US military flailing in online fight against Islamic StateGetty WebOps relies on dozens of Arabic-speaking analysts who scour Twitter and other social media platforms for people whose postings suggest they are vulnerable to the Islamic State's siren call. A counter-propaganda programme aimed at thwarting Islamic State recruiting over social media is plagued by incompetence, cronyism and skewed data, an investigation has found. But internal documents and interviews with more than a dozen people knowledgeable about WebOps suggest a programme that appears aimed more at enriching contractors than thwarting terrorism. WebOps relies on dozens of Arabic-speaking analysts who scour Twitter and other social media platforms for people whose postings suggest they are vulnerable to the Islamic State's siren call. That's led to open ridicule on social media about references to the "Palestinian salad".

Source: Stuff January 31, 2017 21:41 UTC