Geografia della paura e comunità virtuale: Il caso di IS e la narrazione del terrore

The subject covered in this contribution is a part of a wider search path dedicated to jihadi propaganda. IS has created a real open source jihad through digital technologies in order to spread the idea of a virtual community and to affect the psychology of the reader-viewer. Through digital technologies day-to-day experiences are sensationalized, terrorism becomes a brand and new jihadists are radicalized by means of counter-narrative. The focus of this paper is therefore the analysis of the narratives that the jihadist movements propose and impose. The methodology includes: a) a brief representation of the territories controlled by IS in Syria and Iraq from 2015 (the year in which the peak of IS expansion is reached) until 2019, in order to highlight the boundaries of the Caliphate where took place the media operations to raise awareness of jihadist actions and ideology on a global level; b) a reflection on connected intelligence activated by jihadists; c) a detailed analysis of the online magazine «Dabiq» and of countless videos produced and used by IS to strengthen its narrations; d) a reflection on Caliphate’s visual culture, with particular attention to the settings proposed in the media iconography.