Extremist Content Online: ISIS Propaganda Allegedly Helped Inspire New Orleans Attacker |
(New York, N.Y.) — The Counter Extremism Project’s (CEP) weekly report on the methods used by extremists and terrorist groups on the Internet to spread propaganda and incite violence returns. Last week, ISIS’s al-Naba newsletter, over a week after the attack, claimed that the terrorist group’s propaganda had inspired the man who murdered 14 people in a vehicle attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans on New Year’s Eve. On January 2, a regional white supremacist Active Club chapter posted a recruitment video on Telegram, encouraging joining the group following the New Orleans attack. JustPaste.It removed a 25-page guide to building and weaponizing quadcopter drones after CEP reported it. CEP researchers also located 20 pro-ISIS Instagram accounts in a search of Instagram, including an account that posted propaganda advocating lone-actor attacks during the holiday season. Both pro-ISIS and racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist (REMVE) online supporters posted memes, propaganda, and statements celebrating the Los Angeles-area wildfires. On X (formerly known as Twitter), CEP researchers located 15 videos that praised white supremacist mass shooters and included violent video footage. One account uploaded a violent clip from the March 15, 2019, Christchurch attack video, which had been modified using an artificial intelligence platform. CEP researchers located a Telegram bot allegedly belonging to a Canadian REMVE group that directed users to a Stripe page to pay for a monthly subscription. Also on Telegram, a REMVE Telegram channel that shares information on 3D-printed firearms referenced Luigi Mangione in a post sharing homemade firearms suppressors. Four Florida Active Clubs announced greater coordination and recruitment efforts in 2025, and a Texas chapter posted a video on Telegram of one of their members participating in an underground boxing match. An antisemitic Telegram channel encouraged their followers to share a propaganda video using the Bio.Link service to avoid URLs backlisted by mainstream social media companies. Chris Hood, the former leader of the neo-Nazi group Nationalist Social Club, launched a podcast where he emphasized the importance of focusing efforts on promoting anti-immigration messages. Lastly, a white supremacist Telegram channel posted a pirated version of the 2024 film The Order. ISIS Al-Naba Newsletter States the Group Inspired New Orleans Attacker, Notes Importance of Online Propaganda On January 9, ISIS noted in their weekly al-Naba newsletter that the group’s propaganda had inspired the New Year’s Eve attacker who killed 14 people and injured dozens when he drove a rented pickup truck through a crowd in New Orleans. The article praised ISIS propagandists, supporters, and translators as crucial to encouraging terrorist attacks and promoted future attacks during holidays and public events. The al-Naba section also referenced the attacker’s use of Meta glasses, noting that it was an example of using America’s technology against it. The article pointed out that the financial cost to carry out the attack was minimal. The week of January 6–10, online ISIS supporters also made posts noting the importance of spreading the group’s propaganda for inspiring attacks. |
ISIS al-Naba newsletter article acknowledging that the group’s propaganda had inspired the New Orleans New Year’s Eve attacker. Screenshot taken on January 9. Active Club Chapter Releases Recruitment Video After New Orleans Terrorist Attack On January 2, a Telegram channel belonging to an Active Club chapter in Tennessee released a recruitment video containing footage from the New Year’s Eve terrorist attack in New Orleans and the Las Vegas Tesla Cybertruck explosion. The video included clips of revelers running away from the New Orleans attacker’s vehicle. Accompanying text in the channel stated that individuals should be “stirred to activism” and that the attack negated excuses for not joining Active Clubs or similar groups. ISIS Online Guide for Making and Using Quadcopter Drones Removed from JustPaste.It On January 6, CEP researchers located a guide on JustPaste.It for using commercially available quadcopter drones made by the pro-ISIS online group al-Saqri Foundation. The 25-page manual included instructions for making quadcopter drones, including recommendations for parts and computer hardware, diagrams for wiring, and suggestions for how to outfit the drones with droppable explosives. Links to al-Saqri content on other platforms were also included. JustPaste.It removed the file approximately 30 minutes after CEP reported it. |
Al-Saqri drone guide. Screenshot taken on January 6. Pro-ISIS Accounts Located on Instagram In a sample of content located on Meta-owned Instagram on January 8, CEP researchers found 20 accounts that posted ISIS and pro-ISIS propaganda. Accounts posted clips from ISIS propaganda videos, Amaq claims of responsibility, propaganda photos, and pages from the al-Naba newsletter. One account made several posts in late December, sharing an image created by a pro-ISIS propaganda group that called for lone-actor attacks on public holiday celebrations. To avoid account removal, multiple accounts posted Amaq content, such as claims of responsibility or photos, using the Instagram Stories feature, which disappears after 24 hours. Two accounts, each with over 200 followers, also posted ISIS execution videos using the Stories feature. The 20 accounts averaged 431 followers, ranging between 20 and 3,310. CEP reported the 20 accounts to Instagram on January 8, but only two were removed by January 13. |
ISIS propaganda clip on Instagram. Screenshot taken on January 8. REMVE and Pro-ISIS Online Communities Celebrate Los Angeles Fires On January 8 and 9, REMVE and pro-ISIS online communities celebrated the greater Los Angeles area wildfires that devastated several communities. Several white supremacist Telegram channels noted with approval that “expensive Jewish neighborhoods” had been destroyed and that Hollywood studios were impacted. Multiple channels also shared a meme celebrating the burning of a Pasadena synagogue. The administrator of a neo-Nazi channel with over 2,000 subscribers connected to a podcast noted the fire with approval, stating that Los Angeles was filled with South Asians. Online ISIS supporters also noted the destruction with approval. Individuals on Telegram and RocketChat celebrated the fires, calling them divine punishment and comparing the devastation in Los Angeles to Gaza and that of previous ISIS held territory in Syria. Videos Glorifying White Supremacist Mass Shooters and Christchurch Attack Video Masked Using Runway AI Located on X On January 9, CEP researchers located 15 violent videos on X that glorified white supremacist mass shooters and contained footage from the Christchurch, Buffalo, or Halle attacks. One video consisting of a violent clip from the live-streamed Christchurch attack video, uploaded to X on January 5, 2025, had been modified using the Runway AI video program to turn various parts of the video— including a victim, a firearm, and vehicles—into the “Minions” character from the children’s movie series. The footage contained audio from the attack video, including the pleas for help from a woman before the Christchurch terrorist murdered her. The video had over 1,350 views on X when CEP researchers located it. Runway AI’s Terms of Use prohibit using the service to create violent content. Other content included violent clips from the Christchurch and Buffalo attack videos, footage from the 2019 Halle attack by a white supremacist and antisemitic gunman, and three uploads of clips from the Terrorgram “White Terror” propaganda video that celebrate various acts of violence. The 15 videos were uploaded between November 17, 2024, and January 9, 2025, and averaged 2,746 views, ranging between 47 and 11,600 for a video that included violent clips from both the Christchurch and Buffalo attacks. CEP reported the videos to relevant national authorities. Canadian REMVE Group Offering Subscription Service Using Telegram and Stripe The REMVE group Canadian Ultras, a rebranding of that country’s main Active Club chapter, offers a monthly subscription to content on Telegram, charging CAD $9.99 per month. The subscription uses a Telegram bot, which directs users to a checkout page using Stripe, where users can input a credit card. It is not clear if the recurring monthly subscription is a way of only sending the group money or if the user receives content from the white supremacist group in return. Approximately one year ago, a forum affiliated with the group praised the man who murdered four members of a Muslim family in London, Ontario, Canada. REMVE Telegram Channel Promotes Homemade Firearm Suppressors, Referencing Luigi Mangione On December 24, a REMVE Telegram channel promoted files for turning commercially available air cylinders into firearm suppressors using the phrase “Deny, Defend, Depose,” which Luigi Mangione allegedly wrote on shell casings. Mangione, who is on trial for the murder of health insurance executive Brian Thompson, notably used a suppressor on his 3D-printed handgun. The file was posted on Telegram and Odysee. A previous version of the Telegram channel, which CEP reported to the platform in 2022, had uploaded files for 3D printing handgun suppressors and rifle lower receivers. |
Downloadable files for making firearms suppressors on Telegram. Screenshot taken on January 7. Florida Active Clubs Announce Statewide Events and Training Initiatives for 2025 On January 8, four Florida Active Club chapters announced their intention to begin statewide events in 2025, “systematize” training among the different chapters, launch a recruitment drive, and add instruction in first aid and “marching” to the traditional list of training in boxing, jiu-jitsu, and other martial arts. The four chapters, which announced their intention to be “the premier white man’s training organization” in the state, represent Florida's northern, southern, central, and panhandle areas. Texas Active Club Posts Video of Member Participating in Underground Boxing Match On January 8, a Texas Active Club chapter posted a video of one of their boxing instructors participating in an underground fighting match. The post noted that the Active Club member’s opponent was African American, as were most spectators, noting the “unfriendly territory.” The post stated that the club member’s alleged victory was done “for the [white] race.” The Telegram channel had over 500 subscribers, but the video had almost 2,500 views and was shared by the main Active Club channel. While Active Clubs have held their own events for members and allies of the white supremacist movement, at least one member has participated in a pay-per-view match, and a member of a Central California chapter has participated in several amateur mixed martial arts competitions. Antisemitic Telegram Channel Creates Bio.Link Page to Avoid Social Media URL Bans On December 31, a Telegram channel that exists to publicize and share a notorious antisemitic propaganda video encouraged using a new link created using the Bio.Link web service to avoid URL bans on their website on mainstream social media sites such as Facebook and X. The post noted that the political division over H-1B visas in the U.S. offered an opportunity to spread the antisemitic video. The antisemitic video has previously been extensively promoted on X. In one instance, a tweet promoting the video received almost 900,000 views; in other cases, accounts posted the entire multipart video. CEP reported the account to Bio.Link on January 8 for violating their acceptable use policy prohibiting using the service to “promote violence or discrimination based on race, sex, religion, [or] nationality,” but it was still active on January 13. |
Telegram post promoting the Bio.Link URL for sharing a notorious antisemitic video on social media. Screenshot taken on January 9. Former Leader of Neo-Nazi Group NSC Launches Podcast, Announces Focus on Anti-Immigration Message Chris Hood, who claims to have stepped down from leading the New England neo-Nazi group Nationalist Social Club (NSC), released the first episode of a new podcast on January 3. In the recording, Hood emphasized the importance of focusing on anti-immigration issues and spoke approvingly of past NSC demonstrations, including ones against the Somali community in Maine, noting that it was necessary to put pressure on state governors to close migrant shelters. The group had previously held protests where masked individuals yelled xenophobic slogans outside of hotels housing immigrants, seeking to intimidate residents. Hood noted that it would be necessary for activists to continue to push for mass deportations before focusing on restricting legal immigration, urging that listeners get involved in local politics. White Supremacist Telegram Channel Posts Pirated Video of “The Order” Film On January 6, a white supremacist Telegram channel with over 11,000 subscribers posted a pirated version of the 2024 movie The Order. The film depicts the FBI investigation of the white supremacist terrorist group The Order, whose members participated in bank and armored-car robberies, counterfeiting, and the murder of Jewish radio host Alan Berg. The channel has shared content promoting neo-Nazism and antisemitism. ### |
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