Turn on, tune in, defect: ISIS is now broadcasting a satellite TV channel in Iraq
The Islamic State’s media and propaganda division, famous for their Internet presence, launched a groundbreaking new endeavor on Sunday in the form of a satellite television station broadcasting to Mosul, Iraq. The launch of the new station, which can potentially reach over half a million people in Mosul, was first reported by a group of Syrian […]Patrick Howell O'Neill writes for Salon:
The Islamic State’s media and propaganda division, famous for their Internet presence, launched a groundbreaking new endeavor on Sunday in the form of a satellite television station broadcasting to Mosul, Iraq. The launch of the new station, which can potentially reach over half a million people in Mosul, was first reported by a group of Syrian citizen journalists known as Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently.
The channel, known as BEIN HD4, is broadcast on Nilesat, an Egyptian satellite company whose biggest shareholder is the public Egyptian Radio & Television Union. It’s not yet clear if the new Islamic State channel is being broadcast with Nilesat and Egyptian permission. The company has yet to respond to a request for comment. The new channel broadcasts news, reports, and media from the Islamic State, a group who are well-known for investing in slick video reports from the front lines of its wars.
