The Foreign Office’s anti-Isis video may be inept but at least it’s a start

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is taking the fight against Isis online. @UKAgainstISIL, a new Twitter account operated by the FCO, is providing ‘updates on the UK Government’s ongoing work to defeat ISIL’. Since 2014, Isis have been a feature of online life. Their supporters and affiliates use the internet to communicate with each other, radicalise their sympathisers, host content and spread fear. Digital terrorism is a new phenomenon, and one that is proving difficult to counter. Twitter has been a staple of Isis propaganda exercises since the start and @UKAgainstISIL is the latest attempt at resisting this, but it isn’t without its problems. The most striking contrast is the quality of the content. See for yourself. Watch the video released by the UKAgainstISIL account on its first day on the job:

What is the UK doing to dismantle and destroy #ISIL? pic.twitter.com/1dCpbI2BBU — UK Against ISIL (@UKAgainstISIL) August 28, 2015

That same day, 28 August, the Isis media team released a trailer for one of their own forthcoming productions.