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ISIS supporters turning to Instagram ‘stories’ to share propaganda - study
 © Tobias Hase / Global Look Press
Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) supporters are using Instagram’s ‘stories’ feature, which causes posts to disappear after 24 hours, to promote their message, according to new research.

Cybersecurity researcher Andrea Stroppa identified more than 50,000 accounts linked to Islamic State supporters posting Instagram stories during a software analysis.

Stroppa, who is part of Ghost Data -  a self described “disruptive project” that applies advanced techniques for Data analysis, said at least 10,000 of these are strongly-linked to IS.

🔴 Islamic State moved on Instagram and is using Stories. My latest research with @GhostData_io on @AP#UNGA2017https://t.co/XpxJ0jfUyZ

— Andrea Stroppa 🇮🇹 (@Andst7) September 20, 2017

The security researcher who also writes about technology and cybersecurity for the World Economic Forum said these accounts follow core IS accounts and post about 30 percent of overall content about the group.

The jihadist content on Instagram Stories ranges from images of IS trademark black flag to a bloody photo showing what happens to “traitors.”

There is no indication that the posts are coming from Islamic State’s central propaganda units, which commonly use Telegram as their app of choice.

The encrypted messaging app has remained popular with jihadists as Facebook and Twitter attempt to crackdown on extremist content amid allegations that they were enabling the spread of terrorist propaganda.

Facebook moderators’ identities exposed to suspected extremists due to security breach – report https://t.co/hfjak8MXQvpic.twitter.com/3fGKxmsuxW

— RT (@RT_com) June 16, 2017

Families of three victims of the December 2015 shooting rampage in San Bernardino, California, filed a lawsuit against Facebook, Google and Twitter last May, arguing the networks provided “material support” to the group.

Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, said in a statement Wednesday that it prohibits terrorist content and has specialized teams to stop the spread of such posts.

Instagram’s ephemeral “stories” feature was launched last year aimed at encouraging users to post everyday, goofy content with the comforting knowledge that it will vanish after 24 hours.

READ MORE: Britain is No.1 in Europe… for online jihadist propaganda, report finds

