2) Highlighting themes of openness, inclusion and participation.42 Through coordinated messaging campaigns, ISIS recruits are shown a sense of purpose, collective identity and meaning.43 3) Moving recruits toward radicalization one step at a time. Exposure to one set of ideas can open the door for other, more radical thinking to take root. 4) Mobilizing and coordinating operations. Social media are also leveraged for mobilizing supporters, sharing logistical and training information, and coordinating tactical operations. Impacts and implications While ISIS is not the first militant group to use social media for information activities and gaining support, their use of social media is distinct in three ways: 1) The focus on propaganda elevates the status, importance and role of social media users, including online volunteers, influencers, film makers, graphic designers and other technical specialists within the greater ISIS network.44 2) ISIS has set the standard for strategic communications innovation among violent extremist networks, with activities such as developing bespoke software and its own mobile application for disseminating and amplifying its propaganda. 3) ISIS is adaptive and persistent, despite coordinated efforts among technology companies, governments and civil society to counter them. When suspected accounts are de-platformed, blocked users come back online using alternative handles, and operatives have become skilled at undermining detection efforts and ensuring the group’s digital survival. While the exact contribution of social media in increasing recruitment performance is unclear, ISIS’ innovative use of social media, along with its adaptability in seeking to maximize the use of social media to create harms, sets a dangerous precedent for other violent political organizations. 42 See Charlie Winter, “Media Jihad: The Islamic State’s Doctrine for Information Warfare,” International Centre for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence (ICSR), (2017), pg. 15-16. 43 Gerstel, 2. 44 Winter, 12; Koerner, 2016. MERCY CORPS The Weaponization of Social Media: How social media can spark violence and what can be done about it 15