Abstract

This research work is about the use of social media by different militant organizations to radicalize people and propagate different religious popular narratives, which are circulating in our society via social media. Social media has lowered the entry barrier of radicalism through different mediums of social media, which are used intentionally by different militant organizations and groups. Social media is a very strong and convincing medium in this technological era most people have internet access and use social media widely. In this paper different platforms of social media are discussed one by one, and how radical groups use these sources of social media to get the moral and financial support of the people, making them radical in their thoughts and extreme in their actions.

Key Words

Religious Politics, Popular Narratives, Social Media, Radicalism, Extremism

Introduction

Social media has emerged as a powerful tool for communication, information, and connectivity but unfortunately, it also emerged as a strong weapon for miscommunication, misinformation, and creating conflict by propagating radical and extremist thoughts. Media affects the perception and moulds the thinking of the people. Media shape and reshape public behaviour about issues, and ideologies and play a pivotal role in reshaping the thinking and ideological perception of the people (Khan, Afridi, & Yousufy, 2015). Social media has created different channels and platforms, which are highly accessible for misinformation, showing divisiveness and harm to the real world in the shaping of dividing them into different militant and radical groups (Guay, Gray, & Rhynard-Geil, 2019). Media is a key institution and reflection of people's thoughts and perceptions of a country. When we look at the use of social media in Pakistan, nearly 71.70 million people are using social media. The impact of social media on this real world is very alarming and challenging to world peace because different militant groups strive to spread their extremist and radical views via using different platforms of social media, they are using increasingly social media to spread their popular narratives to the common masses  (Khan & Mehmood, 2016). Humans are social beings, they constantly influence one another. Like-minded individuals tend to influence one another more and adopt more extreme viewpoints and behaviours. People who subscribe to violent ideologies run the risk of developing radical belief systems in which they begin to defend the use of violence as a means of achieving their political and social objectives. These days, social media is a common venue for these attempts at social influence (e.g. via Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google, videogames, etc.). Social media is a powerful tool for radicalization and cause recruitment. (Aziz & Luras, 2010)

The users of Facebook and Twitter encourage and support such social and political change. Blogs have also been frequently used by people to express their views. The internet is being used more and more by radical groups to exploit the concerns of disenfranchised youth, radicalize them, and give them a sense of purpose. These militant groups have misinterpreted some Quranic verses to give their explanations of these verses and give some references to Hadiths without contextual understanding. Al-Qaeda and other such groups encourage homegrown terrorism by using different propaganda, information and messages on social media where more individuals have access to this information and materials by carrying out "lone wolf" operations against their targets (Ahmad, 2014).

Today for the younger generation social media is commonplace. Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter, along with mobile computing and internet-capable devices such as cell phones, smartphones, iPads, gaming systems etc provide the opportunity for users to connect and share content with like-minded people. Modern technology helps to create different platforms and apps to feed the voracious information and social connection for social media users. The world borders have been opened up by social media and even users of social media do not think twice about communicating or having friends in other countries. Social media keeps connecting people very effectively and this connectivity increases the emotional reaction of the individual and radicalizes its supporters (Asif, Ishtiaq, Ahmad, Aljuaid, & Shah, 2020).

As government and political leaders use social media to expand their influence and communicate with their supporters, likewise fund-raisers and different radical groups use social media for the same purposes. ISIS uses social media to demonstrate the resourcefulness of the terrorist group, which is mobilizing more than 40,000 individuals from different countries to join this group. With the increased use of social media, it is becoming easy for ISIS and other such militant groups to recruit people in their groups and expand their roots and supporters. ISIS also uses Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, and online magazines for the recruitment of people, radicalizing them and preparing them for the target attacks. ISIS has long used social media to further its objectives. Al-Qaeda is also making use of this with the debut of their English-language web magazine, which served as the model for the 2010 Boston Marathon bombers. Also, this organization has been operating the Al-Emarah Telegram channel. Al-Qaeda also maintains Telegram channels in numerous additional languages, including Turkish, Persian, Urdu, Pashto, and many more. The Taliban's capacity to effectively display its propaganda is essential to drawing in warriors and Fidyaan (suicide attackers) and presenting themselves as an established entity (Ward, 2018). Donations to these extremist organizations are made through Facebook and other websites. Another social media technique that is utilized is chat rooms. Al-Qaeda creates a chat room and uses Pal Talk to interact with people in an attempt to radicalize them. PalTalk is an open platform where anyone may participate in discussions, become a recruit, and get radicalized to support the beliefs of Al-Qaeda. Social media applications are two-edged swords that have the potential to break social norms by encouraging users to report and generate information that would otherwise be kept private. These behaviours also increase users' access to information that could be used to manipulate their perceptions (Dean & Bell, 2012). Social media use does not directly cause these events, but it does contribute to their effectiveness by giving protesters more command, control, and communication tools and by reporting on the events in real-time as they happen. This, in turn, increases participant awareness and motivation as well as that of those who want to see change in other parts of the region. Through tweets, videos, blogs, and postings that go viral on social media platforms, social media also informs the rest of the world about events. This study not only makes the case that social media contributes to radicalization, but it also shows how powerful it is, particularly in nations with robust internet connections (Iqbal & Mehmood, 2021). 

In the literature, there are a large number of books, research papers, reports, and articles about social media that it is very crucial role-playing in the radicalization of people. Many academics have discovered that social media was once seen to be a serious threat to spreading extremism. For instance, one author claims that young individuals, particularly teens and those looking for a community and identity, are truly at risk when using social media. Though it is hotly contested, a new comprehensive study highlights the intricacy of the problem and how easily someone can get radicalized through social media use. The risk is not limited to the internet; exposure to violent extremism offline must also be considered (Alava, Meigs, & Hassan, 2017). Moreover, the majority of radicalized individuals are exposed to extremist ideology through offline socialization before being further indoctrinated online. Different scholars, researchers, and students have done work on the topic that social media is an effective tool used by these militant groups. The finding of this paper focuses on different means agents and methods of social media and how can they be used to radicalize people, other than this it also works on the aspect that why and how these media affect the offline activities of the people who use social media and having access to the internet (Zaheer, 2018).

Objectives of the Study

1. To discuss the role of social media in individual radicalization
2. To describe different platforms and methods used to radicalize people on social media.

Significance of the Study

The study of radicalism in terms of media role is very significant in this technological era because nearly every middle-class person engages in social media in one way or another way. On the other hand, different militant groups and people having radical mindsets are spreading their views and changing the mindset of the people, engaging them within their organization, and then using them as per their required needs. Although a large number of people have done their work on this topic, the researcher considers it very important to be focused because people having research on this topic is specific to some areas or case studies. However, here I want to generalize this study to all the militant groups and organizations that are in touch with social media for spreading their ideologies and popular narratives.

Methodology

This research work is based on the qualitative method. The study cannot be completed only by the secondary data and literature review, studying relevant books, articles, journals, and research papers. However, it also went through primary data by conducting interviews with scholars, experts, and social media users, and mostly the study was based on the direct observation of the researcher. The study is qualitative, descriptive, and analytical.

Findings of the Paper

In this research paper, we find that these militant groups always misuse social media and radical groups for spreading their narratives. These different religious concepts are misinterpreted by extremist groups to gain support and influence on the minds of illiterate and like-minded people. Then recruit them into extremist activities for their required purposes.

What are the Religious Popular Narratives of Radicalists

Religious Popular narratives are those misinterpreted concepts, which hold all the militant groups. These are the religious and Quranic terminologies, which are misinterpreted by these radical people. For the interpretation of the Quran, a well-known scholar Ameen Ahsan Islahi considers two types of interpretation sources i.e. external sources and internal sources. Likewise, Javed Ahmad Ghamidi also gives different and separate sources of Quran and Hadith interpretation. These scholars give a very detailed list of sources and put conditions for those who want to do the interpretation of the Quran and Hadith. Both scholars emphasize that one who wants to interpret the Holy Quran and Hadith should have a very wide knowledge of the Arabic language, literature, the local terminologies of the Arab people, the history of Arabs, and knowledge of earlier revealed Holy books (Islahi, 1993) (Ghamidi, 2001). However, all the radical and extremist groups misguide the common masses with their explanation of these concepts without understanding the real and exact nature of the meaning and situation of revelation. They often take Quranic verses without reference to the context and do not study and consider the reason and situation of those verses in which it revealed. Other than this, they always take Hadith for the support of their misinterpreted arguments. So now, they have some very strange beliefs about the concept of Jihad, Muslims and Non-Muslims, the status of Women, the concept of a Universal caliphate, Amar bil-maroof wa Nahi Anil Munkir, the definition Ulama, Islam as a complete code of life and Islam in the west. These are some main points, that are very badly misinterpreted, misguiding society and creating extremist and radical behaviour in the common masses. Some points of these popular narratives are mentioned here:

1. The concept of jihad is that it is obligatory (Faraz) for every Muslim to join it.
2. Appeals to join the Taliban for jihad,  if they will not join it they will be considered non-Muslims (Kafirs) and allies of the infidel.
3. Preparing people for Shahadat (martyrdom). They considered Fedayian( Sucidie attackers) martyrs.
4. Convincing the people that the Taliban are fighting for the sake of Islam and God, they are preaching Islam and Amar bil Maruf wa Nahe Anil Munkar. Those who don't join the Taliban and such groups are unbelievers (Kafirs).
5. This incites people to revolt against the army and government institutions because they are following Western laws and policies.
6. Women are considered the root of all evils and ask women to stay in their homes, stop going to the markets and stop attending educational institutions otherwise they will kill them. They have the perception that Islam confines women to four walls.
7. Their popular narrative about the concept of Ulamas that Ulamas have full authority over religious matters, these Ulamas give their own interpretation of Islam and its principles to utilise them for their desired interests.
8. Urging people to get power by joining the Taliban because the Taliban hold the narratives of a universal caliphate.
9. Discussing political issues, offering their explanation, and telling people that only the Taliban can solve their problems.
10. Telling people that those opposed Taliban or not joining them are Kafirs (infidels) (Malik, 2013).

These are some religious popular narratives, which are misexplained by the radicalists and they emphasize all these points very strongly.

What is Radicalization

Since the term "radicalization" is so ill-defined and contentious in the literature, there is no universally accepted meaning. There are, however, many alternative definitions provided by various academics. According to one academic, the process of adopting attitudes and beliefs that run against the status quo, the mainstream, and the prevailing socio-political discourse is known as radicalization. As radicalization results in views and attitudes, it is now a cause for concern. Radicalization may be related to several movements and ideologies but in this study, radicalization is used the contemporary religious radicalist beliefs that they hold about the different religious concepts, and want to propagate in the whole society. They have very strange interpretations of these religious concepts (Eerten, Doosje, Konijn, de Graaf, & Goede, 2017).

According to academic study, religious radicalization is the process through which an individual or group adopts progressively more radical religious goals and aspirations that reject or undercut the status quo as well as modern concepts and displays of individual freedom (Ahmad, 2014).

How Social Media Spread These Popular Narratives of the Radicalism

We live in a digital world; in Pakistan, nearly 36.5% percent of homes have internet access. This is not only the case in Pakistan but also in all the developed and developing countries that are increasingly using the Internet. Social media is a major force behind the promotion of certain narratives in the contemporary world. The media of today has become the most sophisticated communication mechanism humankind has ever encountered. In contrast to the past, when stories and information may take a long time to reach people, things are completely different now. Considering current events in the modern world, it is evident that the media is essential to modern communications (Kuram, 2019).

Since 2018, Facebook has removed more than 14 million pieces of terrorist content from its platform that were promoting Islamic State, al-Qaeda, and their affiliates (Rohmah, 2019). Different militant groups use social media to pollute the mindset of the people by misinterpretation of different narratives. They present their views through these narratives, they are not only striving to spread their views and narratives but besides these, they also control and manage terrorist activities, just looking at the example of New Zealand. Questions concerning how extremists used the internet and how the acts or inactions of large tech companies were affected have been raised in the wake of the mass shooting at the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, which left 50 people dead and 50 injured. Similar to the gunman in Christchurch, a 28-year-old Australian man uploaded his manifesto online prior to the attack and streamed the slaughter on Facebook Live. (Sirian,2019).

Terrorists and extremists can collaborate, communicate, and persuade large numbers of people using the internet. However, it is still challenging to confront the crucial role that the internet plays in the radicalization process. Despite the various policies, initiatives, and scholarly studies that concentrate on online content, little is known about people's experiences using and engaging with the internet (Weimann, 2016). Through the internet, extremists and terrorists may coordinate, communicate, and influence a sizable audience. Confronting the critical role that the internet plays in the radicalization process is still difficult, though. Little is known about how people use and interact with the internet, despite the numerous efforts, legislation, and academic research that focus on online material.

These extremist organizations disseminate their ideas, incite animosity toward opponents, encourage violence, glorify martyrs, establish online communities with like-minded people, offer moral or legal justifications for suggested actions, and interact with and train new recruits through conventional websites and popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other online services (Awan, 2017). These extremist groups publish provocative content, including instructional videos on setting up bombs and utilizing weapons, films of successful attacks, lectures promoting extreme ideologies, blog entries, and statements endorsing and inciting violence and attacks. For instance, terrorist organizations use Facebook pages that people may "like" to demonstrate their support, as well as private messaging and information sharing to plan attacks. They also use Twitter and YouTube to spread news releases and propaganda. They meet, converse, and share messages with one another through online message boards, chat rooms, and dating websites. They also make profiles, pages, and accounts on different websites. These groups are gaining a lot of followers and seem more powerful since they can access the internet from practically anywhere in the world (Justice, 2014)

Different Online Platforms which are used to Radicalized People

With the new modern technological means of communication, different militant groups use these platforms for their illegal purposes. Social media with its new and different features now it very easy for these radical groups to spread their messages and get popular support.

Furthermore, social media has made it simple to connect and stay in touch with consumers who are spread out geographically. Social media, in contrast to gatekeeper-controlled conventional media like television and newspapers, allows anyone to simultaneously become an information provider and consumer (Weimann, 2015).

The article explains how Jihadi-Salafist violent extremists have used Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, the three most widely used social media platforms, to their advantage through strategic communication. Other well-known instances include Viper, JustPaste.it, PalTalk, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Tumblr (Hashmi, Khan, & Hashmi, 2021). Different mediums of social media used by radicalises are discussed briefly one by one,

YouTube

The most well-known platform for consumers to share videos with one another is YouTube. YouTube 2022 reports that there are 2.6 billion users globally, with 79% of people having an account. On YouTube, users may share and remark on videos in addition to uploading and viewing them. On the aforementioned platform, users can also establish a user channel featuring a basic personal profile that shows their friends, comments, and videos that they have recently viewed, posted, and favoured (Aly, Saks, & Weminn, 2014).

For violent extremists, sharing movies is a crucial tactic for spreading their stories. Though it should be highlighted that there are many other violent extremist organizations that have used YouTube, ISIS has made a particularly sophisticated use of the medium. They also include its original production companies, al-Furqan Media and al-Hayat Media, whose goal is to reach youth audiences who do not speak Arabic with their video material. Other than this radicalised and militant groups such as TTP, Jamat ul Ahrar, and their leaders share videos and audio on YouTube in which they persuade people to jihad and urge people to participate in such types of activities. They mostly give emotional and challenging speeches and quote Ayatas of the Quran and Hadith that raise people for jihad and join these groups. They promised Heaven for those who join and help them. Other than this they also share the audio and videos of fidayeen(suicide bombers) those who are going on their targets in those videos fidayeen give very hotblooded words for the listeners. These movies depict rich media messaging that elicits both violent and psychological reactions by fusing clear images of the events with nonverbal messages (Ahmad, 2014).

Facebook

Based on data from 2022, Facebook is one of the largest social media networks, with over 2.93 billion active users globally. Users of this platform are able to stay in touch and uphold relationships with other users. Using their personal information, users of the aforementioned platform construct public or semi-public personal profiles. They may then send messages to other users and update their statuses on their profile sites. Additionally, people can join groups based on shared interests, such as those that support a specific organization. (Mahmood, Jafree, & Sohail, 2020). Similar to the platform stated earlier, Facebook serves a variety of functions. Salami Jihad militants have used Facebook groups in addition to other extremist groups to find and compile lists of possible followers. Via the analysis of Facebook profiles and activity logs, militant groups select which individuals or groups to target and how best to contact them. Facebook has simultaneously made it much simpler for supporters to connect with violent extremist environments. In conclusion, social media has given extremists access to extremely potent new channels for purposeful strategic communication (Eerten, Doosje, Konijn, de Graaf, & Goede, 2017).

Twitter

Twitter, a microblogging platform with 396 million active users globally, is another crucial venue for the terrorist group. On their websites, registered users of this platform publish messages that are visible to the world, also known as tweets. Originally limited to 140 characters, these tweets can now contain up to 280 characters in addition to images, videos, hashtags, Vines, and other content. In addition, users have the option to subscribe to other users to automatically get their posts. They can also use hashtags (#), which indicate posts that belong to a particular group or topic, to follow particular themes. In addition, one can stay updated on tweets about the subject of violent extremism by using the hashtag (#) violent extremism.

Extremist organizations now heavily favour Twitter as their social media medium of choice. Violent extremist groups find Twitter to be a very beneficial platform since it allows them to instantly transmit brief informational messages, including links to other pages and content, to an almost limitless number of individuals for free. It is worth mentioning, nevertheless, that Twitter has recently improved the proactiveness and effectiveness of its attempts to prevent platform abuse. Once more, ISIS is especially well-known for using Twitter. It has been used to disseminate links to official videos, post still images from horrifying acts of violence, and offer Go-Pro footage from foreign combatants fighting on the front lines (J, Van Erten, Konijn, De Graaf, & De Goede, 2017).

Chatroom

The majority of online media may also include chat rooms. According to reports examining how militants and other extremist groups utilize chatrooms, this is an environment where vulnerable individuals who have never been exposed to radicalization in religious narratives are likely to encounter them. Based on his differentiation between websites as passive sources of news and chatrooms as active sources of engagement, Sageman emphasizes the importance of chatrooms and forums, which is consistent with this. Additionally, chatrooms are places where extremists exchange materials including images, films, manuals, and guides (Sageman, 2008).

Video games

Video games and social media can be categorized together. because its chat rooms, forums, and microblogging capabilities are becoming more and more prevalent. Young people use video games extensively, yet little is known about how they contribute to radicalism and violent radicalization.

Selepack investigates the language used by right-wing religious organizations to justify violence through qualitative textual analysis of hate-based video games that they have on their websites. The primary goal is to indoctrinate players with ideologies of religious supremacists and to enable those who already subscribe to such views to practice hostile scripts directed at such individuals online, which they may then carry out IRL. Note that cumulative exposure to violent video games has been shown by some experimental social psychologists to heighten hostile expectations and aggressive behaviour (Radicalized Youth, 2018).

Blogs

In addition, blogs have grown in popularity as a platform for people to reveal their innermost thoughts. These blogs are shared with all kinds of films and are used by militant and extremist groups to spread their religious narratives.

Whatsapp

Additionally, WhatsApp is utilized for these goals, disseminating radical ideas and messages around the globe, along with violent movies. WhatsApp is the app that people use the most on all social media platforms. Social media is a highly powerful tool for linking individuals with various information sources and immersing them in events so they can follow the action as it unfolds. As a result, this immediately heightens the person's emotional response, leading them to become a radical fan.

Google

Google is one of the main sources of social media. On Google, all types of radical materials are shared. The militant and radicalist have their websites on Google all the extremist narratives are communicated on these links. By simply clicking on their website, one can get all their extremist views. Other than this, there are a lot of other means of social media such as Skype, Linkedin, Gmail, Instagram, and so many ways for spreading their ideas and thoughts. Donations are also made through Facebook and other websites. As was previously noted, Al-Qaeda creates a chatroom on PalTalk and utilizes it to spread its ideas. Anyone can join the discussion on this open forum, join the radicalization process, and become recruited. Social networking apps have three dangerous sides: they can breed extremist views and compulsive information seekers.

Radio

Radio is a medium which has been used widely by militant groups in the different regions of Pakistan for their radical mission and propagating militancy. Radio has been used by the militant groups as the medium for spreading their agenda in the Swat and Malakand regions in Pakistan. This militant media has brought a revolution in the lives of the people. They terrorized and made people panic (Shah, 2020). A self-designed FM Radio Channel has been started by a militant group and its leader Fazul-ur-Rehman and propagated their radical agenda against the targets. This FM Radio channel brought a revolution in the lives of the people of the region. They misinterpreted the religious terms and different popular narratives. People of the region were majority illiterate and backward area and they became the target of the militant group that radicalised them. People started to support them and also gave them financial support. Because their agenda was to protect the religion and religious beliefs (Afridi & Gul, 2018). So Radio in Pakistan is also used to radicalise and recruit a large number of individuals in the region.

Social Media is so Perfect Voice for Radical Groups

The Wide Availability of the Internet

The most important thing to remember is that social media is incredibly accessible in this digital age. Moore's Law states that technology doubles in capabilities every eighteen to twenty-four months, making earlier models obsolete. For instance, a 2008 article stated that 96% of young Muslim men are enlisted and radicalized through intimate physical contact with members of their community, family, and/or religious organizations. The primary cause was the lack of widespread public access to the Internet at the time, however, this study's findings did not hold true for very long (Thompson, 2011). In contrast, 96% of candidates are now hired through social media in 2022, a decade later. Therefore, the validity of discoveries like these has to be reexamined. In 2008, it was anticipated that only 34% of Pakistani citizens had access to the internet. However, by 2022, 77.38 million individuals were using the internet. Therefore, there is a greater chance that radicalization and recruitment will occur through social media and the internet since everyone has access to it.

Rally Support for a Cause and Ideology

Social media maintains rapid connections

between users and a large audience. A movement of like-minded people is created via social media, and it doesn't require a leader. People are selected to act on ideas that are exchanged. Social media is mostly used to communicate with others and exchange information. Social media companies are attempting to create causes people can support and share. Thus, social media users are adept at utilizing the various apps to their fullest potential in order to radicalize and mobilize support for a cause. 

Effective and has Multiple Functions

Social media takes the individual into the main rally and connects them with many information sources quite effectively. such that it can be observed in real-time. This heightens the person's emotional response, encouraging them to get involved and support it. Social media apps are a threefold curse: they can breed compulsive information seekers, inspire

users to produce and disseminate information that is typically kept under wraps, and ultimately give users more access to data that could be used to sway their perception of reality and their surroundings.

The Effects of Social Media on the Online and Offline Activities of its Users

The last finding of this research paper is based on the effect and difference between the online and offline activities of those people who are using social media and are exposed to all these popular narratives, which are propagated by these extremist people. Indeed, there are undoubtedly significant disparities between the lives of those who use social media regularly and those who don't. Important details about the selected lifestyle, like prohibited books, music, clothing, and lifestyle choices, might be shared online. Thus, over time, individuals read and hear these kinds of extreme ideologies, which have an impact on their offline activities and make them desire to apply them to their everyday lives. They also facilitate the growth and advancement of ideologies. By using the internet, a large number of people may express their thoughts and participate in the theoretical development and growth of the ideology, which helps to keep it current and appealing. People are inspired to become more actively involved in the movement or take more radical action when they perceive a critical mass inside it thanks to social media.

Because they had no offline exposure to any movement before this, the internet gives young social media users their first steps into it. They may then apply what they read, watch, or listen to in their everyday lives. Social media users are constantly encouraged to become more engaged, which leads them to look for offline connections, attend demonstrations, or take part in any other activity related to the cause. Before being included in offline institutions or activities, they were socialized and brainwashed online (Hashmi A. S., 2016).

Pakistan and its Rising Religious Radicalization

Several recent studies express concern about the growing religious radicalism in Pakistan. Dr. Hassan Askari Rizvi, a Pakistani political analyst says that militancy and extremism as the top challenges faced by Pakistan today. According to him, the growing religious orthodoxy is causing irreparable damage to Pakistan. These popular narratives and radical ideologies are weakening the bond between the state and people and other than this creating societal anarchy. Although rising extremism has become visible in recent years, many researchers trace its roots to the troubled decade of the 1980s the era of Zia’s Islamization.

After 9/11, the chain of extremist activities started throughout the world. The extremists were present all over the world but Pakistan and Afghanistan were the focus of these extremist groups. All these militant groups were present in this region before 9/11 but after the tragic incident of September and helped and supported Pakistan to global power against these militant groups. This was a turning point in the relationship between Pakistan and this entire extremist group. Therefore, after this, these militant groups started a wide range of violent activities and forceful implementation of their self-made Islamic ideology in Pakistan (Syed Wasif Azam, 2015).

Conclusion

The main goal of this study article is to shed light on how radical propagandists use these widely accepted narratives to support their larger group narratives. Despite having radically different philosophies, purposes, and methods of operation, each manages to offer powerful illustrations of propaganda. The purpose of this paper is not to describe the ideologies of these militant groups but to trace how social media is playing an important role in this propagating process. By discussing social media's role in propagating the militants' narratives one can easily say that social media is always misused by different groups for recruiting people to extremist ideology. Unfortunately, social media capabilities change rapidly and no one can truly understand the capabilities of these applications. Lastly, we can say that as social media is used by these militant groups for transmitting their popular narratives, likewise we can use social media for counter-narratives. We can set such types of channels, websites, blogs, messages, videos, and audio as counter-narratives as these militant and extremist groups are using for spreading their radical ideology.

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