Information Warfare: Internet Vigilantes

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August 11, 2008:  The Internet has become a major battlefield in the war on terror, and on major social networking sites like Facebook. Islamic radicals have established a large presence on these sites, where they spread their anti-Semitic and pro-terrorist beliefs. This caught the attention of the eight year old JIDF (Jewish Internet Defense Force), a voluntary organization with over 5,000 members. When the pro-terrorist groups began showing up on Facebook, the JIDF went in and shut them down. Most of the time, this is done within the rules, sometimes not.

Organizations like JIDF do a lot of their work off the radar, in the murky Internet underground, where the Islamic terrorists train recruits and plan attacks. Some JIDF members are able to pass useful information to counter-terrorism agencies, or get themselves recruited for that work full time. But most JIDF members just do what they can for a few hours a day, or week, to the limits of their skills. There are similar groups in China, India, Pakistan, and the United States. But the JIDF is one of the largest international organizations, drawing their members from Jewish communities the world over.