Monday December 16, 2024
FILE - Abdullahi Mohamed Ali "Sanbaloolshe," former Director of Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), pictured during an official meeting.
Mogadishu (HOL) — Somalia's National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) has shut down over 12,000 online accounts allegedly used by Al-Shabaab.
The National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), working with Somalia's federal Internet and media regulators, said the operation targeted accounts used to amplify Al-Shabaab's ideology and disinformation across social media platforms and websites.
"NISA, in coordination with federal agencies overseeing the Internet and media, successfully shut down accounts that were used to advance extremist narratives," the statement said. The dismantling of accounts is part of a broader strategy to disrupt extremist narratives in digital spaces," NISA said in a statement.
Between July and December 2024, NISA shut down a total of 12,010 accounts:
- Facebook: 5,648 accounts
- TikTok: 4,340 accounts
- Telegram: 1,978 accounts
- X (formerly Twitter): 24 accounts
- WhatsApp: 15 accounts
- Websites: 5
Al-Shabaab has increasingly turned to social media to bypass traditional media controls and reach a wider audience. Platforms like Facebook and TikTok, with their massive user bases, have become key battlegrounds for extremist messaging and recruitment. Analysts say the use of encrypted channels like Telegram and WhatsApp has further allowed militants to organize covertly.
NISA reported that many targeted accounts were created with fake identities and stolen images, masking their operators' true identities. "These accounts were designed to deceive users and fuel Al-Shabaab's misinformation campaigns," the statement read.
Despite government crackdowns, Al-Shabaab has proven highly adaptable in the digital space. Analysts and security experts note that the group quickly re-registers domains, creates anonymous accounts, and exploits encrypted platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram to bypass detection.
The militant group also employs multilingual messaging, translating its propaganda into Somali, Arabic, Swahili, and Amharic to expand its reach beyond Somalia's borders. According to defectors, Al-Shabaab invests heavily in media production to manipulate narratives and portray itself as a nationalist force defending Somalia's sovereignty.
Al-Shabaab is one of the most sophisticated groups when it comes to digital strategies," said Adam Hadley, executive director of Tech Against Terrorism, a London-based organization that monitors extremist content. He highlighted that the group is responsible for producing up to 25% of terrorist material found online in any given week. While Hadley's comments reflect ongoing trends, the data comes from Tech Against Terrorism, published in early 2024.
NISA and government officials say the group's messaging goes beyond incitement, often misrepresenting Somalia's leadership as "apostate" while framing the country's international partnerships as a "crusader invasion."
The government has responded by combining military, economic, and ideological strategies. Somalia's Ministry of Information previously imposed a media blackout in late 2022, banning more than 500 websites and social media accounts accused of amplifying Al-Shabaab's extremist content. Officials stressed that while censorship is necessary for security, legitimate media coverage would not be affected.
NISA has urged the Somali public to remain vigilant and report suspicious accounts or activities to authorities. Officials emphasize that dismantling Al-Shabaab's media operations is critical to weakening its influence, disrupting recruitment efforts, and countering the group's ideological narratives.