Uncle Sam Trolls Jihadis on Twitter
Of all the bizarre government social media campaigns—and there have been a lot lately—I think the weirdest must be "Think Again Turn Away." If we're judging solely on WTF-factor, this U.S. Department of State (DOS) initiative blows Pajama Boy and Leather Jacket Boy and Obamacare's gifgasm out of the water. The main premise seems to be trolling jihadis on Twitter, with taunts aimed at knocking the bravery, intelligence, etc. of al Qaeda and other anti-West religious warriors. If it all seems a little "Uncle Sam tells terrorists 'your mama' jokes," it is.
Below are a few recent tweets from the (verified) Twitter account @ThinkAgain_DoS. As you can see, DOS seeks out pro al Qaeda tweets and then responds, engaging directly with individual users. To me, it all seems like a strategy wayyyyy more likely to inspire animosity among jihadis than to make them suddenly "think again" and "turn away." When's the last time you changed any minor opinion, let alone your entire value and belief system, because of a random Internet troll? And make no mistake about it, the DOS is definitely trolling.
Modern day psy-ops, ladies and gents! According to Mother Jones, the DOS Think Again Turn Away campaign is only costing us a couple of million dollars annually.
