UN political chief spotlights key role of media in fighting terrorism

A senior UN official on Wednesday underlined the key role of media in combating terrorism, saying that the international community needs the support of the world's media, including traditional and social media partners, in the efforts to wipe out terrorism in the globe.

Jeffrey Feltman, UN under-secretary-general for political affairs, made the statement as he was speaking at the Arab Media Forum on "The Role of Media to Combat Terrorism," which took place at UN Headquarters in New York.

"It is undeniable that extremist groups present a serious threat to international peace and security and that their effective use of social media to spread propaganda and to recruit vulnerable young women and men from all regions of the world to join their ranks is also undeniable," Feltman said.

He noted that there are almost 50,000 Twitter accounts supporting Da'esh, also known as the Islamic State, with an average of 1,000 followers for each of those accounts.

He said that in the international efforts to counter terrorism, we also need the support of the world's media.

"We have to work closely with traditional and social media partners to get stories of courage out about returnees from violent extremist groups and victims of terrorism, who can turn their tragedy into a positive force to counter and prevent radicalization," he said.

Feltman explained that they succeed by providing a space where young people can bond over their grievances and a deeply held desire for a world that is just and fair.

Governments are trying to keep up through disseminating more moderate counter-narratives, he added, but it's not enough.

""We can only prevent violent extremism if we engage the support of our entire society -- we are calling this an 'all of society' approach," he said. "Our efforts need to go beyond government, and extend to religious, youth, women and other community leaders -- they are the ones on the front-line, standing up to violent extremists."

Meanwhile, Feltman said that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that it takes a bullet to kill a terrorist, but good governance will ultimately kill terrorism.

The secretary-general has announced his intention to present a Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism to the 70th General Assembly in September. It will include a global communications strategy involving social media stakeholders, governments and civil society. Endite