ABSTRACT
The chapter looks at how al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (ISIS) have used the internet to communicate directly to different audiences, bypassing the need for amplification through the mass-media needed in the past. Specifically, the chapter concentrates on how these organizations directly addressed a diverse audience of enemies, potential sympathizers, and supporters through their online magazines Inspire (al-Qaeda) and Dabiq (ISIS). With the lines between internal and external communication blurred in the strategy of a decentralized jihad, these magazines are an important way of transmitting ideological indoctrination as well as concrete skills, forming a part of micro- and meso-level learning in the ‘jihadisphere’ or even beyond, as everyone can access this information. Ideological ideas as well as tangible tactical and operational knowledge are supposed to be emulated by the readers. The chapter comparatively and over time analyses the major communication goals that are pursued in Inspire and Dabiq, revealing interesting differences in the approaches of the two organizations.
