The online presence of Daesh, also known as IS/Islamic State, has been a major contributor to the group’s ongoing legitimacy. The group’s use of Twitter and online information distribution has proven to be a successful tool for recruiting.
While various attempts to boot the terrorists from social media sites using convoluted computer algorithms have proven ineffective, a new strategy is taking a more stripped-down approach.
Online hackers have created what they call "pornbots," Twitter accounts that feature only graphic images of sex and nudity. These accounts automatically target known Daesh supporters, overwhelming their profiles with hundreds of pornbot accounts.
The fake accounts are virtually impossible to report as spam, since they never actually tweet. The sexual images are present in the profile picture and banner, but the account remains otherwise dormant.
The account of one Daesh sympathizer, for example, ordinarily had some 50 followers. In a matter of hours, that account was flooded by over 800 pornbots.
A number of Daesh supporters have responded by privatizing their accounts, but the move is seen to ultimately harm recruiting efforts, thereby accomplishing hacker goals.
It is unclear who the hackers are. One guess would be Anonymous, as the group has conducted similar operations in the past. In December 2105, the hactivist group called for the establishment of an international "trolling day," encouraging internet users to openly mock the terrorist "Daeshbags."
"They thrive off of fear they hope that by their actions they can silence all of us and get us to just lay low and hide in fear," reads an Anonymous post. "But what many forget and even they do is that there are many more people in the world against them than for them. And that is the goal of this mass uprising."
Whether this is the doing of Anonymous or other would-be hackers, it’s always difficult to argue with naked activism.
