British news channel outs ISIS social media guru as Indian marketing executive

British news channel outs ISIS social media guru as Indian marketing executive
(Image credit: Channel 4 News)

The Twitter account of Shami Witness, one of the most influential and widely followed Islamic State social-media boosters and propagandists, went silent after Britain's Channel 4 News uncovered his identity, according to Channel 4 News.

The man behind the Twitter account — Channel 4 uses only the name Mehdi, because he says using his real name would put his life in danger — is a marketing executive at an Indian conglomerate in Bangalore; he isn't personally fighting in Syria or Iraq, he says, because he has family obligations.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.