this seems to be classic blueprint dumb-dumb because a lot of the things we re reporting on seem to have the same issues. they have their fantasies, for lack of a better word, and then they articulate them on the internet or in e-mail or some other stupid form. and thank god they re as stupid as they are. ashleigh, that s absolutely right. we ve seen a string of cases now not only in the united states but also here in europe where these wannabe jihadis are identified by security services, by law enforcement from their social media postings, by the sort of things they re putting on twitter. and in the united states, the fbi and other law enforcement agencies are increasingly using cyber informants, agents and informants trawling social media, looking for warning signs from these young radicals and starting investigations. a lot of these investigations
tourism board of canada. it s actually a video from isis posted on social media, aimed at convincing wannabe jihadis to join isis in syria. i m your brother in islam here in syria. i original come from canada. reporter: this canadian convert was the ultimate pitchman for isis until he was killed fighting for them. but even that won t be stop would-be extremists from searching out isis online, connecting in member-only chat rooms. but is it that easy to just contact isis online? when these wannabe jihadis say they re e-mailing isis, are they really e-mailing isis? they re e-mailing a coordinator or a liaison of isis. reporter: michael weiss says there are thousands of online forums where jihad is the draw, available in all sorts of languages, including english. why aren t they being shut down? some of them are hard to
its tactics and ideology but they are exploiting modern technology. and have done a very good job of it. sit a big part of their tactic and that is social media which, of course appeals to so many young people. you might think this is a commercial for the tourism board of canada. it is from isis posted on social media aimed to convince wannabe jihadis. a canadian convert was the ultimate pitch man for isis until he was killed fighting for them.
recruiting wannabe jihadis and who are most vulnerable. a number of muslim communities are knocking on doors, preaching in mosques and when they have to, reaching out to police and federal agents saying, we need your help. this soccer field in columbus, ohio is a long way from somalia. far from civil war, these kids have learned to dream big. what do you wan to do when you graduate high school? be a soccer player. i want to be engineer. reporter: what but? i want to be the president of somalia. reporter: pulled between two cultures, many in ohio s somali community fear teens like these could be targeted by extremists. who is it in the community who is potentially radicalizing young people? is it the internet? is it some body? is it an internet imam? who are we talking about? that s something we haven t been we leave that for the law enforcement to figure it out. reporter: that s the problem. no one knows for sure who s recruiting. persuading young men to get terror trai
brothers, that s what they re doing today. they are plotting to kill this religion. reporter: from the safety of his hideout in yemen, this american poses a threat to the united states unlike any other. i believe anwar al awlaki reporter: he s vows to bring america to its knees, one terrorist at a time. an army of lone wolf insurgents. he is the individual that s continuing the doctrine that people like osama bin laden started. reporter: his credentials as an american citizen fluent in english and arabic give him a unique authority among social media savvy wannabe jihadis. i eventually came to the conclusion that jihad against america is binding pop myself just as it is binding on every other able muslim. he unlike others has been able to recruit counterterrorism expert