British government launches anti-Isis Twitter account

The British government are turning to social media in the fight against Islamic State. A Twitter feed dedicated to propagating the efforts of the British government to defeat the terror group was unveiled this week.

The @UKAgainstISIL account promises 'updates on the UK Government's ongoing work' in the battle against Isis. The account was launched with its first tweets on 28 August, which read: "Want to know more about what the UK government is doing to combat ISIL? Follow our new account @UKAgainstISIL #antiISIL"

"Find out more about the teams working across government in the UK and abroad to counter #ISIL: http://ow.ly/RsTcq #Iraq #Syria" said another.

A link to a video was also posted, which highlights the "leading role" Britain is playing in the global coalition.

ISIS have used social media as a propaganda tool, both for enlisting new recruits and 'jihadists", to circulate extremist material, including footage of barbaric beheadings and also to boast about atrocities committed in Syria and Iraq.

The news of the British social media counter-terrorism offensive comes as ISIS released a new "trailer" for a forthcoming video. The Hollywood style video, produced by al-Hayat media uses battle scenes from a Crusader themed film in what appears to be a prelude to a forthcoming announcement about Isis's gold coin currency.

The video shows the smelting of gold coins and what appears to be a pile of the currency. Posters and images of the Dinar coins purported to be the terror groups personal currency have been circulated on social media, however, so far it has been deemed a propaganda myth. The hashtag for the disconcerting new video release was trending globally on Twitter yesterday.

Meanwhile, as the British government pledges to protect Britons at home using the internet, speculation has been growing that David Cameron could stage a vote on extending military involvement in Syria when parliament returns from its summer break.