Can You Trust Anyone on Jihadi Internet Forums?

Abstract

Abstract The Internet is fruitful territory for deception and mimicry, partly because online communication involves a narrower range of signal types than in-person interactions. This chapter looks at how this problem affected radical Islamists trying to make use of online discussion forums in the 2000s and early 2010s. Rather than being tools for plotting and recruitment, al-Qaida-affiliated jihadi forums such as al-Falluja exhibited severe internal trust problems and a reluctance to discuss matters of operational significance due to widespread fears of infiltration by intelligence agents. The chapter looks empirically at how the distrust manifested itself, how it varied over time, which types of signs made or broke trust, and which strategies and systems online jihadists developed to counter infiltration attempts and build trust on their platforms.