FBI head: ISIS using crowdsourcing methods to incite terror
The head of the FBI, James Comey, said Wednesday that Islamic State, unlike other terrorist organizations, is using social media to "crowdsource terrorism."
"Twitter works as a way to sell books, as a way to promote movies, and it works as a way to crowdsource terrorism – to sell murder," he said at a press conference. Comey said ISIS has revolutionized terrorism by using its propaganda and social media to encourage individual attacks around the world.
Regarding the shooting rampage in San Bernardino, he said that the two murderers, Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, who were deeply influenced by ISIS, did not post messages and were not active in social media, but frequently used other means of communication, mainly e-mail. According to Comey, the FBI had yet to uncover any evidence that Farook and Malik were part of an organized terror network or organization, or that they were in contact with foreign terrorist groups.