Publication

This report serves as an open source catalogue of visual motifs and images used by terrorist groups in general, and the Salafi jihadi movement in particular. It provides analyzes for 100 key motifs that appear throughout the jihadists' visual propaganda. The authors consider visual propaganda to be more than just a host for textual messages; rather they treat it as an expressive medium which communicates ideas just as effectively, and sometimes as explicitly, as the written word. They argue that understanding how these images work, what ideas they convey, why they are employed, and what responses they may elicit is crucial for global counterterrorist efforts.