THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – A new unit at the European Union’s Europol police agency will start fighting Islamic State group propaganda and recruiters in cyberspace next month in a crackdown on the terror network’s sophisticated use of social media.
Europol Director Rob Wainwright told The Associated Press on Monday the new unit will start July 3 with some 15 experts working closely with social media companies to take down accounts run by IS.
Wainwright said IS is thought to have tens of thousands of social media accounts churning out propaganda and reaching out to potential recruits. He said it is unrealistic to think they all can be taken down.
“This isn’t going to be a success any time soon in major form,” he said.
But Wainwright believes that combining police investigations from forces across Europe with intelligence gathered by Europol will allow the new unit to target the most influential accounts.