The Islamic State (IS) has used Twitter, YouTube, messaging apps like Telegram in the past to convey their message and to recruit members to join their terrorist group. As per the latest findings, it is reported that the group is now using dating websites in order to recruit jihadi brides.
Business Insider reported that a Jordanian intelligence official said in a statement that every technology platform that exists is set to be exploited by the IS one way or another. The officer said that at the end of 2015, they were approached by a family living near Zarqa, which is the second largest city in Jordan. The family said that they believe their daughter was speaking to "dangerous people" online.
The official noted that they told the family to close Twitter and her Telegram account but they said that the dangerous people she is talking with is on a dating site she has become a member of. The dating website is said to be specifically for devout Muslims.
A man reportedly reached out to the missing daughter and tried to convince her to go to Raqqa, which is one of the areas seized by IS. The official said that the man told the teenager that she will live in a big house and will have servants. The man told the daughter that her husband will be a "handsome fighter" and that photos of the beautiful jewelry he is to by her for their wedding night were sent to her via the dating website, Mirror reported.
The daughter has been stopped from going to Raqqa but it shows that the IS is invading even the dating websites. A U.S. intelligence officer also said that the internet is one major reason why IS has been very successful in recruiting members to join them. The U.S. official said that the IS members have always been "goof at the internet" and that they are "smarter at the internet" due to the strategies they make as how they utilize it.
Just recently, it has been reported by Chron that two students from North Texas have left the U.S. in 2014 to become members of the IS. The students have been identified as Talmeezur Rahman of Collin College and Omar Kattan, who has graduated from University of North Texas.
Kattan has described himself as a suicide fighter and is said to be most likely dead. Rahman's whereabouts, on the other hand, remains unknown.
