Stefan Mileschin

The US government has decided that one of the best weapons to use against terrorists is trolls.

According to Wired, after testing out their commandos and deadly flying robots, the US State Department has unleashed its trolls.

The program, called Viral Peace, is a new initiative to annoy, frustrate and humiliate denizens of online extremist forums.

Apparently its planners still have not worked out what its initial strategy is yet and the programme appears to being run on a shoe string.

Its aim is to discourage impressionable youth from becoming terrorists in an idiom they understand.

Viral Peace is the brain child of Shahed Amanullah, a senior technology adviser to the State Department.

The idea is to use logic, humor, satire, and religious arguments, not just to confront extremists, but to undermine and demoralise them. He calls it strategic trolling.

Amanullah said that it was not necessary to deface the forums if you can troll them to the point where their most malign influences are neutralised.

He said that online extremists have a certain energy and vitality that attracts people. They appeal to macho and rebellious natures and those who feel downtrodden. Creating a comparable passion on the other side is tricky but not impossible.

If Viral Peace works as intended, trainees will take control of the program, Amanullah and the State Department will have little control over how the program actually trolls the terrorists.

http://news.techeye.net/internet/us-...ling-programme