SITE Intelligence Group explained

SITE Intelligence Group is an American for-profit consultancy group^[1] that tracks online activity of white supremacist and jihadist organizations. It is led by the Israeli analyst Rita Katz^[2] and based in Bethesda, Maryland.^[3] From 2002 to 2008, Katz headed an organization called the SITE Institute.

The bulk of the materials on the SITE website are available by paid subscription.

SITE Institute

The Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE) Institute was an organization that tracked the online activity of terrorist organizations.^[4] The SITE Institute was founded in 2002 by Rita Katz and Josh Devon, who had left the Investigative Project, a private Islamist-terrorist tracking group.^[5] In early 2008, it ceased its operations, and some of its staff formed the SITE Intelligence Group, a for-profit entity, to continue some of its activities.

al-Qaeda tapes

• July 4, 2007: A video by Ayman al-Zawahiri was obtained by SITE ahead of its release on the internet by militant web sites.^{[6] [7]} The video had been provided by al-Qaeda's As-Sahab Media to IntelCenter.^[8]
• Sept. 7, 2007: SITE obtained a 30-minute video of Osama bin Laden and provided it to Associated Press. Bin Laden's image is "frozen" for all but 3½ minutes of the tape.^[9] SITE beat al-Qaeda by nearly a full day with the release of the video.^[10] The US government later pronounced the video authentic.
• May 6, 2011: The organization translated a lengthy statement signed by al-Qaeda's General Command that confirmed the death of Osama bin Laden and promised retaliation.^[11]

Controversies

As the institute

• On September 23, 2004, the New York Times reported "Several Islamic groups and charities...sued for defamation after (Katz) claimed they were terrorist fronts, even though they were not charged with a crime."^[12]
• On 30 May 2008, The Daily Telegraph published an online article reporting that SITE had wrongly identified footage from the post-apocalyptic computer game Fallout 3 as being created by terrorists considering a nuclear attack against the West. According to the article, SITE found the Fallout 3 images in a video called Nuclear Jihad: The Ultimate Terror, posted on two possibly al-Qaeda affiliated and password protected websites, where it also gleaned chat logs from users discussing nuclear attacks on the West.^[13] SITE released a statement to clarify its position, stating that it never claimed the images were produced by terrorists, although it didn't admit to knowing from the start that they were video game images.^[14] The Daily Telegraph subsequently removed the article from its website.

As the group

On September 2, 2014, SITE sent the video of Steven Sotloff's beheading to its subscribers before the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant released the video.

See also

• Internet Haganah
• The Jawa Report
• Jihad Watch
• NEFA Foundation

External links

• - Not accessible by general public
• New Yorker profile

Notes and References

1. News: Vincent . James . 4 September 2014 . Who are the SITE Intelligence Group that distributed the Sotloff video before the jihadis? . The Independent . 9 December 2014.
2. Web site: 2 September 2014 . Jihadists appear caught offguard by release of Steven Sotloff video . 28 September 2014 . Telegraph.co.uk.
3. Web site: Inside SITE Intelligence Group: Steven Sotloff Beheading Discovered By Little-Known Research Organization . . 2 September 2014 . 28 September 2014.
4. News: Smith . Craig S. . Craig S. Smith . 11 April 2007 . Islamists Bring Fight to Capital of Algeria . . 2 September 2014.
5. News: Wallace-Wells . Benjamin . 29 May 2006 . Private Jihad . . 2 September 2014.
6. News: Sauer . Maddy . 4 July 2007 . New Video From Al Qaeda No. 2 . . 2 September 2014.
7. News: . Al Qaeda's No. 2 seeks to bolster support for terror network in Iraq . 5 July 2007 . The New York Times . 2 September 2014.
8. News: . 5 July 2007 . Al-Qaeda number two slams Hamas for seeking negotiations . . . 2 September 2014.
9. News: . 7 September 2007 . New Usama Bin Laden Video Urges Americans to Convert to Islam . . . 2 September 2014.
10. News: Warrick . Joby . Joby Warrick . 12 September 2007 . Bin Laden, Brought to You by ... . . 2 September 2014.
11. News: Harris . Elizabeth A. . 6 May 2011 . Al Qaeda Confirms Bin Laden's Death . The New York Times . 2 September 2014.
12. Eric Lipton and Eric Lichtblau (September 23, 2004). "Even Near Home, a New Front Is Opening in the Terror Battle," New York Times; see page 2.
13. News: Alexander . Leigh . 30 May 2008 . Intelligence Group Mistakes Fallout 3 Screens For Terrorist Propaganda . . 22 November 2010.
14. News: Alexander . Leigh . 30 May 2008 . SITE Refutes Fallout 3 Goof, Is Not "Red-Faced" . Kotaku . 2 September 2014.