Jihadi Groups Look To AI For Recruiting The Next Generation
Children's high susceptibility to AI-generated content opens new opportunities for their exploitation by terrorist groups. Policy should be set in place now to respond to and counter this activity, which is evolving at a breakneck speed. The young extremists being trained on AI are themselves radicalizing others with it, particularly their peers. AI-generated content disseminated online by terrorist organizations provides an easy path to indoctrination.
The Al-Azaim Media Foundation, a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), just released an extensive article in its English-language monthly magazine "Voice of Khurasan" discussing the use of AI in military and geopolitical environments. The article also emphasized that AI is important not only to "scientists" and "scholars" but that it is becoming a force shaping war and even education.
On May 27, Europol announced a coordinated effort focusing on the online radicalization of minors online by finding thousands of links directing them to jihadi and violent extremist and terrorist propaganda. According to the announcement, terrorist organizations and their online supporters are "tailoring their message and investing in new technologies and platforms to manipulate and reach out to minors." Emphasizing the use of AI, it said that the "content, short videos, memes, and other visual formats" are "carefully stylized to appeal to minors and families that may be susceptible to extremist manipulation" and that it also "incorporate[s] gaming elements with terrorist audio and visual material."
Among the recently released AI-generated animations distributed online by supporters of jihadi organizations include a series of videos created by a pro-Hizbullah and pro-"resistance" video producer in the UK who releases them on his Instagram account, where he has 182,000 followers and views of his videos have topped 20 million.
One of his online followers spreading his videos was identified as the person chanting "Death to America" at a Dearborn, Michigan rally last year who also happens to be a teacher at private Islamic schools there.
Other AI-generated animations created and distributed online by jihadi groups are videos glorifying the October 7 Hamas attacks and canonizing the group's slain leader Yahya Sinwar, along with its other dead leaders. AI videos and imagery created and shared by jihadis deliver threats to the U.S. and show jihadi armies conquering enemy territories.
All of this is part of their efforts to indoctrinate children. AI-generated images and videos are being used to incite their target audiences to jihad and martyrdom, to emulate fighters even to the death, to carry out assassinations, and to commit arson – much like children playing violent video games.
Another group using AI is Hizbullah. Its media outlets frequently have discussions about AI's importance. On October 25, 2023, two weeks after the October 7 Hamas attack, its affiliate Mayadeen Network posted on its website an AI animated music video warning that Israeli and U.S. aggression would spark a land, air, and sea invasion prompting Israelis to abandon the country as it is overrun by its gunmen on motorcycles and massively attacked with missiles.
Pro-Hamas social media accounts have used AI to celebrate October 7 and indoctrinate young audiences. Cartoon Filistin-Palestinian Animations, a Telegram channel specializing in animated productions, published an AI-generated video showing Palestinian fighters and civilians manufacturing IEDs and carrying out attacks, including arson attacks using explosive balloons, as Israeli communities go up in flames.
One more example is a AI-generated animated video for children glorifying Hamas military spokesman Abu Obeida as a role model for Muslim children, posted by a Telegram channel affiliated with the East Turkestan Islamic Party (formerly the Turkestan Islamic Party, TIP) in early March 2025.
Additionally, an AI-generated video depicting a take on the last moments of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was produced and aired after his death by the Turkish state-run TRT Network. In it, an AI-generated Sinwar figure "give[s] the details of [his] last battle" and how he "patrolled the streets, looking to hunt down Israeli soldiers."
Iran-backed Shi'ite militias linked to designated terror organizations are also integrating AI-generated imagery in their propaganda efforts. On April 4, 2025, Sabereen News, an Iraq-based Telegram channel supporting all "resistance" organizations, published a series of OpenAI-generated images in the style of the Ghibli Japanese anime studio, aimed at children and young people. They depicted soldiers with sleeve patches resembling the emblems of Ansar Allah (the Houthis) in Yemen, Hizbullah in Lebanon, and Hamas's military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades.
The channel also released AI-generated images of U.S. President Donald Trump humiliated and defeated by the Houthis, in front of the wreckage of a plane pierced by a giant jambiya, the traditional Yemeni dagger. Another channel, affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq, published an AI poster showing the Houthi military spokesman standing triumphantly over a defeated, submissive Trump, with his foot on his neck. The Houthis also produced AI generated videos of attacks on Israel including one from October that included drones hitting Tel-Aviv.
Jihadi groups in Syria too are using AI to reach the next generation. In a nod to its young online supporters, a year before it overthrew the Syrian government, Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), formerly the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda and now in charge of the country, posted, in December 2023, AI-generated images of its forces taking Aleppo.
Although AI companies have promised to integrate strong safeguards for children into their technology, this does not appear to be happening. Also highlighting the danger of AI to youth and how easy they can be radicalized by it, in June the American Psychological Association issued a health advisory warning they are in a critical period for brain development. It urged all stakeholders to "ensure that youth safety is considered relatively early in the evolution of AI" so that the "same harmful mistakes that were made with social media" are not repeated.
The companies must recognize that terrorist groups will benefit from this technology; they bear the responsibility to establish teams and develop algorithms for ongoing scrutiny of their products for this activity and to set industry standards for monitoring and blocking this use of them. Otherwise, a new generation will be inspired, recruited, and radicalized through AI, and aim to attack the U.S. and same cities where these companies are headquartered.
*Steven Stalinsky is Executive Director of MEMRI.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Rudaw Net
an hour ago
- Rudaw Net
Damascus forms committee to probe Suwayda violence
Also in Syria US concerned groups remain out of Syrian government control Rojava donates $1 million to aid campaign for Syrian Druze Iraq repatriates over 230 families from Syria ISIS detention camp Kurdish-led forces dismantle suspected ISIS cell in al-Hol A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syria's justice ministry on Thursday formed a judicial committee to investigate last month's deadly violence in Suwayda province that reportedly left more than 1,300 people dead. Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais, in a video message, said the committee was established 'from judicial and legal expertise to investigate the circumstances of the recent events and refer those involved to the judiciary.' The goal, he added, was to ensure 'the preservation of the rights of all citizens… and the protection of national unity and civil peace.' The committee is composed of seven members - four judges, two lawyers, and a brigadier general - and is expected to submit periodic updates, with a final report due within three months, according to the official decree. Clashes erupted on July 13 between Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes in Suwayda. The violence quickly escalated with the involvement of Syrian government forces and Israeli airstrikes. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said at least 1,300 people were killed before a US-brokered ceasefire was declared. The committee's mandate includes uncovering the events that led to the violence, investigating alleged attacks and rights violations, and referring suspects to judicial authorities, state-run SANA reported. At a United Nations Security Council session on Monday, UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen called for 'major course corrections' in the Syrian government's political and security strategies following the sectarian and intercommunal bloodshed. Pedersen said government forces sent to de-escalate the clashes were 'attacked' by Druze groups, but also cited 'extremely grave reports of serious violations by security forces against Druze civilians.' Documented abuses include 'extrajudicial executions, degrading treatment, desecration of corpses, looting, and destruction of property,' he said, adding that the clashes resulted in 'hundreds of casualties and injuries among security forces, Druze fighters, and, most tragically, civilians,' and estimated that around 175,000 people have been displaced. A fragile ceasefire remains in place. The Suwayda committee is similar to the investigative body formed in March after violence erupted in Syria's coastal provinces of Tartus, Latakia, and Hama - home to a majority Alawite population - where armed groups, many loyal to ousted President Bashar al-Assad, himself an Alawite, launched attacks on government-aligned forces. Damascus responded with force. According to SOHR, at least 1,700 people were killed in that wave of violence, most of them Alawite civilians. Many deaths were blamed on government and affiliated forces. In July, the committee's spokesperson Yasser al-Farhan said nearly 300 suspects had been identified and accused of crimes including 'murder, premeditated murder, looting, destruction and burning of homes, torture, and sectarian insults.' The committee confirmed the deaths of 1,426 people, most of them civilians, including 90 women. Another 238 army and security personnel were killed.
Memri
2 hours ago
- Memri
Lebanese Syriac Union Party Leader Ibrahim Mrad: Hizbullah Are Traitors Who Should Be Tried and Hanged from Electric Poles – They Destroyed Lebanon and Assassinated Its Leaders
Ibrahim Mrad, president of the Lebanese Syriac Union Party, said in a July 29, 2025 interview on El Siyasa Channel on YouTube that he considers Hizbullah to be traitors and that its leaders should be put on trial and hanged from electric poles. He said Hizbullah has betrayed Lebanon and should not be allowed to participate in politics. Mrad added that this militia and political party has destroyed Lebanon, assassinated Lebanese leaders and elected officials, and should have been tried in a military court and hanged from the gallows.
Shafaq News
2 hours ago
- Shafaq News
Gaza famine worsens as Trump envoy heads to enclave
Shafaq News – Gaza US special Envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to visit Gaza on Friday amid mounting international concern over an escalating humanitarian crisis that aid groups now say is tipping into famine. Witkoff, accompanied by US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, arrived in Israel on Thursday and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials. Their visit follows a surge in deadly incidents near aid distribution sites, including the deaths of 54 Palestinians at the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry reports that nearly 100 people were killed in the past 24 hours while trying to access food and supplies. According to the White House, the envoy's trip will help finalize a humanitarian aid strategy that President Donald Trump is expected to approve soon. 'The special envoy and the ambassador will brief the president immediately after their visit,' said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Speaking to reporters Thursday, Trump described the crisis in Gaza as 'a terrible thing,' noting that 'people are very hungry.' He later posted on his social media platform that the 'fastest way to end the humanitarian crises in Gaza is for Hamas to surrender and release the hostages.' The visit comes amid criticism of the US-Israeli aid distribution strategy. Images of malnourished children and fatal stampedes at aid drop zones have fueled public anger. Aid organizations warn that airdrops are insufficient and dangerous, stressing that only full land access can prevent further catastrophe. The Gaza Health Ministry says at least 156 people have died from hunger or malnutrition—most in recent weeks—adding to a total death toll of over 60,000 Palestinians killed since October 2023. Aid workers say recent Israeli steps, such as 10-hour humanitarian pauses and limited airdrops, fall far short of meeting the population's needs. Germany, historically a close Israeli ally, has also voiced growing concern. Visiting Jerusalem on Thursday, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called the situation 'beyond imagination' and urged immediate action. Though Berlin has not joined France, Britain, and Canada in pledging recognition of a Palestinian state, Wadephul reaffirmed Germany's support for a two-state solution, calling it 'the only way' to achieve lasting peace. Meanwhile, ceasefire talks remain frozen. Indirect negotiations in Doha collapsed last week, with Israel and Hamas trading blame. Israel recently responded to a Hamas counteroffer on a US-backed proposal that includes a 60-day ceasefire and partial hostage-prisoner exchange. Hamas has not issued a public response. Israeli media report that the Netanyahu government and Washington are exploring a broader agreement focused on the release of all hostages, the dismantling of Hamas' military capabilities, and Gaza's long-term demilitarization. However, the specifics remain unclear, and intense fighting continues across the enclave. Hamas is believed to be holding around 50 hostages, with only 20 confirmed to be alive. In Israel, families of captives have staged growing protests outside the Prime Minister's office and in Tel Aviv, demanding an end to the war.
