What do Disney and ISIS Have in Common?
The fantasy of being the happiest place on Earth
Few would argue that Disney isn’t one of the most successful organizations in the world. After all, what young girl doesn’t want to be Princess Jasmine or Princess Belle! Since the initial release of Snow White in 1937, Disney has mastered the art of targeting young girls with dreams of castles, long flowing locks of hair, lavish dresses, and eventually ending up with Prince Charming as her husband. In more recent times, Disney has continued to master the art of using social media to continue to perpetuate the fantasy that life in the castle is carefree where all of one’s wishes will come true. Sure, there are some bad things that happen along the way (abusive step-mothers, imprisonment, mom turning into a bear….you know, things like that!). However, the message always culminates with a happy ending.
Taking a cue from the success Disney has had with luring young girls into the belief that life can be wonderful if you just ‘believe’, the Islamic State (ISIS) has latched onto this fantasy world to recruit its latest generation of female members. Part of the success ISIS has experienced with recruitment of fighters from across the globe has much to do with their slick marketing strategy and savvy technical skills they employ to glorify the organization on social media platforms. Much of their message revolves around the caliphate and the image of an Islamic state ruled by Sharia Law. This has led citizens of many nations to leave their homeland and head to Syria and take up arms to fight for ISIS. While stories are prevalent of young Muslim men leaving their homes and heading to the fight in Syria and other Middle Eastern countries, less so is the impact this is having on Muslim females from outside of the region.
ISIS has taken to using social media to reach well beyond its own borders to recruit, share information, instill fear, and bolster support. ISIS has gained additional insight into recruiting American’s partly due to the fact that they now have English speakers who have joined their cause and presumably have some knowledge as to how best to reach the West. Despite many attempts to shut down their various accounts after beheadings and other graphic videos have been posted, ISIS continues to be a powerful social media force to be reckoned with.
ISIS has proven a formidable recruiter using sound marketing practices on social media outlets. Now, ISIS is taking to social media channels to portray life in Syria as a wonderful land where young girls will live like princesses in beautiful homes with husbands akin to Prince Charming. These girls are being lured into the belief that life in the caliphate is going to be everything they desire. A true escape from their day-to-day reality. Most level-headed and rational thinking people know this to be far from the truth, but then again, we often do not think like a 15-year-old girl who is upset with her family, school, and circumstances that they are desperate to escape. This is most evident with the recent events where several young girls from Colorado were lured by ISIS to travel to Syria with Disney-like dreams of what life would be like. Fortunately, these girls were stopped at an airport in Frankfurt, Germany before they made it any further and fell into the hands of ISIS.
Undoubtedly, had they arrived in Syria, life would have been far from a fantasy, but more of a nightmare. Stories of how ISIS treats young girls are abundant. These young women are often forced to marry, raped, become sex slaves, suffer physical and emotional violence, and are even killed. Recently, ISIS stoned a young woman to death for adultery (punishable by death under Sharia Law). The story is more tragic in that her own father dealt the final death blow. All of this captured on video and made available for viewing displaying the harsh brutality of ISIS. These are the images that are rarely seen by impressionable young women seeking the glamour of living in the caliphate that ISIS promises.
Currently, much of the world is aware of how dangerous ISIS has been but just recently has their efforts sought to target young girls in Western countries to come join the fight. Any parent knows how impressionable teenagers are, but on top of cyberbullying, sexual predators, illicit drugs, and other nefarious on-line activity the infiltration of ISIS into the psyche of our nation’s young women is yet another cause for concern. Add this to just another aspect of social media that must be carefully monitored to protect our young girls from the global efforts of ISIS.
