Extremist Content Online: Pro-ISIS Supporters Celebrate Paris Attack Suspect

(New York, N.Y.) — The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) reports weekly on the methods used by extremists to exploit the Internet and social media platforms to recruit followers and incite violence. CEP researchers located pro-ISIS TikTok users who spread propaganda celebrating the murder of one person and the injuring of two others in Paris by a man who pledged allegiance to ISIS. CEP also located a propaganda video on Telegram released by the neo-Nazi group, The Base, that called for the killing of African Americans and promoted a future “militant white training” event. Researchers also reported to the online fundraising platform GiveSendGo that a member of the antisemitic, far-right Goyim Defense League (GDL) had launched a fundraiser on the site to fund the group’s demonstrations and propaganda activities.

Additionally, the 30th issue of the web magazine Voice of Khorasan was released by the pro-ISIS al-Azaim Media Foundation. This edition issued condemnations of the governments of China and Pakistan and criticized the Taliban for failing to defend others in the religion, including the Uyghurs, Palestinians, and Rohingya.

Pro-ISIS Users Celebrate December 2 Paris Attack on TikTok

CEP researchers located four pro-ISIS TikTok accounts that celebrated the December 2 attack in Paris, where a man who had allegedly videotaped a pledge of allegiance to ISIS killed a man and injured two others using a hammer and a knife. The four TikTok users posted five videos in total that celebrated the attack. Four videos included the short video allegedly made by the assailant with added text praising him. One video included generic footage with a text description encouraging additional acts of violence.

Four videos were on TikTok for approximately 24 hours and had an average of 425 views before they were found on December 4. One video uploaded on December 4, had 171 views in just three hours. The four accounts had an average of 876 followers, ranging from 369 to 1,454. CEP reported the four accounts to TikTok.

CEP previously found similar content on TikTok celebrating the October 16 Brussels shooting.

“CEP continues to find pro-ISIS users on TikTok celebrating recent acts of ISIS-inspired violence and encouraging additional attacks,” said CEP researcher Joshua Fisher-Birch. “The platform has a responsibility to remove these and other accounts that promote terrorism.”

Neo-Nazi Group The Base Releases New Propaganda Video

On November 29, the neo-Nazi group The Base released a new 40-second propaganda video on Telegram in which a speaker says that African Americans should be killed and calls for recruits to join a future “militant white training” event. No date was provided for the event, but the video encouraged viewers to give the government “a reason to put you on the no fly list,” referencing the group’s founder, Rinaldo Nazzaro’s inclusion on the Department of Homeland Security’s “No Fly” list. The Base also released another video earlier in November, demanding that other white supremacists cease criticizing the group and calling for individuals to join and train with them.

Still from The Base propaganda video, released on Telegram on November 29. Screenshot taken on November 30.

Antisemitic Fundraiser for Goyim Defense League Propaganda Efforts Located on GiveSendGo

CEP researchers located a fundraiser on the crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo that claims it will help pay for printing supplies and gasoline for a Goyim Defense League member (GDL) member. The recipient of the fundraising campaign posted on Telegram that funds would be used for “our army of white men” planning a demonstration on behalf of the GDL founder. The fundraiser had received almost $300 in approximately two weeks.

A Gab account that appeared to belong to the owner of the fundraiser indicated membership in the GDL and posted white supremacist statements.

CEP reported the campaign to GiveSendGo on November 29 for violating their Terms of Use against campaigns “that promote hate, violence [or] racial intolerance” as well as GiveSendGo’s Community Guidelines that prohibit using the service to “promote…discrimination or hatred against individuals or groups based on race, ethnic origin, [or] religion.” The fundraiser was still active on December 4. A fundraiser for a GDL member on GiveSendGo that CEP reported to the platform on November 8 was also still active on December 4.

Pro-ISIS Al-Azaim Media Foundation Releases Issue 30 of Voice of Khorasan Web Magazine

The pro-ISIS al-Azaim Media Foundation released issue 30 of the web magazine Voice of Khorasan on November 19. The first article accused China of plundering Pakistan’s natural resources and condemned the country for its imprisonment and persecution of the Uyghurs. The article also criticized the government of Pakistan for not instituting religious law. The second article condemned other militant groups that later sought to promote their political agenda, stating that fighting against such groups from the beginning was necessary before they became involved in democratic politics. Other articles condemned both Israel and Hamas, criticized those deemed to be religious “modernizers,” and recounted the history of the Mamluk Sultan Baybars, who ruled Egypt and Syria. The final article accused the Taliban of abandoning the true religious path and allegedly adopting a nationalist position. The author stated that the Taliban had cast off their obligations to defend coreligionists from oppression, including the Uyghurs, Palestinians, and Rohingya, by declaring that fighting on the behalf of others outside of Afghanistan’s borders was not mandatory.

Like the previous issue, the web magazine included a crypto wallet address to donate Monero.

Image condemning the Taliban and Taliban-China relations from Voice of Khorasan issue 30. Screenshot taken on November 30.

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