An EU working group to counter Islamic State (Daesh) propaganda is to be set up, this newsletter learned on Monday 23 January.
The task force will be set up along the lines of the East Stratcom Task Force (see EUROPE 11601), with the aim of countering IS propaganda. To this end, among other things, it will work with member states that have set up their own counter-propaganda units. The working group will have the job of ensuring better communication in Arabic about what the European Union is and does with information destined for the EU’s southern neighbours.
The recruitment process for the five or six experts for the working group in 2017 is already underway and the first recruits are expected to start work in the first quarter of the year.
At the General Affairs Council of February 2015, ministers called for measures to improve strategic communication and draw up an awareness-raising strategy for the Arab World and messages to counter terrorist propaganda. Given the growing abuse of the internet for radicalisation purposes, the ministers also called for action on social media and more communication in Arabic. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)