Former CIA Creates App to Warn People from Terrorist Threats

 It is important in the current global setting, for authorities to acknowledge the growing significance of technology, internet, social media and mobile apps as these play key instrumental roles in many peoples lives. People may not watch television as much as they do or even if they do, it would not be as often as going online.

The notoriously known extremist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or as many prefer to call as ISIS has been making good use of these instrument to glorify its group through postings of propaganda and attractive writing pieces and videos to get more candidates to be recruited. This suggests the fact that one method of counter- attacking its rampant widespread is to do exactly the same as they did, that is to dominate the virtual world and create a specialized app to give people prior knowledge from potential danger.

According to Vocativ, the terrorist group has created an app called ‘Fajer Al Bashaer (Dawn of Good Omens) which informs about its successes in Syria. The developer of the app said that it aims to “assist the victory of the Islamic State by conveying its messages to Muslims everywhere”. The aforementioned app however, has been removed as the authority immediately responded to it.

Even when one is erased, it does not stop the group from creating another one with a much more interesting name. Its presence has also been identified in social media platform such as Twitter, Youtube, Instagram and Facebook with its followers reportedly reaching thousands.

The Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information had previously blocked and banned 22 'radical' sites in early April. The Indonesian Journalist Alliance (AJI) appreciated the Minister’s clever gesture as the growing concern regarding the websites heightens with most of them portraying radical teachings.

A group of experts were gathered in accordance to the Ministry of Communication and Information law number 290 year of 2015 regarding forum addressing issue such as websites with negative content. 

AJI views government's transparency as necessary as to yield nationwide citizens information on the authority's progress and willingness to uphold the law and prevent its people from being virtually victimized from the teachings of the radical websites.

AJI however, does not want for the gathered experts to be another justification to make another institution which censors many things in the virtual world.