Islamic State is using OpenAI’s Whisper AI tool to translate and subtitle propaganda videos into English. The move aims to spread IS content faster and wider across platforms.
The shift ramped up in 2023 with pro-IS media spreading AI tool guides and IS Khorasan Province launching AI-powered training courses for propagandists. In 2024, IS first used AI-generated video characters on the pro-IS Rocket.Chat server TechHaven. Since then, AI-generated bulletins and videos announced attacks in Afghanistan.
On May 6, 2025, an IS supporter shared a video on TechHaven from the Al-Battar Foundation, reading Arabic editorials from IS’s An-Naba weekly. The producer used Whisper to transcribe and translate the Arabic audio into English subtitles. The video lacked any clear media house branding, suggesting early testing of AI-powered propaganda. 
Whisper is an OpenAI open-source speech recognition model trained on 680,000 hours of audio. It supports nearly 100 languages and is free, though it struggles with rare languages and technical topics without fine-tuning. Its ability to create accurate English subtitles from Arabic audio drastically improves IS’s reach.
TechHaven, a self-hosted Rocket.Chat server with 10,800+ users, acts as a digital safe haven for IS propaganda. On the same day the AI video was posted, users praised the quality of the translation and welcomed AI tools.
User reaction praising AI-translated video on TechHaven
Rocket.Chat’s decentralized, self-managed server model offers IS full control and security. This makes it harder for content moderation to take down propaganda. IS content in Arabic is less likely to be removed compared to English posts, so translating with AI could help evade detection.
Experts warn AI tools like Whisper accelerate what’s called the Multiplatform Communication Paradigm, letting IS spread propaganda across interconnected platforms like Telegram, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. The “swarmcast” tactic lets IS’s media supporters rapidly shift and amplify messaging.
The uptake of AI for translation and media production boosts IS’s propaganda and radicalization reach. Security pros call for better Arabic-language AI moderation and tighter control on AI tool access to stop terrorist content creation.
Alessandro Bolpagni of ITSTIME says:
AI is profoundly re-shaping social interactions. Terrorist organisations have been exploiting the proliferation of these technologies as well, fulfilling their subversive purposes, especially as far as the diffusion of propaganda is concerned. The Salafi-Jihadi movements have exploited said tools in order to counter online disruption and content removal. IS continues to demonstrate an adept engagement and proficiency with emerging technology, increasing its broadcasting capabilities in accordance with the medium utilised. The video created with Whisper OpenAI clearly shows how the group’s supporters have been keeping up with the rise of AI-driven tools. IS’ employment of AI models appears to be highly beneficial for the group, allowing it to improve its ability to spread official propaganda and increase its da’wa efforts.
Tech companies can join efforts fighting terrorist online propaganda through GIFCT membership.
