Terrorists tapping social media to raise money for jihad
Anonymity and extensive reach make online platforms ideal

Indonesia says it has identified an unlikely group of terrorist financiers: 45 maids and nannies working in Hong Kong.
The group are radicalised Islamic State supporters who use social media to raise money for terror groups, reports Channel News Asia, citing comments by the head of the Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK).
“Their marriages with jihadists and the use of social network platform enable them to support the groups financially,” PPATK boss Kiagus Ahmad Badaruddin reportedly said. “Considering the fact that more than 500,000 migrants from Indonesia work in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, these numbers may seem small, but the radicalisation of Indonesian maids and nannies working in East Asia is alarming.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Insurgents are increasingly turning to social media, drawn by its anonymity and wide reach, to drum up support and funding, says CNBC.
“That trend particularly applies to terrorist operations in conflict zones such as Syria,” Nolwenn Bourillon-Bervas, a terrorism analyst at Risk Advisory Group, told the broadcaster.
Hajjaj Fahd al-Ajmi, for example, a Kuwaiti national identified as a terror financier by the US and the UN, used Instagram to ask his 1.7million followers for funding, CNBC says. His account was shut down by the Facebook-owned platform 24 hours after the news channel inquired about it.
In other cases that do not involve direct pitches, people may not realise they are donating money to fund conflicts, believing rather that they are helping charities or other good causes, according to a recent report by the London-based Royal United Services Institute.
“With social media usage unlikely to decrease, this tactic will only grow in the coming years,” the report says.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Mario Vargas Llosa: The novelist who lectured Latin America
Feature The Peruvian novelist wove tales of political corruption and moral compromise
By The Week US
-
How to see the Lyrid meteor shower
The explainer A nice time to look to the skies
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
Climate: Trump's attempt to bring back coal
Feature Trump rolls back climate policies with executive orders aimed at reviving the coal industry
By The Week US
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Is the pro-Assad insurgency a threat to the new Syria?
Today's Big Question Interim leader accuses regime loyalists and 'foreign backers' of trying to 'divide and destroy' the country
By The Week UK
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
The resurgence of the Taliban in Pakistan
Under the Radar Islamabad blames Kabul for sheltering jihadi fighters terrorising Pakistan's borderlands
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK