ISIS Initial Research

Upon initial research, our group collaboratively studied and learned more about what ISIS actually represents. We were interested in finding out more about how the organization is funded, how it began, who it consists of, who it is targeting, what the ultimate goal is, and more. ISIS, which stands for the Islamic State of Iraw and Syria, is an Islamic rebel extremist group controlling terrotiry in Iraq and Syria. A huge segment of our research in the first studio day focused on ISIS’s media campaign and sophisticated media department. The group’s success with regard to recruitment comes from myriad media outlets including t-shirts and merchandise, iPhone applications, YouTube videos, magazines, Facebook, and much more. The group has a presence on almost every media platform. This aggressive ISIS media campaign focuses on recruitment. One article maintained that the organization is so good at recruiting because it appeals to recruits religious identities, it operates as a sophisticated propaganda machine, it exerts a cult-like control, and it uses success as a tool by broascasting their growth and ‘accomplishments.’ In future research, I am interested to investigate what the United States is doing to deal with the situation. I would also like to look into arguments stating that the videos are all staged and fake.