Cyber warriors in the Middle East: The case of the Syrian Electronic Army

• Syrian Electronic Army is not a hacktivist group but is made up of cyber warriors.
• SEA is a public relations tool for Assad's government to draw the world's attention to the official Syrian version of events taking place in the country and countering the impact of Syrian oppositional groups.
• Majority of online comments on SEA's YouTube channel was pro-Assad but there is evidence of e-moderation.
• The general online rhetoric is characterized by flaming and highly sectarian nature.
• SEA is a unique case in online political public relations because of the political and cultural context.

This paper investigates the online hacking group, the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA), and examines its goals. The study argues that it is not a hacktivist group but is made up of cyber warriors who are closely connected to the Syrian government in order to serve two main goals: serving as a public relations tool for the Syrian government to draw the world's attention to the official Syrian version of events taking place in the country and countering the impact of Syrian oppositional groups. The study investigates the online reaction to SEA by analyzing the comments posted on its YouTube videos in order to better understand the group's aims and strategies and the public perception.