Amaq News-Affiliated Snapchat Account Emerges Online

A Snapchat account entitled “The Khilafa Now” emerged on May 16 posting Islamic State-affiliated Amaq News updates from throughout the day, including several claims of responsibility for attacks near Mosul and other areas of Iraq.The claims of responsibility posted by the Snapchat user z_pp124 also included a photo of the al-Bayaan Radio daily report in Arabic, dated 20 Shabaan, which corresponds in the Gregorian calendar to May 16. Individual members of the Islamic State and other jihadist groups have been known to individually use the platform to disseminate personal video and photo messages to others; however, there has been little documented use of the platform by Amaq News, the organization’s ostensible daily news outlet.Storyful could not independently confirm the degree of authenticity of the account, or its potential ties to the organization itself. In this context, it is important to note that the content posted by the account was exclusively posted in Arabic, not in English, which would suggest or imply that the account was setup primarily for global distribution, rather than to a specific English-speaking audience.