February 9, 2007
Militant Islamic groups turn to YouTube
Interesting, from an Associated Press article on YouTube.
"Until recently, videos shot by terrorist groups were posted predominantly on specialist Internet forums, which often only those knowing what to look for could find. But more are turning to mainstream sites like YouTube, which draw millions of visitors around the world each day.
... Although scores of Web sites let anyone post and share video clips for free, YouTube is the most popular, receiving some 65,000 new clips a day. Users collectively watch more than 100 million videos on YouTube daily.
In another video entitled "Qanaas Baghdad Episode II," a man purporting to be an Iraqi sniper offers tips on attacking U.S. soldiers. As music plays, a group of soldiers stand at the side of a bustling, dusty street. The sniper locks on to one of them. A second later, the soldier falls to the ground.
The site had recorded 30,000 hits for the video since it was posted in November, according to YouTube's view counter on the site. The video was removed from the site Thursday, but other videos showing sniper shootings of American troops were still available.
YouTube — owned by Google Inc. — says it reserves the right to remove videos that users flag as unsuitable.
But like other video-sharing sites, YouTube generally takes down video only after receiving a complaint. Someone else can easily repost the video under a different account, and it would remain available until YouTube receives a complaint on that as well."
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