The Unreal Image The State Department Tweeted To Promote Free Speech

By Steve Straub - 19 Comments · In US

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The image the State Department tweeted out to promote freedom of speech has some people scratching their head, wondering what the people behind this campaign were thinking.
TheBlaze reports:

In a message posted on social media Wednesday morning, the U.S. State Department promoted the importance of “free speech” on one of its official Twitter accounts. However, the picture that accompanied the tweet had one user asking, “you’re joking, right?”
“In open societies, all faiths enjoy freedom of speech; under #ISIS rule, no such thing as freedom of expression,” the post stated.

The accompanying image showed a group of burqa-clad women promoting Sharia law, a restrictive legal framework supported by the Islamic State terrorist group.

The NY Daily News reports on how ineffective and embarrassing this State Department outreach program aimed at potential ISIS recruits has been:
The “Think Again Turn Away” campaign and Twitter account, launched by the State Department in December, in part, to dissuade on-the-fence jihadists from joining the fight against the West is actually serving to embolden and legitimize the social media presence of bloodthirsty terrorists already on the ground, Rita Katz, the director of the SITE Intelligence Group, wrote in a Time magazine article published online Tuesday.
The State Department’s “English-language outreach program is not only ineffective, but also provides jihadists with a stage to voice their arguments,” Katz claimed, calling the initiative’s Twitter account a “gaffe machine that “walks dangerous ethical lines.”

“Thirteen years into the war on terror, it is distressing to see certain ways the U.S. government is combating domestic radicalization by groups like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State,” Katz wrote. The account regularly (engages) in petty disputes with fighters and supporters of groups like IS (also known as ISIS), Al Qaeda and Al Shabaab, and (argues) over who has killed more people while exchanging sarcastic quips.”