portrayal of ISIL in American media has largely been negative . The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ( ISIL ) has been linked in the American media to several atrocities throughout the Middle East . Most recently U.S. coverage has linked ISIL members to burning alive of Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh , beheadings of journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff , and most recently , because the perpetrator of the June 2016 Orlando mass shooting - America 's second deadliest - reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIL and its leader in a phone call to 911 operators just before the incident . The American public was introduced to ISIL with these actions . This contrasts with the renewed prominence of al-Qaeda after the September 11 attacks in the media . That coverage focused on the United States ' response to the attacks , while the coverage of ISIL started with the organization itself and evolved to cover America 's potential strategy . After the killing of American journalist James Foley in August 2014 by members of ISIL , the newspaper '' The Record '' , based out of Bergen County , New Jersey , wrote an article that portrayed ISIL as a group wanting to humiliate and destroy the United States , a result of the beheading of James Foley . As the article states , by humiliating and destroying the United States , ISIL looks to rid the U.S. of its power so it that it may no longer be a " dominant player in the world . " It cites what Al Qaeda did to the Manhattan skyline on September 11 as the impact it too wants to see in the future . ISIL has been portrayed as successful at attracting individuals to its cause . Following the shootings at the Canadian Parliament and War Memorial , an article in '' Bloomberg News '' stated " The Islamic State is proving more successful at attracting vulnerable Canadian youth to its cause than al-Qaida ever was , and terrorism experts attribute that in part to the group 's military success and its brash use of social media . " Authors Liezel Hill , Scott Deveau and Gerrit De Vynck , cite the country 's air strikes on Syria as a motivation to join the cause , as well as the decision to prevent people from leaving Canada for Syria as a reason to continue the group 's mission at home . CNN reported the story of a former US soldier who is now in northern Syria , serving as a volunteer fighter in the Kurdish militia , or the YPG , against ISIL . The soldier , Jordan Matson , states how many US allied countries have been threatened by members of ISIS trying to spread their agenda . The article claims that his reason for the decision to join the fight against ISIL in a foreign country is the result of the happenings in Iraq and seeing " All of the American brothers that have died over there -- all the American veterans that have died over there -- and paid their lives for that country so they could have a democracy . " In this article CNN portrays ISIL as a group opposing the agenda of the US and specifically their fight for democracy in Iraq . In another report from CNN , ISIL is portrayed as something that is appealing particularly to young individuals . This report comes on the heels of a propaganda video released by ISIL showing a Canadian youth " who enjoyed ice hockey , going to the cabin , and fishing , " who then left Canada for Syria to " live properly as a Muslim . " With the report that more than 30 Canadians have joined ISIL in Syria and more than 100 people have joined in other countries like Yemen , Pakistan , and Afghanistan , CNN is portraying ISIL as something that gives an individual " identity and purpose " for youth Muslims . To show the power of ISIL and what they are capable of , CNN did a report on what had happened to more than 50 members of the Albu Nimr tribe , the last people in the western Baghdad-based tribe who were resisting against joining ISIL . The whereabouts of these holdouts taken captive is unknown , but as CNN reports , they are " likely dead , the latest casualties of ISIS who have killed hundreds of members of the tribe in mass executions in recent days . " As a result , we can see that members of ISIS are portrayed as violent
shootings at the Canadian Parliament and War Memorial
2014 shootings at Parliament Hill, Ottawa
Portrayal of ISIL in American media