Washington: The National Security Agency (NSA) planned to discredit Islamist “radicals” by spying on their online pornography habits, The Huffington Post reported on Wednesday, citing a document leaked by ex-intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.
The eavesdropping agency focused on how propagandists for the violent extremists could be undermined with evidence of hypocrisy, citing surveillance on six individuals as examples, according to the quoted NSA document.
“A previous SIGINT (signals intelligence) assessment report on radicalisation indicated that radicalisers appear to be particularly vulnerable in the area of authority when their private and public behaviours are not consistent,” said the document.
“Some of the vulnerabilities, if exposed, would likely call into question the radicaliser’s devotion to the jihadist cause, leading to the degradation or loss of his authority.”
