Counter-Terrorism Strategic Communications: Back to the Future: Lessons from Past and Present

This paper explores the lessons that can be learned from past communication experiences to aid Counter-Terrorism Strategic Communications (CTSC) campaigns targeting the current propaganda threat from so-called “Islamic State”(IS). It will do this by highlighting four lessons from the past from two different areas of communication practice–the history of propaganda and political communication–that are relevant for the current information war against IS. These are i) the need for multiple mediums of communication, ii) the say-do-gap, iii) defensive and offensive messaging, and, finally, iv) market research and targeting.