People often comment on how advanced the social media tactics of the terrorist group known as the Islamic State are.

Last week though, it seems their strategy fell apart in the face of a truly fearsome enemy: the Italians.

After the Islamic State’s (or ISIS if you prefer) recent advance in Libya, the group now has militants just 300 miles from Italy’s Southern border.

After issuing a threat “to conquer Rome with Allah’s permission,” ISIS supporters took to twitter using the hashtag #We_Are_Coming_O_Rome. (Presumably they meant to say To_Rome, but that’s another conversation entirely.)

They also threatened to throw Italian “homosexuals” off the “Leaning Tower of Pizza”.

Not kidding.

So obviously, the Italians didn’t take this lying down. Instead they hijacked the hashtag and started giving travel advice to the would be invaders.

Check it out:

1) Don’t trust Alitalia with your luggage

2) The traffic is really bad

3) The trains aren’t any better

4) You’ll have to beat the Mafia and Super Mario first

5) Don’t pay the guy on the street if you want to see the Pope

6) At least it will mean work for unemployed “gladiators”

7) The gladiator meme seemed to be a crowd pleaser

8) Maybe next year

9) A fair point

10) Truly a terrifying turn of events


Moral of the story for IS: if you’re going to troll an entire nation on twitter with threats of violence, maybe think through your messaging first.

That way you can avoid getting egg (pizza?) on your face.

For the rest of us, let’s remember that social media is a powerful format for a global exchange of ideas. And sometimes the best way to meet anger and hate is with a good laugh.

Editorial

Demand Equity

ISIS threatens Italy: Italians respond with travel recommendations

By Tom Blake