The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) reports weekly on the methods used by
extremists and terrorist groups on the Internet to spread propaganda and incite
violence. Last week, CEP discovered new content on Instagram from a neo-fascist
affiliated jiu-jitsu team, which promoted its recent participation in a
competition in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. CEP researchers first reported the
group’s account in March, but the content remains on Instagram two and a half
months later.
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Extremist Content Online: Patriot Front Affiliated Jiu-Jitsu Team Advertises
Recent Tournament Participations
(New York, N.Y.) — The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) reports weekly on the
methods used by extremists and terrorist groups on the Internet to spread
propaganda and incite violence. Last week, CEP discovered new content on
Instagram from a neo-fascist affiliated jiu-jitsu team, which promoted its
recent participation in a competition in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. CEP
researchers first reported the group’s account in March, but the content
remains on Instagram two and a half months later.
CEP researchers also continued to find advertisements on extreme right
Telegram channels, including accounts affiliated with Patriot Front, Active
Clubs, and channels that promote antisemitism. Telegram claims that it shares
ad revenue with the administrators of the channels in which ads appear.
Additionally, the New England Minutemen, a new group likely affiliated with
the Nationalist Social Club (NSC), disseminated content on Telegram and
Twitter/X of the group holding an anti-immigration protest outside a National
Guard armory in Lexington, Massachusetts. CEP researchers also located 20
Instagram accounts posting official ISIS videos and pro-ISIS content, including
multiple accounts posting content using the app’s “stories” feature.
On ChirpWire, the media arm of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS)
posted a condemnation of the Pakistani military after two individuals were
killed during a protest in support of Gaza in Islamabad and called for
demonstrations outside of U.S. diplomatic facilities and for individuals to
join AQIS. Finally, CEP located a Twitter/X account linked to the French Active
Club chapter, which featured propaganda photos. Twitter/X removed a previous
account belonging to the same Active Club chapter after CEP reported it in
February.
Patriot Front Affiliated Jiu-Jitsu Team Advertises Recent Tournament
Participation
On May 20, a jiu-jitsu team affiliated with the neo-fascist group Patriot Front
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advertised their recent participation in a mainstream competition in Myrtle
Beach, South Carolina. Photos from the match include individuals who have
previously posed with Patriot Front flags and have advertised their affiliation
with regional Patriot Front chapters. While the team wears patches that use
fonts and imagery associated with Patriot Front, they appear to hide their
affiliation when competing in mainstream events. While Patriot Front uses
Americana-style imagery, the group promotes antisemitism, anti-LGBTQ sentiment,
and racism and has been linked to the Active Club movement.
Earlier in May, the jiu-jitsu team posted photos of their participation at an
Active Club fight night tournament held inTexas
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in early March. CEP first located the team's social media accounts inMarch
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. CEP reported an Instagram account belonging to the group on March 7, but it
was still on the website two and a half months later.
“Social media companies have an important role in preventing extremist groups
or affiliated entities from trying to mainstream their ideology,” said CEP
Researcher Joshua Fisher-Birch. “An Instagram account makes it easier for this
Patriot Front-affiliated group to network and spread propaganda. Meta-owned
Instagram should act swiftly to remove this content, as well as other white
supremacist propaganda efforts on the app.”
CEP Continues to Find Advertisements on White Supremacist, Fascist, and
Antisemitic Telegram Channels
CEP researchers continue to find ads in white supremacist and antisemitic
Telegram channels. CEP located nine channels with advertisements between May 21
and May 23. Telegram channels, in order of subscribers, included the main
Patriot Front
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channel, with over 18,500 subscribers; a white supremacist media channel with
over 15,000 followers; a channel with over 11,500 subscribers that promotes an
approximately 12-hour antisemitic propaganda video that glorifies Nazi Germany
and denies the Holocaust; a media propaganda group affiliated with the Active
Club movement which has over 7,300 subscribers; a channel with over 5,500
subscribers that posts Patriot Front propaganda; and the main Telegram channel
for theActive Club
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movement in Denmark, which has over 1,200 subscribers.
Three additional white supremacist and antisemitic channels with ads had over
4,800, 1,600, and 1,300 subscribers, respectively.
CEP has located other Telegram channels with advertisements in May, including
themain
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French Active Club channel, aprominent
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neo-Nazi channel with over 22,000 subscribers, and multiple channels that
spread antisemitic propaganda.
On March 31, Telegram began an advertising program with administrators that
shares “50% of the revenue from ads displayed in their channels.”
Advertisement on a Patriot Front affiliated Telegram channel with over 5,500
subscribers. Screenshot taken on May 23.
New England Neo-Nazi Offshoot Group Opens Social Media Channels
On May 18, a group calling themselves the New England Minutemen began posting
on a Telegram channel and advertising an associated Twitter/X account and
Proton Mail email address. Photos posted on the group’s Telegram channel showed
the group protesting outside of a National Guard armory in Lexington,
Massachusetts, claiming that the facility was being used to house immigrants.
The flag used by the group is identical to a banner used by the neo-Nazi group
Nationalist Social Club
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(NSC), and the groups share the same flash mob style tactics and similar
uniforms. NSC promoted New England Minutemen channels on Telegram. NSC is
currently being sued by the attorney generals ofMassachusetts
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andNew Hampshire
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civil rights violations. The Massachusetts suit explicitly alleges that NSC has
targeted facilities being used to house immigrants, in addition to seeking to
intimidate the attendees and performers at drag events.
The Minutemen group is allegedly a recent creation and is unaffiliated with
previous
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groups using the same name.
Pro-ISIS Accounts Located on Instagram
In a sample of content located on Meta-owned Instagram on May 22, CEP
researchers found 20 accounts that posted ISIS or pro-ISIS propaganda. Content
included clips from official ISIS videos, pro-ISIS videos, links to ISIS
content on other websites, pages from the group’s al-Naba newsletter, and Amaq
statements, photos, and videos. Multiple accounts posted content using the
app’s “stories” feature. At least two accounts, one with almost 1,400
followers, posted execution videos in addition to other ISIS content.
The 20 accounts had an average of 923 followers, ranging from 67 to 7,697.
Eighty percent of the accounts had posted content in May. CEP reported all
accounts to Instagram on May 22, and four accounts were removed by May 28.
Amaq video on Instagram. Screenshot taken on May 23.
Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent Condemns Killing of Protestors and Calls
for Demonstrations Outside of U.S. Diplomatic Facilities
On May 21, the media arm of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent
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(AQIS) released a communique on ChirpWire condemning the killing of two
individuals by the Pakistani military during a protest in support of Gaza in
Islamabad and calling for demonstrations in front of U.S. diplomatic
facilities. The post noted that two people were killed and four were injured
when they were hit by an army vehicle. The message condemned Pakistani military
leaders as pawns of the U.S. and de-facto supporters of Israel. The post
further called for individuals to join AQIS or otherwise support the group
financially or through propaganda efforts and called for organized and
coordinated protests outside of U.S. embassies and consulates throughout the
world.
French Active Club Evades Twitter/X Removal
On May 22, CEP located a Twitter/X account belonging to the main French Active
Club chapter. The profile made its first post on May 17 and includes propaganda
photos and a recruitment email address. The previous French Active Club
Twitter/X account was removed for violating the site’s rules after CEP reported
it to the platform in February. CEP reported the new account on May 22, but it
was still on the website on May 28.
Post on Twitter/X announcing the return of the French Active Club to the
platform. Screenshot taken on May 23.
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