Despite the collapse of the Islamic State (IS)’s control over physical territories in Syria and Iraq and in the face of campaigns by social media platforms to evict IS supporters from virtual spaces, pro-IS online communities are resilient. Prior to IS losing the last vestiges of its physical territory at the battle of Baghouz in March 2019, individuals physically located within Syria and Iraq were responsible for the mass distribution of the group’s official propaganda through several online fora, including Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram, among others. However, online pro-IS communities extended far beyond IS territory. Networks of supporters around the world formed global communities of individuals, and as IS lost territorial holdings, these decentralized communities played an essential role in maintaining an online presence across platforms. In turn, this decentralization ensured the survival of what scholars have termed the “digital Caliphate” or the “virtual Caliphate.” In the years following the collapse of IS’ physical Caliphate, the virtual Caliphate has survived largely due to pro-IS supporters’ ability to build network resilience and evade moderation while maintaining a continuous presence across a wide variety of online platforms.
Focusing primarily on decentralized, unofficial pro-IS networks, this paper proposes that pro-IS activities are oriented towards three strategic goals: create, connect, and deceive. It provides a detailed overview of these activities, including IS supporters’ efforts to remain networked, avoid content moderation, and continue the creation of new content. The first section offers a historical overview of shifts that have occurred in pro-IS online ecosystems due to deplatforming efforts and detailing how these shifts impacted both platform migration and decentralization. Additionally, it identifies a guiding framework for this research. The following section groups pro-IS online behaviors by their three overarching goals: connect, create, and deceive. The analysis explores each objective’s essential function within the strategies of pro-IS virtual ecosystems. To conclude, the report suggests areas for further research on pro-IS online networks.