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Some Kent State University students got a quick look Thursday at a tweet sent out by the Islamic State

(Karen Farkas/The Plain Dealer)

KENT, Ohio -- Shortly before noon Thursday, people attending a media ethics workshop at Kent State University got a quick peek at the latest message that the Islamic State released to the world.

The KSU conference apparently was targeted because Twitter activity at the session was so high. The New York Times reported this evening that whatever group sent out the tweets had latched onto hashtags that were trending at the time. The Times said among other hashtags co-opted throughout the world were those associated with the Scotland independence referendum.

"The feed was there, then it was gone," said Thor Wasbotten, director of KSU's School of Journalism and Mass Communication. As happens in the Twitter world, the ISIS tweet was quickly replaced by the next comment offered up by either a person at the conference or someone monitoring the event away from campus.

Wasbotten said the word "ISIS" could be seen on the screen along with a tiny URL that gave a link to what turned out to be a video from the militant group. Wasbotten said he has not looked at the video, but various media reports said it contains a more than three-minute statement from John Cantlie, a British journalist being held captive by the Islamic State.

The Times reported that Cantlie, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, called the United States' building military commitment against the Islamic State foolhardy as it follows the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

ISIS has released videos in recent weeks showing the beheading of two American journalists and a British aid worker. The Times said Cantlie was captured in Syria in late 2012 while riding in a car with James Foley, one of the Americans that was decapitated.

Wasbotten said about 150 people, the majority of them students, were in a Franklin Hall auditorium at KSU listening to a seminar on data and privacy when the tweet came on one of three large screens set up behind the speakers. One of the screens was devoted to tweets being sent out about the session.

Wasbotten said the reaction of those who saw the tweet was not one of fear, rather something like, "Wasn't that interesting."

He said the the Twitter activity during the 10th annual Poynter KSU workshop had been substantial, so it was not surprising the hashtag was chosen for the message. "Whoever put it up there had the ability to take in all the trending hashtags," he said.