this is "nightline." tonight, isis productions. a sophisticated social media campaign waged by terrorists. how they are getting seemingly average americans to sign up for their bloody war and why it is actually working. ♪ plus a new day for mariah carey. her career has been filled with number one hits already. now our michael strahan has an exclusive backstage pass to number one to infinity as the star singer starts her next chapter. tonight she's moving on and adjusting to life as a single mom. and shaq down. 7'1" shaquille o'neal has an epic fall inside the nba

halftime show. but the nba all star is handling it with humor and even getting in on the joke. why he's actually paying people now to make fun of him. but first, the "nightline" five. >> it's macy's one day sale on saturday with a preview day on friday. incredible beauty deals. roller balls and travel sprays buy two get one free. any women's fragrance purchase of $85 or more get a watch free. macy's one day sale. ♪ >> excellent. researching a hunch and making a decision. time for a a change of menu. >> research and invest with e-trade

good evening. tonight the fbi director is

sounding the alarm about isis saying the terror group is reaching deeper in to america, thanks to a disturbingly sophisticated social media campaign. abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas investigates the group's high-tech recruiting efforts and why they are working so well. ♪ >> reporter: in this on-line production mimicking the extremely popular "grand theft auto" video game isis terror cell adventure with murder and mayhem as fun. subtitles rashly say your games. we do the same actions in the battlefields. the terrorists are using more than video games. they are using hip hop to lure young recruits to the front lines of a deadly war. they are marketing smiling children selling a false version of life under isis rule. even using a fighter with model good looks to promote their cause. some videos target women with a

direct appeal. >> we have houses. we have security. >> reporter: what he doesn't say is women are raped and sold in to slavery. the on-line messaging slick. more settle than the vicious beheading videos the public is more familiar with. the production values top notch. as good as any commercial you can see in the u.s. top law enforcement officials tell abc news the country faces an unprecedented threat. the most sophisticated marketing and social media campaign ever devised by a terrorist organization. >> they are shooting out in to the interfear 90,000 messages a day. >> john carlin heads the justice department's security division and warns isis pruks are a new threat that every american family needs to be aware of. >> it is to millions of people across the globe. what they are trying to do is convince young people to go over

and ultimately slaughter civilians in a vicious war. >> reporter: skype, facebook twitter, twooet they tweet, isis is using every social media tool available. we sat down with social media and marketing expert scott talan of american university to analyze the message in the videos. >> this is sophisticated, madison avenue meets document tear film making meets news channel with pr sensibilities and a marketing value. they are using western tools and techniques and appropriating them for their purposes against the west. ♪ >> reporter: like those videos appealing to the hip hop generation. >> for those people on the edge this could have a lot of resonance. you are speaking to them in a language they understand, video, moving imagery and music. then this message comes in about we want you. people want to belong to tribes. this is saying join our tribe. they are using products from

american culture, video games, for their purposes that works for them. it is the reverse of our culture. where we say escape real life and play a game. they are saying escape your life and play a real game with real consequences where we are. >> reporter: the real consequence for many is death. hundreds of western fighters including a few americans have died on the battlefields of iraq and syria. isis tries to hide the darker side with messages like this one where they are checking on wounded comrades in the hospital. >> handsome young fighter, baseball cap on backwards. how could you not like this? he is not killing people. he is checking on people. >> reporter: another ploy isis adopted the use of children. in this video fighters hand out what looks to be cotton candy and ice cream to excited kids. but at the end of the video, a smiling fighter eating ice cream

is striking, even haunting. >> the strategy of using the children -- help me understand why would you do that? >> madison avenue uses it all the time. it touches empathy. it gets people to say aw it puts your defenses down. >> reporter: another tweet, you see young boys waving guns and chanting. >> it is disturbing but there's a reason children are used. the branded content. they are mixing graphics moving images, music, chants all together to persuade people that this is okay 0. >> reporter: of course for the children it is not okay. they are witness to unspeakable atrocities and slaughter. >> cheering shooting guns people want to be with winners. it doesn't matter what culture, what country or who you are. >> reporter: it is working. new alleged isis recruits in the u.s. are discovered with increasing frequency. in the last two years alone, 53 americans have been charged with trying to support isis or traveling to syria to join the

fight. according to john carlin in most cases there's a common thread. >> almost every one of these cases we have seen social media involved. before the advent of this new technology and the growth of social media how would you reach in to the basements and bedrooms of american homes. >> reporter: shannon connelly was 19 when she started an on-line relationship with isis. >> she was skyping with an isis fighter. >> that's right. we are seeing social media used by the terrorists the way it is used by those who use it for innocent purposes. >> reporter: in another case a 20-year-old alabama woman ran off last year to join isis in syria. she's believed to be still with isis. as the campaign so effective it's insidiously reaching in to the most unexpected corners. this u.s.-born air force vet is accused of trying to travel to syria to fight with isis. the fbi said it found 180 isis propaganda videos on his laptop. >> i absolutely felt like my son

was brainwashed. >> reporter: this woman says her son was recruited by isis in 2012 and used social media to plan his way to syria. >> i was desperate to get him home. i was frustrated. >> reporter: he never came home. damian was killed in 2014. >> i collapsed and started to shake. i had no idea how to tell my family. >> reporter: she started a non-profit to help other families and says that isis is selling a lie. >> they speak out to these disconnected youth and say, here you will belong. you will be one of us. >> reporter: sources acknowledge privately the u.s. government is struggling to meet this new threat. >> face it we invented the internet the social network sites. we have hollywood, the capabilities as mr. shake was saying to blow these guys out of the water from the standpoint of communications. >> reporter: officials from the highest level of government tell me they may need to recruit advertising experts to combat isis propaganda. >> when people know what this

group is really about and what it is really doing, killing enslaving, r raping and stealg, they are not going to want to join the group. >> reporter: but until the west can counter isis on-line, recruits are likely to keep pouring in to syria and to possibly threaten the homeland. the frightening thing, the on-line messaging campaign continues right now as the story airs. 90,000 jihadist postings in the next 24 hours. this is pierre thomas for "nightline" in washington. >>. next our exclusive one on one with mariah carey in vegas. why the diva says she is so excited to move on to the next chapter of her life. plus shaquille o'neal wipes out on live tv during tnt's inside the nba halftime show. and instantly becomes a viral sensation. the surprising ways in which this gentle giant is embracing a big new blast of internet fame.

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people. meme. mariah carey has plenty of number one hits 18 to be exact. she is bringing them to sin city for a big blowout show. michael strahan got a behind the scenes look and spoke to her about surviving the end of her marriage and starting life as a single mom. >> we can reveal you. >> this is hot. >> i'm just kidding, just kidding. ♪ that will be honey. ♪ like honey ♪ >> watch out sin city mariah's

not messin' around. >> everybody loves vegas. there's a new girl in town. you will see me walking around. >> reporter: treated like royalty at caesar's palace in vegas. mariah carey kicking off her next chapter with a larger than life vegas show and album mariah number one to infinity. >> this is inspired by you. so throw me on, touch my body. ♪ touch my body ♪ >> i'm coming back. throw me like that anytime you want. >> reporter: only we got the exclusive backstage pass. up close and personal like you have never seen her before. ♪ >> reporter: her show features all 18 of her number one singles. we want to take a trip down memory lane or a k. a, mariah lane. >> fantasy. >> one of my favorites. ♪ me and mariah ♪

>> reporter: i have been walking around saying that all the time. >> how does it go? >> reporter: me and mariah go back like pacifiers ♪ >> i need a love to give me. >> fun song. the video landed in a swamp in a hot air balloon. all so glamorous and landed in a swamp. >> reporter: mariah's new single "infinity" features the high ok taif notes she's famous for. >> you hit the high notes. >> wake up in the morning and do exercises. >> reporter: teach me an exercise. >> go. >> very good. >> one more see if i am good. >> let me hear your low notes ♪ ♪ >> yes.

>> reporter: need back up? >> yes. you can do low notes. >> reporter: i'm up for vegas. >> do some low notes on me. >> oh dear. >> i want to show mariah i can actually hit the high notes. is mariah taking it higher emotions ♪ i like the way you feel ♪ >> here's my tape. >> can you come on stage with me? will you come for one night. >> reporter: vegas is a new kapt chapter for mariah. her new single infinity and anthem for love loss her and nick cannon divorcing earlier this year ♪ close the door ♪ >> reporter: what's the inspiration behind the lyrics for you? >> like i said you have to express what you are feeling. it is moving forward. always moving thru the door. close the door lose a key, like leaving the past behind. in a nice way. and it comes back to who i am which has always been a positive person. keeping it positive.

you know? so that's really what it is. nothing too deep about it except that you have to love yourself first before anything. >> reporter: she also loves them babies as she calls them. on her facebook page mariah shares this video of her twins who just turned 4. ♪ happy birthday to you ♪ >> reporter: you set the bar for how to co-parent. you really have. what is your experiences taught you about that? >> eel like the most important thing is how the kids grow up. they are human beings and have to be treated as such. it is not just they are babies and don't know what is going on. yes, they document they are sensitive and will feel tension. for mef it is not how i deal with anything but how they wil feel after the day's over and going to sleep at night. you know what i mean? >> reporter: when they are with you, are they able to take this in as well.

>> monroe grabbed the mic the other day and wanted her own mic. she said mommy, i love microphones. >> rocky is musical too and loves music. >> reporter: on nick cannon's instagram, flynn of pictures of the family and mariah too. he said you are the hardest working woman in showbiz. >> it is even harder now. as a single mom they call me mommy, so we're not going to say mom because that's different but being mom and single is interesting because the nights are different. not like i'm going out to do this and that. on a rare occasion i will but much more about watching movies with the kids and having fun and reading stories or making up stories with them or playing with them when i have free time. >> reporter: backstage, she's giving me a sneak peek at the props, the shoes and the gowns. >> this is my quick change room. the quick change room. they sent this in. >> your outfits for the show.

>> we have all kind of designers. >> you have an outfit for each song? >> not each song. because there's a lot. >> reporter: four or five changes. >> yeah. >> should be happy i'm not doing a nail polish. when i did the first i had three nail polish changes. top that, divas. i don't want you to see the whole list. no reveal. can't. >> close encounter. >> only people in the show try to know the set list. don't ruin our show. she joins the long list of first name only icons that have started to call vegas home celine britney and shania to name a few have any of them reached out to give you advice? >> not at all. you kept it to themselves. how can you do this to me. i'm kidding. i didn't reach out to them. it should be me saying hey, how does this work? what do you think? my show will be different.

♪ i have a vision of love ♪ >> reporter: while vision of love may have been her first number one 25 years ago, something tells me there's plenty more number ones in store for miss mariah. i'm coming to see your show. >> will you promise me? >> reporter: absolutely. look for me. i will stand up and wave. i will be screaming, mariah! look at me. >> you have got it. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm michael traystrahan in las vegas. what's your favorite mariah carey song tweet us on "nightline." you know what they say about men with big feet? they trip a lot. how shaquille o'neal came out swinging after an epic fal fall on tnt's inside the nba halftime show. >> announcer: abc's "nightline" brought to you by progressive. and every day brian drives carefully to work,

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finally with a useful lesson for all of us on how to take a joke. after a less than graceful moment on live television the grace of the ensuing on-line mockery. >> it is the fall heard around the world. shaquille o'neal wiping out on live television during tnt's "inside the nba halftime show." the 7'1" former nba superstar going down after his size 22 shoe got caught on a cord. >> you set me up. >> what do you mean me? >> you set me up.

>> reporter: shaq making light of his less than graceful landing tweeting i almost broke my dam leg and dam i'm lum clumsy. the incident reminiscent from the famous fall from "curb your enthusiasm." >> oh my god. >> but now it's the memes taking center court. shaq himself getting in on the fun tweeting whoever makes the best meme wins $500 cash. go! shaq versus ali, going against m.j. even baby simba has sympathy for this guy. this video shaq's favorite so far. >> when you fall during the games it is the funniest thing i have ever seen in my life. [ laughter ] >> reporter: down may go shaq but up goes his social media presence. if you have made a shack meme and you want to vie for the $500 head to our "nightline" facebook

page and share it with us. thank you for watching abc news tonight. tune in to "gma" in the morning. we are on-line 24/7 at abcnews.com. thank you for watching and good night. i want you to sit down. we want to have a talk with all of you. the last time we had a sit-down talk you told us you were giving our dog away. ( mock crying ) "you gave my doggie away!" robert, now stop it this instant. okay. so we had a woerful time. no dogs there. marie: frank!

and the condo was just beautiful. the food was especially good. yeah, i had a steak so big i almost couldn't finish it. and then i did. great. see, that's why you guys should have a video camera. hey! you mother's talking.. no tv now. so on the drive home we started talking and, well, we... what is it, marie? we want to move there.