http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.9591/pub_detail.asp
May 24, 2011 Hamas' New Social Media Push <http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/authors/id.1/author_detail.asp> Steve Emerson Print This <javascript:%20printVersion()> E-mail This <javascript:%20emailVersion()> <javascript:void(0);> http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/images/share.png ShareThis <javascript:void(0);> Comments (0) <http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/comments.asp?id=9591> http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/imgLib/20110524_HamasInfo.jpg Hamasinfo Twitter page. "We call for adopting a strategy on the basis of resistance and the upholding of our rights and constants," Hamas spokesman Sami <http://www.flickr.com/photos/easudihamdun/3485504306/> Abu Zuhri stated in an <http://twitter.com/#!/hamasinfo> official message on Twitter. While statements in support of "resistance" may be old and established, Hamas' leadership is capitalizing on the social media craze to try reaching a new crowd. http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/imgLib/20100621_HAMASlogo.jpg The power of social media hasn't been lost on Hamas. During the past year, young Palestinians in the Gaza Strip <http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2011/me_hamas0300_03_17.asp> used Facebook, Twitter, and other similar sites to rally for a unified Palestinian government. The protests, which initially were <http://www.newsfrommiddleeast.com/?new=76008> suppressed, ultimately brought Hamas <http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2011-04-27-hamas-fatah-treaty_n.htm> to the table with its Fatah rival, and were a Palestinian expression of pro-democracy movements in the Arab World. Hamas' new media push includes accounts on <http://www.youtube.com/user/hamasinfo> Youtube, <http://www.flickr.com/photos/hamasinfo> Flickr, <http://twitter.com/#!/hamasinfo> Twitter, and <http://www.facebook.com/pages/hamasinfo/109810285772638> Facebook, as well as a website ( <http://www.hamasinfo.net/> www.hamasinfo.net) for the group's "Information Office." Notably, Facebook and Youtube have actively removed websites tied to terrorists and violence due to over content violations, while Twitter's terms of use seem more flexible. Launched over the course of the past year, these new outlets will join the <http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/en/> Palestinian Information Center and the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades <http://qassam.ps/> Information Office in touting the group's official line. It's also not the first time that Hamas has used the latest technology in disseminating its message. In April 2010, the Hamas' Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades produced its first <http://arabcrunch.com/2010/04/video-officially-hammas-al-qassam-enters-soci al-media-with-a-3d-video-for-gilad-shalit.html> 3D video, focused on the failure of the Israeli government to secure the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. Hamas' new push creates a web of ways to broadcast information. At the center is the news website <http://www.hamasinfo.net/ar/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k+cOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO+i1 s7fNKQhCHNmBS9Wcx5Pf5+Hde/irdSqGrlB0vP3MYsDs0MjPRfxLbQ1fWAdIm64cIvL98WjUQS9w RL9wmLhkHTRJJf8pO4kvBhoT4XymGoGwk=> Hamasinfo.net, which shows the latest speeches, statements, and information from Hamas' leaders. It also hosts important older speeches regarding the group's ideology. For example, to clarify the terrorist group's opposition to creating an Islamic Emirate in Gaza, the Information Office <http://www.hamasinfo.net/ar/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k+cOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO+i1 s7aljPE+zmcY+d6RtWDaLoRa/n8W6OQHmZOTKgjZj9x/Y9jOMvLvMcUJOC3vzMJ8Xbi6SjTX6fJJ ac7VHhwzQyImYzH88NV1LeARNUMepk7jk=> re-released a 2007 interview of leader <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4653706.stm> Mahmoud al-Zahhar on <http://aljazeeratalk.net/> Al-Jazeera Talk. New releases on its website are broadcast on Twitter and Facebook, where people can comment or link back to original articles and videos. More than 240 people have "liked" the official Hamas Facebook profile since its launch on May 15th. Hamas has also endorsed violent marches of Palestinian refugees on Israel's borders, in the "likes and interest" <http://www.facebook.com/pages/hamasinfo/109810285772638#!/pages/hamasinfo/1 09810285772638?sk=info> section of its Facebook profile. The group's Flickr page shows favorable pictures of its leadership, such as Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal <http://www.flickr.com/photos/hamasinfo/5254649138/in/photostream> meeting with senior political figures or <http://www.flickr.com/photos/hamasinfo/5233057805/in/photostream> attending Hamas rallies. Other pictures from its Facebook page show Meshaal <http://www.facebook.com/pages/hamasinfo/109810285772638#!/photo.php?fbid=11 1038608983139&set=pu.109810285772638&type=1&theater> visiting Palestinian hospitals. Its Youtube account, which is not yet fully functional, also will feature interviews and clips from the group's website. Through social media sites like these, Hamas can show two sides to its organization. On one hand, Hamas presents the image of a group with <http://www.flickr.com/photos/hamasinfo/5233083471/in/photostream> broad appeal, <http://www.flickr.com/photos/hamasinfo/5233693888/in/photostream> working for Palestinian unity, and <http://www.flickr.com/photos/hamasinfo/5233612720/in/photostream> rallying for independence. On the other, the speeches on its new website show that the group hasn't given up extremist positions, despite selectively omitting statements like Hamas' <http://www.qassam.ps/news-4486-Hamas_condemns_assassination_of_Osama_Bin_La den.html> opposition to the assassination of Osama bin Laden. These include a recent <http://www.hamasinfo.net/ar/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k+cOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO+i1 s7fNKQhCHNmBS9Wcx5Pf5+Hde/irdSqGrlB0vP3MYsDs0MjPRfxLbQ1fWAdIm64cIvL98WjUQS9w RL9wmLhkHTRJJf8pO4kvBhoT4XymGoGwk=> announcement by spokesman Al-Zuhri that America is no longer a friend to the region and will fail to force it into ever recognizing Israel. Before the launch of official social media, communication between Hamas members and the public relied on <http://www.hamsawy.com/forum.php> web forums. One such forum run by the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, <http://www.almoltaqa.ps/english/forumdisplay.php?f=2> Al-Qassam English Forum, continues to provide an official English-language outlet for discussion, multimedia, and advocacy on Hamas' behalf. It also includes <http://www.almoltaqa.ps/english/showthread.php?t=20089> photos of 'martyrdom operations' and <http://www.almoltaqa.ps/english/showthread.php?t=1715> videos honoring suicide attackers. However, unlike al-Qaida-style groups which thrive in the unregulated web forums, Hamas <http://www.almoltaqa.ps/arabic/> shut down the al-Qassam Forum's Arabic section last year. With little control over the message put out on these websites, many posts focused solely on jihad and hate towards Israel and Jews. Hamas hasn't lost the violent tinge to its writings, but its articles refer more to the "right of resistance," and other euphemisms for terror. <http://familysecuritymatters.org/> FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributor <http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/authors/id.1/author_detail.asp> Steve Emerson is an internationally recognized expert on terrorism and national security and the author of five books on these subjects, most recently "Jihad Incorporated: A Guide to Militant Islam in the US." Steve also writes for the Counterterrorism Blog and he is the CEO of the <http://www.investigativeproject.org/> Investigative Project on Terrorism. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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