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    OPINION                                                            FEBRUARY 20, 2026       |  The Indian Eye 11

            of ‘anti-social media’ has emerged in
            recent years, which seeks to abandon
            mainstream platforms, reduce screen
            time, and seek private, intimate, or
            even ‘analogue’ communication to
            avoid algorithm-driven polarisation,
            surveillance and loneliness.
                However, some of these so-called
            anti-social media platforms have also
            become  off-the-wall  mediums  for
            disseminating extremist propaganda.
            Young users strategically construct
            online identities and cultivate large
            numbers of online ‘friends’ based on
            shared interests. They even use spe-
            cialised, encrypted apps in the deep
            web and dark web to ensure ano-
            nymity and security, and often inad-
            vertently enter rabbit holes and echo
            chambers of radical forces, thus risk-
            ing being radicalised and recruited by
            terror groups.                     The For You Page (FYP) on TikTok demonstrates how algorithms can push users towards far-right, hateful, or violent content through a continu-
                ISIS is known to have utilised so-                               ous stream of recommendations (File photo)
            cial media platforms between 2013 and
            2017 to marshal their terrorist forces,   push users towards far-right, hateful,   saging apps to provide bank transfer,   Electronics and Information Tech-
            agents and operatives during their   or violent content through a contin-  hawala, or cryptocurrency details.  nology (MeitY) blocked thousands
            terror  ops.  They  broadcast wartime   uous stream of recommendations.   Many terrorist groups use social   of terror-tainted accounts.
            events in near-real time, transforming   Similar pathways exist even on You-  media platforms to promote crypto-
            the Syrian conflict into one of the most   Tube, where users exploring main-  currency addresses, thereby masking   Conclusion
            socially mediated conflicts in history.  stream political topics can be guid-  the movement of their funds and   In addition to the present ef-
                In fact, terrorists use social media   ed towards extremist channels and   evading sanctions. Terrorists also   forts at reforming digital platforms
            for eight main purposes:          conspiracy theories such as QAnon.   abuse legitimate crowdfunding plat-  to counter disinformation, where ef-
            • For propaganda                  In fact, YouTube has stated it plans   forms by setting up campaigns dis-  forts seem to be focused on blocking,
            • For scouting radical recruits   to purge conspiracy theory content   guised as humanitarian aid, charity, or   content moderation and fact-check-
            • For indoctrination and radicalisa-  used to justify real-world violence.  supporting families of terror inmates.  ing, attention may also be paid to
              tion of recruits                    Algorithms pose dual risks in                                   reforming the online advertising
            • For  generating  finances  through   terrorism: extremists use them for   Social Media Exploitation:   market, which should be barred from
              apps for terrorist activities   sophisticated  recruitment,  propa-       India’s Strategy          financially backing extremist content.
            • For conducting cyberattacks (hack-  ganda (deepfakes, targeted messag-  India’s strategy against so-  Credible punitive action should also
              ing, doxxing, flaming)          ing), cyberattacks and planning. The   cial media exploitation employs a   be  taken  against  popular  ‘influenc-
            • For combat training and explosives/  rise of deepfake AI technologies   ‘whole-of-government’  approach,  ers’ who are found to be undermining
              weapons manufacturing           has increased the risk of data theft,   combining legal  frameworks,  ad-  democratic values and institutions or
            • For making terror plans and for co-  socio-cognitive community hacking,   vanced technology and international   to be engaged in disseminating hate
              ordinating terror attacks       fake-identity fraud and forgeries, on-  cooperation to combat online radi-  speech  and anti-social propaganda.
            • For marshalling terrorists/agents/  line trolling, flaming and doxxing, as   calisation, propaganda and terrorist   In the end, there needs to be a con-
              forces during terror ops        well as the proliferation of incrimi-  financing.                   certed campaign at the global, re-
                Despite best efforts to curb mis-  nating memes and hate content.   The  Information  Technology   gional and national levels in creating
            use, we often find that even popular   Governments and intelligence   (IT) Rules 2021 empower law en-  standards and legislative frameworks
            social media platforms such as Face-  agencies around the world have also   forcement to mandate the removal   along with mechanisms for infor-
            book and Twitter struggle to prevent   begun utilising AI to analyse vast   of unlawful content within 24 hours.   mation sharing and joint actions to
            radicals from disseminating their   datasets (e.g., communications and   Section 69A of the IT Act is used   counter the abuse of social media for
            messages, spreading propaganda and   financial records) to identify patterns   to block websites, URLs and social   extremist and terrorism purposes.
            indoctrination, and building large   and potential threats. It helps process   media accounts related to extrem-
            networks. It is often too late for these   diverse data from CCTV, emails and   ist groups. Under the same legal   Dr Adil Rasheed is Research Fellow
            social media platforms to detect such   internet logs to build intelligence. It   provisions, Indian authorities have   (Selection Scale) and Coordinator of
            activities and remove them from pub-  can also help detect and respond to   enhanced their capacity to track sus-  the Counter Terrorism Centre at the
            lic view.                         AI-augmented cyber threats against   picious accounts, with a particular   Manohar Parrikar Institute for Strate-
                In addition, end-to-end encrypt-  infrastructure.               focus on encrypted platforms.      gic Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA)
            ed (E2EE) apps, such as WhatsApp,     Social media platforms have also   Artificial  Intelligence  (AI),  big   Views expressed are of the author and
            Telegram, Signal, Viber, Discord and   become a highly critical channel for   data analytics and facial recogni-  do not necessarily reflect the views of
            Olvid, are widely used by extremist   terrorist financing (TF), with reports   tion tools are being used to detect   the Manohar Parrikar IDSA or of the
            and radical actors to create so-called   by institutions like the Financial Ac-  terrorist networks, monitor radical   Government of India.
            ‘secure echo chambers’ for radicalisa-  tion Task Force (FATF) indicating   discourse  and  map  influence.  The
            tion, recruitment and attack planning.  that the highest percentage of inter-  Defence Research and Develop-  This article first appeared in the
                                              net-based terror activities relate to   ment Organisation (DRDO) has   Comments section of the website (www.
                     Algorithmic AI           terror funding. In fact, after initiating   developed NETRA (Network Traffic   idsa.in) of Manohar Parrikar Institute
                The For You Page (FYP) on Tik-  contact on public platforms, organ-  Analysis) to monitor encrypted com-  for Defense Studies and Analyses, New
            Tok demonstrates how algorithms can   isers often move to encrypted mes-  munication. In 2024, the Ministry of   Delhi, on February 10, 2026

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