10 September 2026 – The Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) has published a new Trends Report on “Beyond Messaging: Terrorist Propaganda as Operational Infrastructure." The CTED Trends Report examines how terrorist groups increasingly use propaganda not merely as a communications tool, but as an integral component of recruitment, radicalization to terrorism, financing, operational planning and governance activities.
The report finds that terrorist propaganda has become more decentralized, adaptive, and technologically sophisticated. Terrorist groups are increasingly exploiting a diverse ecosystem of platforms and digital services to produce and disseminate content, while continuously adapting their methods in response to government countermeasures and platform moderation efforts. The report highlights the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) by terrorist and violent extremist actors to enhance recruitment, tailor messaging to specific audiences, expand multilingual outreach and support fundraising efforts.
The report also identifies several emerging trends. These include the exploitation of gaming and gaming-adjacent platforms for recruitment and community-building; the increasing role of graphic violent content and nihilistic online subcultures as pathways to radicalization to terrorism; and the growing convergence of violent extremist ideologies across online ecosystems. The CTED Trends Report highlights the increasing targeting of children and young people through digital platforms, including the use of peer-to-peer recruitment strategies and content specifically designed to appeal to youth audiences.
A recurring theme throughout the report is the growing intersection between propaganda and other core functions of terrorist groups. Analysis of terrorist groups operating in Africa and Central and South Asia demonstrates how propaganda is used to reinforce governance activities, exploit local grievances, build legitimacy, facilitate fundraising and shape perceptions of authority. The report also highlights the increasingly gendered dimensions of online propaganda, including the role of misogynistic online ecosystems, gender-specific recruitment techniques and the intersection between technology-facilitated gender-based violence and violent extremist narratives.
The report warns that the rapid evolution of terrorist propaganda has created an “acceleration gap” between the adaptability of terrorist actors and the ability of Member States, legal frameworks and digital platforms to respond. It concludes that effective responses must address propaganda not only as content, but as a core operational enabler of terrorism, while ensuring that counter-terrorism measures remain consistent with international human rights law.
The report was prepared pursuant to Security Council resolutions 2617 (2021) and 2810 (2025) and draws on United Nations reporting, CTED’s engagement with Member States, and research by members of CTED’s Global Research Network and other experts.
Read the full report here.