A recent report released by the NSA claims social media increases terrorist attacks in virtue of the recent Texas shootings.
Discussions on the matter have started after two gunmen tried to sabotage the cartoon contest in Garland Texas, this week. The event was an exhibition of various images featuring Prophet Muhammad.
As a reminder of the recent Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris, France, the two gunmen opened fire upon all participants.
The Texas Police Department intervened and the two attackers were arrested before anyone was hurt.
Authorities managed to identify the man who orchestrated the attack, namely, a 31-year-old inhabitant of Pheonix named Elton Simpson.
National Security Officers also found a connection between Simpson and other previous terrorist attacks. It appears that the man was also arrested in 2010 after plotting several other assaults.
He may have also influenced his accomplice, Nadir Soofi, according to the declaration of the Texas investigators.
The cartoon contest assault has further fueled discussions related to the impact that social media could have on possible extremists.
According to the Counterterrorism division on the National Security Agency, large extremist groups can influence individual gunmen to carry out do-it-yourself attacks.
Despite their strict viewpoints, Jihadists show no reluctance when it comes to using modern means of communication.
They are world-renowned for the YouTube channels they use and, more recently, for the Twitter and Facebook accounts they have created to perpetuate the beliefs behind their religion.
Single individuals, living in the Unites States and outside the country, could be strongly influenced by the deeds and ideas promoted on social media accounts such as Twitter.
The small-scale plots are all the more difficult to prevent as the identity of the lone-wolf attackers is usually undisclosed. Terrorist investigators try to be one step ahead of the extremists, but the rapid communication means hinder them.
Officials have also noticed that Jihadists have changed the way in which they plan terrorist attacks.
At the beginning of 2000, Al-Qaeda and other similar extremist groups would carry out large plans on their own. The recent events prove that terrorists are now more inclined to delegate individual extremists to carry out their plots.
Many foreign citizens consider moving to Iraq or Syria in order to become fighters for the Islamic State.
NSA estimates that the number of extremist-wannabe individuals rises up to 3,400. The situation is all the more worrisome for the U.S. where individuals can easily get access to a gun.
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Melissa Gansler
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