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(New York, N.Y.) — The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) reports on the methods used by extremists and terrorist groups on the Internet to spread propaganda and incite violence. Last week and the week before, the pro-ISIS online community noted the October 2 Yom Kippur attack on a synagogue in Manchester, UK. On October 8, a pro-ISIS Telegram channel pointed out that the attacker had pledged his allegiance to the terrorist organization, repeating information that the British police had made public. The October 9 ISIS newsletter did not mention the attack.
On October 7, CEP researchers located 20 accounts on TikTok that posted pro-ISIS content, including a video glorifying vehicular suicide attackers that received over 60,000 views. The pro-ISIS tech group Electronic Horizons Foundation (EHF) posted advice for using the Tor Browser.
On Instagram, CEP researchers located an account with over 31,000 followers that posted a large quantity of antisemitic content, including a video accusing Israel of assassinating the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, which received over 3.1 million views. In the week after CEP reported the account, it had received approximately 4,000 new followers and posted antisemitic AI-generated videos using the Sora AI app.
On October 3, a Telegram channel affiliated with the white supremacist Active Club movement in Sweden posted a video that showed their members using a rifle and a shotgun at a firing range. The video was posted shortly after alleged members of a German chapter of the movement were reportedly arrested for posing with firearms in social media posts. Elsewhere on Telegram, white supremacist and neo-Nazi channels celebrated the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks, and several other channels lauded the FBI cutting ties with the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Finally, CEP researchers reported a YouTube account connected to a member of the antisemitic provocateur group the Goyim Defense League that had posted videos.
Pro-ISIS Online Community Notes Manchester Synagogue Attack; No Mention of Attack in October 9 ISIS Newsletter
Members of the pro-ISIS online community noted the October 2 Yom Kippur attack on a Manchester area synagogue by an individual who used a knife and a vehicle as a weapon, leading to the deaths of two people and three injuries. On October 8, British police confirmed that the attacker, Jihad Al-Shamie, had called an emergency phone line to claim credit for the attack and pledge his allegiance to ISIS.
Pro-ISIS users on RocketChat noted the attack on October 2 and 3, with one user advising others to wait for an official ISIS acknowledgement or claim of responsibility before celebrating the perpetrator. A pro-ISIS Telegram channel posted available news photos of the attack on October 2. The same channel noted on October 8 that the attacker had “dedicated” the attack to ISIS.
Issue 516 of ISIS’s weekly al-Naba newsletter, released on October 9, did not include a mention of the attack. An earlier editorial in the September 18 al-Naba release called for attacks on Jews to avenge those killed by Israel in Gaza. The article noted that this was especially important in Europe, specifically noting the United Kingdom, Belgium, and France.
Pro-ISIS Content Located on TikTok
In a sample of content located on TikTok on October 7, CEP researchers located 20 accounts that posted ISIS and pro-ISIS content. Accounts posted Amaq news updates and propaganda photos, clips from ISIS and unofficial pro-ISIS videos, ISIS audio material, and pages from the group’s weekly al-Naba newsletter.
One account, which had almost 3,000 followers, posted a video glorifying ISIS vehicular suicide attackers and contained footage from official ISIS propaganda videos. The video, which was uploaded to TikTok in July, had over 61,000 views when it was found on October 7.
The 20 accounts had an average of 858 followers, ranging from 7 to 2,942. CEP researchers reported all 20 accounts to TikTok on October 7. As of October 14, 16 accounts were still on the platform.
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