UAE-US to combat Daesh propaganda

The Sawab Center, a joint UAE-US initiative to combat Daesh propaganda on social media, announced the launch of its presence on Facebook, opening a new front in the battle to confront the spread of extremism online.

The Center’s Facebook page has already received an overwhelmingly positive response, gaining over 36,000 followers in its first month. This follows on from the significant public support the Center has received on other social media platforms, Twitter and Instagram.

Since its launch in July 2015, the Sawab Center has actively sought to encourage communities and individual voices to remain vigilant and engage proactively to counteract extremism online. Over this time, the Center has given voice to the millions of people around the world who oppose Daesh and support the Center's efforts to expose the terrorist group’s brutality and criminal nature.

Daesh’s diminishing influence on social media is due to the overwhelming and ever-rising tide of anti-Daesh voices. Together, people from all over the world, including youth, religious leaders, governments and social media companies, have chosen to take a stand and speak out against this terrorist group and its dangerous ideology.

The Sawab Center works closely with the Global Coalition to Counter Daesh to amplify the Coalition’s successes on the battlefield and in stemming the flow of foreign fighters and finances to Daesh.

Furthermore, the Sawab Center is actively working with like-minded governmental and non-governmental partners, including religious leaders, in an effort to expose Daesh’s blatant misrepresentation of Islam. Moreover, the Center encourages social media activists and users, especially in the Middle East and North Africa region, to take up the mantle in this shared effort, contributing to exposing Daesh lies and promoting a message of tolerance and inclusion.

The Sawab Center is just one actor in this effort. With its partners, the Center will continue to build and catalyze a strong network through which online followers can express values that reject violence, create peace and build inclusive societies, while sharing their opinions and creating a dialogue of peaceful co-existence and unity.

The Sawab Center is a joint initiative by the Governments of the United Arab Emirates and the United States to fight Daesh’s extremist ideology and activities online. The Center monitors Daesh’s radical messages and works to counter them by exposing the truth behind its propaganda.

The Sawab Center started its activities on 8 July 2015, delivering content in Arabic and English on Twitter (@SawabCenter). Since its launch, the Center has also expanded onto other social media platforms, including Instagram, YouTube and now Facebook. The Center’s team produces its own visual content, such as videos, infographics and animations, and also amplifies content from like-minded groups and individuals.

The Sawab Center has undertaken several social media campaigns to expose the falsity of Daesh propaganda. Although still in its first year, the Center has already gained over 68 thousand followers on Twitter and its messages have reached millions of people.

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