Uncovering Hezbollah’s Activity in France through Social Media Analysis
By Daniel Cohen, Daniel Citrinowicz
This report details how Hezbollah uses France as a safe haven for finance, radicalization,
and recruitment processes for terror activity. Hezbollah has established a broad financial
management system across the globe to finance its activities. This system extensively
involves drug trafficking, money laundering, weapons trade, and other criminal activities.
It also includes fundraising through straw associations, mosques, and centers and through
active recruitment of individuals within Shi’ite communities around the world, particularly
in Europe. This report provides open-source information that can assist authorities in
taking action against Hezbollah’s capabilities to conduct illicit transnational activities, using
Europe as a point of transit.
The research presented in this report applied innovative social media intelligence (SOCMINT)
tools to locate and track Hezbollah operatives and supporters in Europe, specifically in
France—one of the central hubs of the organization in Europe. Through a detailed analysis
of selected case studies, the report examines three areas of Hezbollah activity in France:
financing terrorism, radicalization, and recruitment. Its objective is to expose the existence
of such extremist networks on French soil and the people who run them and, in so doing,
to demonstrate the advantages and potential contributions of SOCMINT tools in fighting
extremism and terrorism.
Read the full report (PDF):