The Anti-Social Media

It’s déjà vu all over again (my apologies to the late Yogi Berra). Those of us in Southern California haven’t even heard the last of the December second terrorist attack in San Bernardino and here comes another attack in Orlando, Florida. The worst mass shooting in American history, we are told. Well, at least the worst in current memory.

Our President tells us it was “… an act of terror and an act of hate.” One of the two people who will be out next President is placing the blame on the legally obtained weapons the shooter used. The other wants to ban all Muslims from entering the country. It is obvious none of our current or future leaders have a clue about the cause of this or other “Lone Wolf” attacks.

First, let me say what it is not: It is not the easy access to firearms.

The San Bernardino shootings happened in California, a state with some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation. The Tsarnaev brothers used common pressure cookers loaded with explosives and nails to wreak mayhem during the Boston Marathon. One of the bombers, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, told investigators that he learned the technique from an article in Inspire magazine. I will say more about Inspire later. The Fort Hood shooter, Army Major Nidal Hasan, legally purchased an FN Five-seven semi-automatic pistol to kill 13 people and wound 30 more. In London, England, British Army Fusilier Lee Rigby of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers was run down by a car and hacked to death by Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale. This happened in a country where gun ownership is extremely regulated.

The list goes on, but can you see the common denominator in every instance? Let me give you a hint. It’s not the weapons. These were all killers bent on doing the most damage in any way and with any means possible.

Now, let me tell you what it is: Every one of these incidents was perpetrated by “Lone Wolf” killers in the name of Islamic jihad. How were these people compelled to wreak this carnage? The blame goes to that grand facilitator, social media.

Twitter and the Internet are giving radical Islamic organizations the biggest soapbox possible. Through this media, they can talk directly with many followers and possible new recruits. They spew out jihadist propaganda and hate on a 24-7 basis.

In 2010, Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) published an English language on-line magazine titled Inspire. As its name suggests, it has inspired potential jihadist to travel to distant foreign lands to join in terrorist activities. It also inspires the “Lone Wolf” attacks in the jihadist’s homeland. Major Nidal Hasan was in direct email contact with Anwar al-Awlaki, a virulent mouthpiece for AQAP.

So how does a nice hometown American and devout Muslim become so radicalized that they would commit such heinous acts? Propaganda may be the most powerful weapon in any arsenal. Many aberrant governments have used propaganda to nefarious benefit. Cult leaders use propaganda to convert susceptive people into radical followers. Radical Islamic groups are using propaganda to entice Muslims to jihad.

And what better way to disseminate propaganda than through social media. The Internet provides any number of ways to get the message out to masses or individuals. And it is entirely unregulated!

The FCC in this country and governmental agencies in other countries regulate the content of television and radio, but there are absolutely no content restrictions on anything sent over the Internet. There has never been such an open and widespread forum in history. And it is free!

And here is the really, really bad news. Until we get a handle on social media content, we can look forward to even more and possibly larger “Lone Wolf” attacks. Even if through some sort of magic every gun in the country would immediately vanish, these “Lone Wolf” jihadists would find another weapon to wreak their planned havoc and mayhem. This will not stop, folks, until we cut off the dissemination of propaganda to susceptible people. Stop the anti-social media!