The SITE Institute, founded in 2002 by Rita Katz and Josh Devon, was dedicated to monitoring the online activities of terrorist organizations until it ceased operations in 2008. It is known for its high-profile acquisitions of videos from al-Qaeda and faced controversies over its methods and claims, including a misidentification involving video game footage. Following the closure of the SITE Institute, some of its staff established the SITE Intelligence Group to continue similar activities.

1. SITE Institute
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with SETI, SETI Institute, or SITE Intelligence Group.
The Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE) Institute was an organization that tracked the
online activity of terrorist organizations.[1] The SITE Institute was founded in 2002 by Rita Katz and
Josh Devon, who had left the Investigative Project, a private Islamist-terrorist tracking group.[2] In
early 2008 it ceased its operations, and some of its staff formed the SITE Intelligence Group, a for-
profit entity, to continue some of its activities.[3]
Contents
1 al-Qaeda tapes
2 Controversies
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
al-Qaeda tapes
July 4, 2007: A video by Ayman al-Zawahiri was obtained by SITE ahead of its release on the internet
by militant http://www.scribd.com/doc/261882050 web sites.[4][5] The video had been fitness wear
for pageants provided by al-Qaeda's As-Sahab Media to IntelCenter.[6]
Sept. 7, 2007: SITE obtained a 30-minute video of Osama bin Laden and provided it to Associated
Press. Bin Laden's image is "frozen" for all but 3½ minutes of the tape.[7] SITE beat al-Qaeda by
nearly a full day with the release of the video.[8] The US government later pronounced the video
authentic.
May 3, 2011: The organization translated a lengthy statement signed by al-Qaeda's General
Command that confirmed the death of Osama bin Laden and promised retaliation.[9]

2. Controversies
"Federal agencies, including the National Security Agency, the F.B.I. and the Department of
Homeland Security, monitor suspected terror sites on the Internet and sometimes track users.
Private groups like Ms. Katz's Search for International Terrorist Entities Institute and The Middle
East Media Research Institute are also keeping track of the ever-changing content of these sites. Ms.
Katz's institute, which relies on government contracts and corporate clients, may be the most
influential of those groups, and she is among the most controversial of the cyberspace monitors.
While some experts praise her research as solid, some of her targets view her as a vigilante. Several
Islamic groups and charities, for example, sued for defamation after she claimed they were terrorist
fronts, even though they were not charged with a crime," the New York Times reported September
23, 2004.[10]
On 30 May 2008, The Daily Telegraph published an online article reporting that SITE had wrongly
identified footage from the post-apocalyptic computer game Fallout 3 as being created by terrorists
considering a nuclear attack against the West. According to the article, SITE found the Fallout 3
images in a video called Nuclear Jihad: The Ultimate Terror, posted on two possibly al-Qaeda
affiliated and password protected websites, where it also gleaned chat logs from users discussing
nuclear attacks on the West.[11] SITE released a statement to clarify its position, stating that it
never claimed the images were produced by terrorists, although it didn't admit to knowing from the
start that they were video game images.[12]The Daily Telegraph subsequently removed the article
from its website.
See also
Internet Haganah
The Jawa Report
Jihad Watch
NEFA Foundation
References
^ Smith, Craig S. (11 April 2007). "Islamists Bring Fight to Capital of Algeria". The New York Times.

3. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
^ Wallace-Wells, Benjamin (29 May 2006). "Private Jihad". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2 September
2014.
^ SITE Institute web site
^ Sauer, Maddy (4 July 2007). "New Video From Al Qaeda No. 2". ABC News. Retrieved 2
September 2014.
^ "Al Qaeda's No. 2 seeks to bolster support for terror network in Iraq". The New York Times. 5 July
2007. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
^ "Al-Qaeda number two slams Hamas for seeking negotiations". Lebanonwire. Agence France-
Presse. 5 July 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
^ "New Usama Bin Laden Video Urges Americans to Convert to Islam". Fox News Channel.
Associated Press. 7 September 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
^ Warrick, Joby (12 September 2007). "Bin Laden, Brought to You by ...". The Washington Post.
Retrieved 2 September 2014.
^ Harris, Elizabeth A. (6 May 2011). "Al Qaeda Confirms Bin Laden's Death". The New York Times.
Retrieved 2 September 2014.
^ Eric Lipton and Eric Lichtblau (September 23, 2004). "Even Near Home, a New Front Is Opening
in the Terror Battle," New York Times; see page 2.
^ Alexander, Leigh (30 May 2008). "Intelligence Group Mistakes Fallout 3 Screens For Terrorist
Propaganda". Kotaku. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
^ Alexander, Leigh (30 May 2008). "SITE Refutes Fallout 3 Goof, Is Not "Red-Faced"". Kotaku.
Retrieved 2 September 2014.
External links
SITE Intelligence Group
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