Al Qaeda/ISIS/Digital Strategies. 20 Years After 9/11 – Why Islamic State’s Propaganda Hasn’t Overshadowed Al-Qaeda’s (Laurence Bindner and Raphael Gluck, GNET)

Last weekend marked two important dates in the history of jihadism: the 20-year anniversary of the 9/11 attack by al-Qaeda (AQ) and the start of the trial in Paris of the 13 November 2015 attacks carried out by Islamic State (IS). This article aims to take stock of the progression of AQ’s propaganda following the emergence of IS: to what extent do the two groups’ digital strategies embody their ideological differences and reflect their organisational evolution? How do they diverge? Despite the weakening of both group’s media capabilities, how has AQ’s media managed not to be overshadowed by IS’s stronger brand and more frequent propaganda machine?

20 Years After 9/11 – Why Islamic State’s Propaganda Hasn’t Overshadowed Al-Qaeda’s – GNET (gnet-research.org)