setting up its own online project to convince British Muslims not to go to Syria. The FCO was granted 173,000 pounds funding for ”social media activity to deter UK residents from traveling to fight in Syria,” the report said. In the United States, the State Department has started using an official Twitter account with a department crest to target Islamist extremists or potential terrorists online, messaging recipients with the hashtag #thinkagainturnaway, it added. (ANI)