Al Qaeda advocates reached out via Twitter in search of ways to improve its public relations, but were roundly ridiculed by “American infidels” who encouraged the terrorist organization to start a boy band and yoga training for jihadists.
Business Insider reported that the al Qaeda “trolling” started Tuesday when J.M. Berger, a counter-terrorism expert and author of “Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go To War In The Name Of Jihad,” translated an extremist brainstorming session on the social networking site under the hashtag “Suggestions_to_Develop_Jihadist_Media.”
“Hey everybody, Al Qaeda is using this hashtag to solicit ideas for media ops,” Mr. Berger wrote in reply to the original tweet. “You should all send some.”
After a series of mocking replies, the poster who began the hashtag voiced their frustration.
“#Suggestions_to_Develop_Jihadist_Media The American Infidels take part in the hashtag,” was tweeted. A frown-face emoticon punctuated the message.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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