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Extremist Content Online: CEP Continues to Find Content Glorifying White Supremacist Mass Shooters on TikTok, ISIS Propaganda on Instagram

(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 researchers found eight accounts on TikTok that glorified white supremacist mass shooters, including the perpetrators of the March 15, 2019, Christchurch terrorist attack and the May 14, 2022, Buffalo attack. Certain video features, such as tint and outline effects, were modified in the uploaded content.

On Instagram, CEP located 14 accounts that posted ISIS and pro-ISIS content, including clips from propaganda videos, pages from the group’s weekly newsletter, and recently released text statements. On April 9, the pro-ISIS tech group Qimam Electronic Foundation released a guide on artificial intelligence (AI) apps and programs, which addressed chatbots and image generators and the risks associated with AI. Earlier in the week, a pro-ISIS Telegram channel focused on tech and privacy issues endorsed five cloud storage services.

On Telegram, a Texas chapter of the white supremacist Active Club movement sought to recruit following the killing of a high school student by a classmate. On April 3, The Ohio Active Club chapter rebranded as the Ohio Nationalist Network, announcing that the Active Club model could be improved. On X (formerly Twitter), Christopher Pohlhaus, the leader of the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe, created a new account after his previous X account was suspended.

Content Promoting White Supremacist Shooters Located on TikTok

In a sample of content on TikTok located on April 8, CEP researchers found eight accounts that promoted white supremacist mass shooters. Uploaded content included clips from the livestreamed March 15, 2019, Christchurch terrorist attack, with specific video characteristics modified, such as changing the tint, blurring specific footage, or only showing the outlines of people and objects. Three additional accounts posted content glorifying the Christchurch attacker or the May 2022 Buffalo attacker. CEP reported accounts to relevant national authorities and TikTok. Three accounts reported to TikTok on April 10 were still on the platform on April 14.

Pro-ISIS Content Located on Instagram

In a sample of content located on April 9, CEP researchers identified 14 accounts on Meta-owned Instagram that posted ISIS and pro-ISIS propaganda. Content included clips from official ISIS propaganda videos, a link to a pro-ISIS Telegram channel, pages of the ISIS al-Naba newsletter, and recently released Amaq and Nashir statements and photos.

The 14 accounts had an average of 1,426 followers, ranging from 142 to 5,343. CEP reported the 14 accounts to Instagram on April 9. All 14 accounts were still on the platform on April 14.

A clip from the ISIS video “Inside the Caliphate 8,” originally released on October 30, 2018, lists how ISIS online supporters should behave. Screenshot taken on April 9.

Pro-ISIS Tech Group Posts Guide for Using Online Artificial Intelligence Tools

On April 9, the pro-ISIS tech group Qimam Electronic Foundation (QEF) posted a guide for using online artificial intelligence tools. The guide was posted on PasteThis.To and spread via RocketChat. Unlike some QEF content, which has been made explicitly for a pro-ISIS audience, this guide appeared to be written for a general audience and did not contain any references to ISIS or the group’s online supporters. The post included lists of commonly used AI applications, such as chatbots and image generators, and more specialized apps and platforms, such as machine learning tools, and how the healthcare sector uses AI. The guide also listed hazards associated with AI, such as algorithmic bias, privacy concerns, and security risks. On February 10, a pro-ISIS Telegram channel warned subscribers to avoid AI chatbots due to privacy concerns.

Image from Qimam Electronic Foundation guide. Screenshot taken on April 10.

Pro-ISIS Tech Telegram Channel Recommends Cloud Storage Services

On April 5, a pro-ISIS Telegram channel focused on tech and privacy issues recommended five cloud storage services: Proton Drive, Nordlocker, Internxt, Mega, and Sync.com. The message recommended using services that include encryption and noted the storage size offered by each service for free accounts. The post also stated that storing content in the cloud and avoiding local storage was important.

Texas Active Club Releases Recruitment Message After Killing of High School Student

A Texas-based chapter of the white supremacist Active Club movement released a message on Telegram seeking recruits following the fatal stabbing of a white Frisco, Texas, high school student allegedly by a Black student. Karmelo Anthony, 17, has been charged with the murder of Austin Metcalf, also 17, at a track meet. On Telegram, the Active Club chapter, which claims to have members in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin areas, called for white men to join the group to train in combat sports.

Several other extreme right groups, including other Active Club chapters, Patriot Front, and the neo-Nazi skinhead gang Vinlanders Social Club, have made similar statements in the aftermath of Metcalf’s death.

Ohio Active Club Rebrands as Ohio Nationalist Network

On April 3, the Ohio chapter of the white supremacist Active Club movement rebranded as the Ohio Nationalist Network. In a Telegram post, the group noted that Active Clubs were not an end in themselves but a foundation for creating further groups or movements and that it was necessary to combine combat sports with activism, outreach, and community engagement to break “the chains of Jewish power that shackle our race.” Additional posts highlighted the group’s participation in flood relief efforts in West Virginia, hiking, and boxing, and shared an account to contact for recruitment purposes.

Head of Neo-Nazi Group Recreates X Account After Removal

Christopher Pohlhaus, the leader of the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe, created a new X account on April 5 and then again on April 15 after two old profiles were suspended from the platform. On April 9, Pohlhaus made a post glorifying Dylann Roof, the white supremacist who murdered nine African Americans at a Charleston, South Carolina, church. On January 13, Pohlhaus had used an earlier account to encourage the harassment of a federal judge, telling his followers to make sure she received “all the pressure she deserves and more” after she ruled against the neo-fascist group Patriot Front in a civil suit regarding the beating of a Black man in Boston.

The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) is a nonprofit and non-partisan international policy organization working to combat the growing threat posed by extremist ideologies.

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