In this Secured clip, Irina Tsukerman, President of Scarab Rising, Inc. and geopolitical analyst at the Arabian Peninsula Institute, explains how extremist groups have transformed propaganda into their most powerful weapon.

What once relied on underground sermons or low-quality recordings has evolved into sophisticated, multi-platform content ecosystems. Al Qaeda affiliates and ISIS offshoots now embed their messaging into popular digital formats — from short-form video to gaming-inspired visuals — lowering skepticism and normalizing extremist narratives.

By borrowing aesthetics from mainstream culture, including video games like Call of Duty, propaganda becomes gamified. Radicalization feels less like indoctrination and more like participation. The goal isn’t just recruitment — it’s narrative dominance, shaping perceptions until extremist messaging blends into the digital background.

Tsukerman emphasizes that the solution isn’t simply removing content. Suppression alone creates gaps that new propaganda quickly fills. The real challenge is replacement — building authentic counter-narratives that directly compete with extremist fantasies and resonate with the same audiences.

In today’s digital environment, authenticity — not censorship alone — is the decisive factor in defending the information space.