Uncle Sam Trolls Jihadis on Twitter

Of all the bizarre government social media
campaigns—and there have been a lot lately—I think the weirdest
must be “Think Again Turn Away.” If we’re judging solely on
WTF-factor, this U.S. Department of State (DOS) initiative blows

Pajama Boy and
Leather Jacket Boy and
Obamacare’s gifgasm out of the water. The main premise seems to
be trolling jihadis on Twitter, with taunts aimed at knocking the
bravery, intelligence, etc. of al Qaeda and other anti-West
religious warriors. If it all seems a little “Uncle Sam tells
terrorists ‘your mama’ jokes,” it is.

Below are a few recent tweets from the (verified) Twitter
account @ThinkAgain_DoS. As you
can see, DOS seeks out pro al Qaeda tweets and then responds,
engaging directly with individual users. To me, it all seems like a
strategy wayyyyy more likely to inspire animosity among jihadis
than to make them suddenly “think again” and “turn away.” When’s
the last time you changed any minor opinion, let alone your entire
value and belief system, because of a random Internet troll? And
make no mistake about it, the DOS is definitely trolling. 

Modern day psy-ops, ladies and gents! According to Mother
Jones, the DOS Think Again Turn Away
campaign is only costing us a couple of million dollars
annually.