How terrorists are using social media Isis has proved fluent in YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, internet memes and other social media. Its posting activity has ramped up during a recent offensive, reaching an all-time high of almost 40,000 tweets in one day as they marched into the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Twitter has tried to counter Isis, suspending more than 1,000 accounts it suspected of terrorist links. Amateur videos and images are being uploaded daily by its footsoldiers, which are then globally shared both by ordinary users and mainstream news organisations. Isis use of hashtags is interesting, as they focus them on group messaging and branding concepts. Social-media monitor Recorded Future found that Isis had succeeded in creating hype with a total of 700,000 accounts discussing the terrorist group. Mr Hannigan commented that even the groups grotesque videos of beheadings highlight the sophistication of their use of social media. Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda has an Internet presence spanning nearly two decades. The Taliban has been active on Twitter since May 2011, and has many thousand of followers. Tweeting under the handle @alemarahweb, the Taliban tweets frequently, on some days nearly hourly. The Czech Military Intelligence Service commented that Al-Qaeda are spreading its ideology among the Muslim community in Europe, mainly through the means of social media. Differences: Al-Qaeda terrorists use the internet to distribute material anonymously or 'meet in dark spaces'. Isis has taken a direct approach especially when uploading videos of them attacking towns and firing weapons.