“In short, the hand-held video camera has become as important a tool of insurgency as the AK-47 or the RPG rocket-launcher. As Mr Zawahiri himself once put it in an intercepted letter to Zarqawi, “More than half of this battle is taking place in the battlefield of the media.” Or as one jihadi magazine found on Irhabi007’s computer explained: “Film everything; this is good advice for all mujahideen [holy warriors]. Brothers, don’t disdain photography. You should be aware that every frame you take is as good as a missile fired at the Crusader enemy and his puppets.” Just before his arrest, Irhabi007 had set up a website that, he hoped, would rival YouTube, to share jihadi videos. He called it Youbombit.com.”

Internet jihad: A world wide web of terror is a compelling article published in The Economist that explores the use of the internet and web by Al Qaeda and terrorists in general.

Sanjana Hattotuwa, Advisor to the ICT4Peace Foundation, writes about the article on his blog here and avers that a more nuanced approach is necessary to address the growth of hate and extremism on the Interweb.