The Islamic State of West Africa, ISWAP, insurgents are said to be making use of social media platforms to propagate their criminal activities in Nigeria and other West African countries.
In a report released on September 15, the Institute for Security Studies said ISWAP fighters are using platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram to discuss their operations in West Africa.
The institute stated that the terrorist group has over 50 Facebook and Telegram accounts which it uses to organize and carry out its criminal activities in the region.
According to the institute, it is harder to intercept the terrorists’ presence online and they are achieving a reach online that would not be possible in the physical world.
It, however, advised all African governments to pressure tech companies to deal with terrorism online, stressing that nothing is been done to curb terrorism online.
The report reads: “Groups such as the Boko Haram breakaway faction, Islamic State West Africa Province, appear to rely on messaging services like WhatsApp and Telegram to communicate internally and externally because they prefer these apps’ encrypted nature. ‘Telegram is becoming the new frontline for terrorist groups in Africa,’ warns Mr Bukarti.
‘On the last count, ISWAP had over 50 Facebook and Telegram accounts.’ Furthermore, ‘there’s no scrutiny; nobody seems to care in Africa.
“While larger platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp have the resources to offer a degree of content moderation, many smaller operators don’t. These are the ones terrorist groups prefer’.
