Yet, the authors of ISIS in America: From Retweets to Raqqa, a study released last month by George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, seem to conclude something along these lines. “Social media plays a crucial role in the radicalization and, at times, mobilization of U.S.-based ISIS sympathizers,” they warn. “Some members of this online echo chamber eventually make the leap from keyboard warriors to actual militancy.”

The Islamic State has proved adept at appealing to different female profiles, using girl-to-girl recruitment strategies, gendered imagery and iconic memes. [...] Social media has allowed the group’s followers to directly target young women, reaching them in the privacy of their bedrooms with propaganda that borrows from Western pop culture — images of jihadists in the sunset and messages of empowerment.