Think Again, Turn Away, or TATA, was an anti-radicalization project on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook led by the U.S. Department of State's Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications to attempt to stop people from Europe and the United States from joining the

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

History

The project was started in late 2013 by the U.S. Department of state against Jihadist propaganda posted by

Al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

online. It later became a counter tactic against Islamic State Jihadist propaganda in 2014 and 2015, this included the making of mock-up propaganda videos which included violent imagery like

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

, beheadings, and executions. The first attempt of combating propaganda made by the Islamic State was making a video that showed

Denis Cuspert Denis Mamadou Gerhard Cuspert (18 October 1975 – 17 January 2018), also known by his stage name Deso Dogg and his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Talha al-Almani, was a German rapper who became a member of the Islamic State.Mekhennet, Souad. "Osama’s ...

talking about

Jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...

, which then it later cuts to a mock-up death of Denis Cuspert where other people had to resuscitate him, the video later cuts to the

Flag of the United States The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

with the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...

. They then released another video entitled "Welcome to the Islamic State' land" which shows scenes of

suicide bombings A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...

at mosques,

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

s, which then cuts to text that states "You can learn useful new skills for the

Ummah ' (; ) is an Arabic word meaning Muslim identity, nation, religious community, or the concept of a Commonwealth of the Muslim Believers ( '). It is a synonym for ' (, lit. 'the Islamic nation'); it is commonly used to mean the collective com ...

...blowing up mosques, crucifying and executing Muslims, plundering national resources, suicide bombings inside mosques.", which then shows the text: "Travel is inexpensive because you won’t need a return ticket", then the video shows a body being thrown off a cliff, the video was uploaded to Facebook on the official Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications page. The projects' tactics were considered controversial and extreme. The project was considered ineffective of attempting to dissuade American citizens and Europeans from joining Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.{{Cite web , last=Abutaleb , first=Yasmeen , last2=Cooke , first2=Kristina , date=June 6, 2016 , title=A U.S. teen’s turn to radicalism, and the safety net that failed , url=http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-extremists-teen/ , access-date=2023-02-28 , website=

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

, language=en

References

Projects established in 2013 Projects disestablished in 2017 Counterterrorism in the United States