Militant Islamist Groups Still Using YouTube

Despite efforts to rid "YouTube" from jihadi propaganda through "Operation Smack Down," lots of radical groups are still turning to the famous video-hosting website to post and re-post their materials.

The popular video sharing website still has weapons-making videos, videos of IED attacks from Iraq, as well as al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's speech released last week.

Most alarming is the big increase in the number of YouTube channels adhering to the militant Islamist ideology and run by Western bloggers, who are producing their own material in English and targeting Muslim youths in the West. The Islamic emirate channel, the Islamic Emirate HQ channel, the Twheed Channel, the Dua'a channel, the Khilafah channel are but a few of the available channels.

One of the channels is called "J1HADtube" and adopts the slogan "a Flag a Day Keeps The Kafir's Away." The channel uses the very same rules set by YouTube to enable its fans to flag unacceptable content, to report videos that they think are in conflict with Islam. According to the founder's own description, the channel dedicated to flagging videos that are against Islam.