Islamic State has released a graphic video using the Justin Bieber hashtag on Twitter, in a worrying ploy that could see the militant organisation's propaganda exposed to the tens of millions of mostly young people who follow the megastar.
The hijacking of the Justin Bieber hashtag occurred in the early hours of Friday, with links to the video, titled "Message to Islamic West", also carrying the hashtags of ISIS and ISIL, by which Islamic State is also known, as well as the Bieber hashtag.
The 21-year-old has almost 74 million Twitter followers.
The 15-minute video, which was professionally produced, includes the filming of the execution of four men, who are shot in the back of the head at close range as they kneel on the ground with their hands bound. Footage of various attacks are also shown, as are appeals for new recruits.
It also features a martyrdom video of an Islamic State fighter as he prepares to carry out a suicide bombing using a vehicle laden with explosives. The video shows the man driving the vehicle towards an enemy base, followed by a massive explosion.
The Soufan Group, a New York-based security intelligence service, in a report released last month, pointed to Islamic State's heavy reliance on social media for recruitment.
In its initial Foreign Fighters in Syria report, published in June 2014, The Soufan Group identified about 12,000 foreign fighters from 81 countries.
"Nearly eighteen months later, despite sustained international effort to contain the Islamic State and stem the flow of militants travelling to Syria, the number of foreign fighters has more than doubled," according to the updated report released last month.