Counter-Daesh Coalition Communications Cell

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The Counter-Daesh Coalition Communications Cell is a propaganda unit in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office that works closely with the US State Department and the UAE in The Global Coalition Against Daesh. The Cell is also known as the Counter-ISIL Coalition Communications Cell. It was set up in September 2015.[1] According to an MoD report on Information Advantage:

The UK Government’s Counter-Daesh task force created several cross-government bodies that successfully neutered Daesh’s online presence. The UK led the coalition communications cell that effectively marshalled overt, international media and communications. This provided a strong counter-narrative, and using consistent messaging then applied a range of increasingly covert operations to negate Daesh’s ability to create effect through the information domain. Much of these operations must remain secret, but as Director Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) has recently stated, at their most complex we were able to synchronise and fuse the special intelligence agencies output; cyber, kinetic fires, overt and covert messaging, and the military campaign, to render Daesh’s online and media persona significantly downgraded to the point that the previously triumphalist ISIL brand looked badly threadbare.[2]

Comms Cell

According to a letter by the UK Foreign Secretary in June 2016:

The UK, with the US and UAE, co-chairs the Global Coalition’s Strategic Communications Working Group. The UK has provided £10m to set up a Counter-Daesh Coalition Communications Cell, based in the FCO. The Cell brings together the 66 Coalition partners behind one communications initiative. Through this work the FCO is setting the direction for counter-Daesh communications, sharing expertise on strategic communications tools and building the capacity of Coalition partners in the region.[3]

The Global Coalition’s Communication Cell, is said to be 'embedded in the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London'. The head of that cell, Dan Chugg, stated in an interview with a US propaganda outlet Unipath:

To defeat Daesh in the propaganda war, the cell manages campaign activity that aims to hasten the collapse of the Daesh ‘brand,’ targeting the group’s claims to statehood, success and supremacy. The cell seeks to achieve this by working in partnership with others, sharing best practices and pooling resources. Campaigns in Iraq and Syria provide testimony on the truth of life under Daesh. Working with and through credible voices, we are leaving no space uncontested; targeting key audiences; revealing Daesh’s failed proposition; and emboldening and empowering moderate voices. The overarching narrative is that Daesh is failing on their own terms. By defining and highlighting Daesh failures, and by making clear that only Daesh is responsible for its actions, we will make the Daesh ‘brand’ less appealing. Conversely, we should not concentrate too much on coalition success, as this risks playing into Daesh’s narrative of victimhood.[4]

History

The Cell was created in 2015. The LinkedIn profile of Alicia Kearns (who later joined the PR firm Global Influence) states that she was 'Cross-Government lead for Counter Daesh, Syria and Iraq Effort' FCO, August 2014 – August 2016.[5] This suggests that the work she did in 2014 and 2015 before the Cell was formally set up, related to Syria and Iraq and to the government strategic communication programme on Syria created back in June 2012.

Internal assessment

An internal assessment of the government's propaganda operations in Syria (including two project run by the CCCC), rated the overall activity from a range of A*, A, B and C as 'B'.[6]

Funding

According to Dan Chugg:

I created a team using Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) finance. Additional staff and resources were provided by coalition partners (15 secondees from 11 different countries, so far).[7]


The FCO’s Spending Review Settlement protected the organisation’s budget in real terms over the course of the Spending Review period, but it also imposed additional requirements, so there are funding pressures that we will address. However, the FCO expects to receive significant funds from the cross-Whitehall Conflict, Security and Stability Fund for use on Syria and countering Daesh, given that it is one of the Government’s highest priorities.
A total of 20 officers have been deployed or reassigned to enhance the UK’s political contribution to the counter-Daesh effort in Iraq. Half of these have been deployed to Baghdad, with the remainder in Posts in Erbil, Amman, Washington DC and London. These are in addition to the already large staffs we had in our diplomatic network in Iraq, other regional capitals, key coalition capitals like Washington and through our Syria Overseas Network (based in Istanbul but with officers in different regional capitals). These officers are working in support of Global Coalition efforts to help build the conditions to isolate Daesh politically, hastening its defeat, including by helping Iraq deliver genuine political reform and meaningful reconciliation. Funding for this uplift has been extended until April 2017.
The UK is making a significant contribution to resolving the conflict and dealing with its consequences. The Government’s response to the crisis in Syria includes significant inputs from the MOD, DFID, and the FCO. This includes our extensive humanitarian response and our military contribution to the fight against Daesh. The UK has pledged over £2.3 billion in aid, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis and second only to the US. The UK’s military contribution to the fight against Daesh is also second only to the US, including the deployment of over 1,000 personnel, Tornado and Typhoon jets and our unparalleled Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance capabilities. After the US and Russia, the UK has deployed the largest team to support the negotiations in Geneva, and to assist with monitoring the Cessation of Hostilities. The UK is a leading member of the International Syria Support Group, and has, with allies, led the UN Security Council in New York in securing Resolutions to weaken Daesh and maintain pressure on Asad’s regime. The UK’s budget for programme support in Syria through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund stands at almost £60 million for this financial year. This funding allows us to support moderate governance and service delivery inside Syria as well as provide support to the political process. The FCO works closely with the US State Department in this area and we are confident that our US partners recognise the value of the UK contribution in this work and that the Committee’s fears about US perceptions are groundless.[8]

People

  • Nancy Jamal
  • Dan Chugg - former Head, Counter Daesh Coalition Communications Cell
  • Despo Michael Deputy Head, Counter Daesh Coalition Communications Cell, circa 2017.[9]
  • Sofia Lyen Head of HMG Comms for Counter Daesh circa 2018[10]
  • Alicia Kearns 'Cross-Government lead for Counter Daesh, Syria and Iraq Effort' FCO, August 2014 – August 2016. [11]
  • Chris Berthoud Head of Digital, Counter Daesh Communications Cell
  • Ramin Navai, Counter-Daesh Coalition Communications Cell, circa March 2018[12]
  • Owen Bassett Head of the Counter Daesh Comms Cell - Feb 2020- Feb 2022.. [13]
  • Erika Thompson Head, Private Sector Engagement, Global Coalition Against Daesh Communications Cell, UK FCO, circa 2017.[14]

Resources

See also

GCHQ

DCMS

Cabinet Office

MoD

FCO/FCDO

References

  1. ↑ Gov.uk UK action to combat Daesh. Accessed 24 October 2019.
  2. ↑ Ministry of Defence Information Advantage], Joint Concept Note 2/18, November 2018. Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre. Retrieved frm the Internet Archive of 3 December 2019 on 3 December 2019.
  3. ↑ Foreign Affairs Select Committee The UK's role in the war against ISIL following the Cessation of Hostilities in Syria in February 2016: Government response to the Committee's Third Report of Session 2015-16 Appendix: Letter from the Foreign Secretary and Government response, 8 June 2016.
  4. ↑ JOHN REDFIELD MANAGING THE MESSAGE, Unipath Volume 8.
  5. ↑ LinkedIn Alicia Kearns. Accessed 2 May 2018.
  6. ↑ https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusive-british-propaganda-syria-war-opposition-illegal-internal-review
  7. ↑ Winning the strategic communications war with Daesh Dan Chugg, Civil Service Quarterly, 20 December 2017.
  8. ↑ Foreign Affairs Committee, Appendix: Letter from the Foreign Secretary and Government response The UK's role in the war against ISIL following the Cessation of Hostilities in Syria in February 2016: Government response to the Committee's Third Report of Session 2015-16, 8 June 2016.
  9. ↑ Government Communication Service People Finder Despo Michael, Accessed 17 November 2017.
  10. ↑ Government Communication Service People Finder Sofia Lyen, Accessed 8 April 2018.
  11. ↑ LinkedIn Alicia Kearns. Accessed 2 May 2018.
  12. ↑ Egmont Institute Belgium, Britain, and Europe: Future Security and Defence Cooperation, Belgium, 21 March 2018.
  13. ↑ Twitter @mrobassett. Accessed 30 March 2020.
  14. ↑ 2nd International Conference on Digital Diplomacy, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs Agenda, 5-7 December 2017.
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