On the same day the United States announced the arrest of a 19-year old attempting to leave the country to join ISIS, a top State Department official said the American efforts to combat ISIS' powerful online message are working.

"We don't negotiate with terrorists," has long been the standard refrain of governments when it comes to violent extremists. But these days, in the realm of social media, at least, they are talking to them.

Concerned by the attempts of Al Qaeda and its global affiliates to attract more Americans and other Westerners, the State Department is stepping up its online efforts to combat violent extremists’ recruiting of English speakers. The campaign is starting at a time when intelligence officials say dozens of Americans have traveled or tried to travel to Syria since 2011 to fight with the rebels against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.