U.S. military flails in online fight against Islamic State

TAMPA, Fla. -- A counterpropaganda program aimed at thwarting Islamic State recruiting over social media is plagued by incompetence, cronyism and skewed data, an AP investigation has found.

Known as "WebOps," the program was launched several years ago by a small group of civilian contractors and military officers assigned to the information-operations division at U.S. Central Command's headquarters in Tampa.

But internal documents and interviews with more than a dozen people knowledgeable about WebOps suggest a program that appears aimed more at enriching contractors than thwarting terrorism. The people interviewed requested anonymity because they are prohibited from speaking publicly about WebOps because of the sensitive nature of the work, and they fear professional repercussions.

WebOps relies on dozens of Arabic-speaking analysts who scour Twitter and other social-media platforms for people whose postings suggest they are vulnerable to the Islamic State. Using fictitious identities, the civilian analysts reach out to these potential recruits and urge them not to join the extremists.

But current and former WebOps employees cite examples of analysts who had scant experience in counterpropaganda, couldn't speak Arabic fluently and had so little understanding of Islam, they were no match for the Islamic State's online recruiters.

The program ran into problems at times when the online targets noticed the lack of linguistic skills, the employees said.

"One of the things about jihadis: They are very good in Arabic," said an Arabic specialist who previously worked on WebOps.

It's hard to establish rapport with a potential terror recruit when -- as one former worker said -- translators repeatedly mix up the Arabic words for "salad" and "authority." That's led to open ridicule on social media about references to the "Palestinian salad."

Four current or former workers said they had witnessed WebOps data being manipulated to create the appearance of success, and many other employees were aware of the problem. Yet the companies carrying out the program for Central Command have dodged attempts to implement independent oversight and assessment of the data.

One of the most damning accusations leveled by a whistleblower is against Army Col. Victor Garcia, who led the information-operations division until July 2016, when his tour at Central Command ended and he moved into a new military assignment.

The whistleblower alleges Garcia used his influence to steer the contract to a team of vendors that included a friend's firm.

A screengrab from a Facebook page shows Garcia and the friend at a tiki bar in Key Largo two weeks before the winning team officially was announced.

The photo was turned over to NCIS investigators by the whistleblower, who contended the photo created a "clear impression and perception of impropriety."

Garcia, a West Point graduate and decorated officer, denied any wrongdoing, describing the complaint as "character assassination." Garcia, who moved to his new post two months before the con

tract was awarded, said he scrupulously avoided any discussions about the contract with his friend and his former deputy, who served on the five-member panel that reviewed all of the bids.

"Because I was aware of these conflicts of interest, I intentionally kept myself out of that process, with any of these contract processes," Garcia said.

The whistleblower, a manager at a company that lost its bid for the contract, told AP he was investigated for attempting to accept kickbacks on an unrelated contract. He denied the allegations, made four years ago, and no charges have been filed.