Terrorist groups rely on publicity to further their political goals, and liberal democracies provide open forums for disseminating terrorist messages through freedom of the press. Modern technology also allows terrorist groups to develop their own media outlets more easily. While some argue that religiously-motivated terrorist groups do not need publicity, in practice these groups still seek to claim credit for attacks. Terrorists exploit the "triangle of communication" between attacks, media coverage, public fear, and political decisions to influence situations beyond their direct control. The relationship between media and terrorists is symbiotic, with media seeking ratings through alarming news and terrorists relying on media to spread their messages. More responsible media coverage and internal reforms may help address this issue in

1. Terrorist Propaganda and the Media
Publicity: The Universal Terrorist Goal
· All terrorist organizations both in the contemporary
operational environment as well as that of the past have used
publicity as a tool for achieving their political goals, which
makes maximizing their media impact a universal objective.
· Liberal democracies rely on the principles of freedom of
expression and freedom of the press, which inadvertently
provides terrorists with an active and open forum for
disseminating their messages and fulfilling the goals of their
information operations.
· Since the explosion of global media, however, the
susceptibility of media in liberal democracies is not as different
from media in non-liberal, non-democratic states as was
previously the case.
· Additionally, modern technology has lowered the entrance
costs for terrorist organizations that wish to develop their own
media outlets, and many prefer to exploit this advantage over
relying solely on legitimate media outlets.
An Alternative View: Contemporary Terrorists Do Not Need
Publicity
· In contrast to the position articulated above, some have argued
that extreme terrorist groups driven by religious or pseudo-
religious motivations are prone to engaging in political violence
without the need to receive credit for the actions from the
broader population.
· These types of organizations are more interested in inflicting
as much pain and suffering as possible, and do not, therefore,
have publicity goals explicitly incorporated into their
operations.
· In practice, however, such “expressive” terrorists often do, in
fact, take advantage of publicity garnered by their actions, and
many – while not as actively engaged in information operations
as others – intentionally leave clues and indicators that allow

2. them to receive credit for their attacks.
Terrorism and the Triangle of Communication
· One model of political communication is called the “triangle
of communication,” which terrorists attempt to access as a
means of achieving their publicity goals:
. Terrorists access the triangle of communication by staging
spectacular attacks.
. The media reports on those attacks.
. The public consumes the reporting, driving up fear among the
local population as well as demand for more reporting.
. Politicians then pay attention to both the media and the
public’s reaction to the media, driving political decisions that
terrorists might not have the ability to influence otherwise.
· Terrorists exploit the triangle of communication first at the
domestic level to influence local conditions, and then at the
international level (through the international press, foreign
publics, and foreign political leaders) to influence situations
above and beyond the domestic context.
Media-Related Goals
The Attention-Getting Goal
· A key question regarding the media in a free society is not
whether it should perform the function of keeping people
informed by reporting on terrorism, but what amount and
quality of coverage should be devoted to terrorism.
· When the media does not maintain a responsible balance of
coverage, it becomes a tool for terrorists to spread fear and
anxiety among their own target audiences.
The Recognition Goal
· Because terrorism serves as a violent expression of
grievances, media coverage of terrorism can trigger the public
to seek out additional information about those grievances –
which in itself is not a problem.
· This issue becomes a problem, however, when media coverage
does not adequately represent the complexities inherent in
terrorist motivations, and instead focuses on oversimplified, yet
dramatic, narratives that can turn the media into a platform for

3. terrorist organizations and their supporters.
The Respectability/Legitimacy Goal
· The media is supposed to bring to our attention issues and
people that deserve our sincere consideration, and bestow on
these issues and people a level of respectability and legitimacy
in the public forum.
· When the media – especially television – treats terrorist
spokespersons the same as it treats important political, social,
or culture figures, it can bestow on terrorists and their
organizations a level of respectability and legitimacy that they
might otherwise not have acquired.
Bedfellows in a Marriage of Convenience
· Media in the United States is not an accomplice to terrorism,
but the media and terrorists do exist in a symbiotic relationship
whereby the media achieves ratings by captivating consumers
with shocking news and terrorists rely on the media to
disseminate their shocking messages to the widest audience
possible.
· Various approaches have been proposed for dealing with this
troubling relationship, but given the US’ emphasis on freedom
of speech and freedom of the press, it seems unlikely that
legislation will effectively address the issue in the American
context as it may have in other liberal democracies with
different legal and cultural values.
· A more likely approach for the United States seems to be
efforts within the media community itself to promote education
and training, increasing professionalism and professional ethics,
and encourage an internal reform process.
Media and Terrorist Contagion
· Terrorism scholars have found that terrorist organizations tend
to adopt and pursue tactics that have achieved the best results
based on media coverage for themselves or for other terrorist
actors.
· While this does mean that the media plays an important role in
disseminating terrorist ideologies and courses of action, we
must be very clear here that it does NOT mean this dynamic

4. leads to increased terrorist activity, but rather it contributes to
refining terrorist behaviors.
Defending the Media
· While the issues we have considered represent important
perspectives for informed scholars of terrorism, they do not
mean that the media serves no fundamentally useful or positive
function.
· The best defense of the media rests on the absolutely essential
role it plays in keeping the population informed of current
events in the world around them, which in a liberal democracy
is a necessary factor in the population’s decision-making
process about its government leaders and policies.
Treason or Public Service?
· The media has often served as a forum for the unauthorized
revelation of information policy makers and security officials
would prefer remain secret.
· Whereas some view the media’s release of information that the
government withholds from the public as undermining national
security because it reveals sensitive means and methods, others
view it as holding government officials accountable for their
decisions when they might otherwise bury those decisions or
their negative results behind a wall of security classifications.