On November 28, 2018, Issue 58 of the pro-Al-Qaeda In The Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) newspaper Al-Masra was released online. Over a year had passed since the release of Issue 57. The editorial in Issue 58 explains the delay, attributing it in part to the work of "ground spies" and "Crusader airplanes" that had targeted the newspaper's staff and dissemination efforts.
In September 2018, Al-Masra appealed briefly on Telegram to anyone with writing skills, urging them to send content to be published in the newspaper's coming issues. That appeal included a now-defunct Telegram handle and an address with the encrypted email platform Tutanota. Issue 58 gives an updated Telegram account and email address.
One article in the issue discusses the importance of creating and maintaining a jihadi archive online amid efforts to flag and remove such content. The article highlights the importance of having jihadi materials at the disposal of jihad supporters whose work in uploading and maintaining such content is emphasized in the article. It says: "It [i.e., uploading jihadi content] might take a few minutes of your time and, at the most, hours. So, do not underestimate the work that protects the mujahideen's legacy and message to their ummah, for one such piece of content, which you took part in uploading, might be the reason that convinces an ordinary person with the mujahideen's message..."
The article specifically notes the role of the San Francisco-based Internet Archive (archive.org, IA) in hosting jihadi content, especially that of the Islamic State (ISIS). It also notes that IA suspension efforts of jihadi content had led ISIS and its supporters to "abandon" the platform, causing a slight decrease in the same suspension efforts.
The full text of this report is available to MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor subscribers.
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