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Extremist Content Online: Pro-ISIS RocketChat User Posts Alleged AI Conversation Regarding Explosives Use; White Supremacist Youth Club Propaganda Includes Audio From Notorious National Action Video
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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, CEP researchers found a conversation in a pro-ISIS chatroom, where an individual claimed to have used an AI program to ask the quantity of explosives necessary for a terrorist attack. The same user claimed that using a paid version of the same AI could yield instructions for making explosives. CEP researchers were unable to confirm this in a test of the same AI platform.
In the group’s al-Naba newsletter, ISIS condemned both the Syrian transitional government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Defense Forces. Between January 11 and January 17, ISIS claimed credit for five attacks.
CEP researchers located multiple accounts on X that posted content including violent footage from white supremacist terrorist attacks, and the promotion of neo-Nazi accelerationist groups, antisemitism, and the glorification of individuals who had committed antisemitic attacks. Only one of the 12 accounts CEP reported to the platform on January 15 had been removed by January 20.
On January 10, a white supremacist Youth Club-affiliated Telegram account released a video that contained audio from a notorious propaganda video released in November 2016 from the banned neo-Nazi group National Action. The video was shared by multiple Youth Club channels, including two channels in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
On January 14, Active Club and Patriot Front channels claimed that members from both groups took part in demonstrating against the construction of a mosque in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. On January 10, an Active Club-affiliated propaganda channel released a trailer for a recently held Pennsylvania combat sports event.
A user in an extreme-right cryptocurrency chat asked how to acquire the privacy coin Monero while avoiding know-your-customer (KYC) requirements.
Finally, the Australian group, the National Socialist Movement (NSN), announced that it was disbanding due to a new Australian law that would expose its members to potential prosecution. The group’s leader, Thomas Sewell, also launched a fundraiser on the GiveSendGo platform to challenge the law in court, reaching nearly over 135% of the target fundraising goal within six days.
Pro-ISIS RocketChat User Posts Alleged AI Conversation Regarding Explosives Use
CEP researchers located a conversation in a pro-ISIS chatroom on RocketChat consisting of an individual allegedly asking the Uncensored AI platform about the quantity of explosives necessary to destroy “Trump Tower in the U.S.” The user specifically appeared to have asked what amount of the explosive TATP would be required, as well as secondary explosives, and the number of gas cylinders to destroy the building. The AI post noted the building’s structural composition, the impact of shrapnel, and the need to create a high-intensity blast wave. The poster pointed out that the amount of TATP required for the scenario would be impossible to synthesize, but that it could be combined with other explosives.
The same user claimed that Uncensored AI, paid for with cryptocurrency, could provide instructions for “how to make any explosive on demand.” CEP researchers were unsuccessful in an attempt to ask the same platform for step-by-step instructions on explosives during a test using the free version on January 12.
ISIS Newsletter Editorial Notes Fighting Between the Syrian Transitional Government and the Syrian Defense Forces
The editorial in al-Naba issue 530, released on January 15, condemned the Kurdish-led Syrian Defense Forces (SDF) and noted recent fighting between the SDF and the Syrian transitional government in Aleppo, referring to both factions as “American pawns.” The article stated that while many different factions within Syria celebrated the SDF’s taking of Baghuz and ISIS’s loss of territory in the region in 2019, the government of Ahmed al-Sharaa and the Syrian government-aligned media had turned against the SDF. The article further stated that ISIS has consistently opposed the Kurdish-led force and that Israel has used Kurdish independence claims to weaken states in the Middle East through the promotion of Kurdish separatism. The editorial concluded by calling for the imposition of religious law and opposing nationalism.
On January 18, the Syrian transitional government announced that it had signed a ceasefire with the SDF. In addition to halting fighting, the agreement included provisions for including the SDF in the Syrian armed forces and government. Significant clashes between the two parties continued after the January 18 ceasefire agreement.
Roundup of Claimed ISIS Attacks
Between January 11 and January 17, ISIS claimed credit for five attacks: three in Nigeria, one in Niger, and one in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Al-Nabaa issue 530, released on January 15, included an infographic celebrating ISIS’s claimed attacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the past two months. The section noted that there had been 31 attacks in total, resulting in the killing or wounding of 178 people. Al-Nabaa said that 46 of those killed or wounded were soldiers, or affiliated with the security services, and that 132 were allegedly “Christian subjects.” ISIS took credit for destroying 80 homes and seven military barracks.
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Infographic celebrating ISIS attacks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Footage from White Supremacist Terrorist Attacks, Antisemitic, Neo-Nazi, Accelerationist Content Located on X
In a sample of content located on X on January 14, CEP researchers found 16 accounts that posted antisemitic content, content promoting neo-Nazi groups, violent footage from white supremacist mass shootings, and content endorsing the Order of Nine Angles (O9A) or similar neo-Nazi Satanic movements.
Researchers located six different uploads that included violent footage from the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack, or the May 2022 Buffalo attack. An approximately 35-second video from the Buffalo attack, which contained extreme violence, had over 3,500 views on X nine days after it was uploaded. Another post, made by a verified account on January 11, included over six minutes of violent footage from the Christchurch attack, as well as accompanying text praising the gunman and his murder of 51 people at two mosques. The video had almost 800 views four days after it was uploaded. Other accounts posted content glorifying white supremacist mass shooters.
Additional content included photos and videos, either created by the Atomwaffen Division (AWD) or remixes of the group’s propaganda. Several users posted additional neo-Nazi content, including a video compilation of propaganda from accelerationist groups, including AWD and The Base, which received over 15,000 views on X approximately a month after a verified account uploaded it. One account made posts endorsing violence as well as recruitment information for a neo-Nazi accelerationist group.
Antisemitic content included a post on January 12 that had over 2,800 views three days later, praising Stephen Spencer Pittman, the man accused of setting fire to Mississippi’s largest synagogue on January 11. Two other users praised the perpetrator of the October 27, 2018, Pittsburgh synagogue attack, who murdered 11 people and injured seven others.
Additional posts located on January 14 included posts supporting or glorifying O9A and the U.S. based Temple ov Blood, which included violent or gory imagery.
The 16 accounts averaged 433 followers, ranging from 76 to 2,307.
CEP researchers reported 12 accounts and 18 specific posts to X on January 14. Four accounts and six specific posts were also sent to relevant national-level authorities. As of January 20, only one account that CEP had directly reported to X had been removed. The platform removed one post where the user stated that they were “ready to kill, rape, and die” on behalf of a neo-Nazi accelerationist movement leader, but X did not remove the account. Posts that glorified the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter, neo-Nazi accelerationist groups, and promoted antisemitic slurs and tropes were not removed.
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A compilation video on X containing propaganda from various accelerationist and neo-Nazi groups. Screenshot taken on January 15.
Youth Club Propaganda Includes Audio From Notorious National Action Video
On January 10, a Telegram channel affiliated with the white supremacist Youth Club movement posted a video containing compilation footage of the movement’s propaganda set to Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and containing audio from a notorious video released by the British neo-Nazi group National Action. National Action was proscribed as a terrorist organization in December 2016. The footage shows Youth Club members giving Nazi salutes, sparring, and hiking, and includes antisemitic flyers and images as well as propaganda from the Active Club movement. The video contained redacted photos of alleged Youth Club members from the Great Britain and Northern Ireland chapters.
The original post of the video had 1,100 views on Telegram five days after it was posted, and was shared 30 times, including by the two Youth Club chapters in England and Northern Ireland.
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Image from white supremacist Youth Club propaganda video released on January 10. Screenshot taken on January 19.
Patriot Front and Oklahoma Active Club Chapter Note Anti-Muslim Activity
In posts on January 14, Patriot Front and an Oklahoma Active Club chapter noted that the groups had distributed “flyers, [and] engage[d] in conversation with supportive citizens” to oppose the construction of a mosque in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. On January 12, the town council denied a zoning permit for the proposed mosque. Photos posted by both groups on Telegram showed nine individuals posing with an “Appeal to Heaven” flag and a Betsy Ross flag, but not wearing any patches, logos, or other gear that identified their affiliation with Patriot Front or the Active Club movement.
A second post from the Active Club chapter noted that the group, along with individuals from Broken Arrow, prevented the issuance of a permit by organizing and demonstrating “determination.” The Oklahoma Active Club post was shared by one of the main Active Club Telegram channels.
Active Club Affiliated Propaganda Group Releases Trailer for Recent Pennsylvania Event
On January 10, a propaganda group affiliated with the Active Club movement released a seven-second trailer advertising a recent event held in Pennsylvania. According to the Pennsylvania Active Club chapter, events included MMA, jiu-jitsu, boxing, and powerlifting. In a January 1 message, Active Club founder Robert Rundo noted that one of the movement’s 2026 goals was to host more in-person private events.
User in Extreme Right Telegram Chat Asks About Evading KYC for Monero Purchase
On January 9, a user in a right-wing Telegram chat asked how to obtain the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Monero while avoiding know-your-customer (KYC) requirements. Another user suggested a decentralized Bitcoin exchange, which would require exchanging Bitcoin for Monero. Users of the chat have previously posted antisemitic and white supremacist memes and content.
National Socialist Movement Announces Disbandment Due to Australian Laws, Announces Fundraising Drive to Challenge Ban
In a widely shared post on extreme right Telegram on January 12, the Australian neo-Nazi group National Socialist Network (NSN) announced that they and their affiliated projects White Australia, the European Australian Movement and the White Australia Party, were disbanding on 11:59 PM, January 18, in response to a new law that grants the head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization the power to begin the process of proscribing domestic organizations as hate groups. Once a group is proscribed, individuals would violate the law if they joined, trained with, or provided support for them.
In a Telegram post that received over 42,000 views within three days, NSN noted that their organization would be banned under the new law and that dissolving the group and its associated entities was the only way to prevent their members from facing prison sentences. It is unclear whether members of the disbanded groups planned to create new decentralized groups or clandestine entities.
On January 14, NSN leader Thomas Sewell announced a fundraising effort on GiveSendGo to challenge the new law in court. Within 24 hours, the fundraiser had raised over 81,000 Australian dollars (AUD) toward a goal of AUD 100,000. Six days later, the fundraiser had surpassed the goal, raising over AUD 135,000. Individuals who donated on the site identified themselves as being from Australia, New Zealand, the U.S., Canada, Poland, Romania, Finland, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Italy, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden.
Dozens of extreme right Telegram channels shared the disbanding message, the fundraising message, or both. A Toronto Active Club-affiliated channel noted that Sewell was one of the most influential members of the 21st-century white supremacist movement and asked their supporters to donate. An Ohio white supremacist group, formerly affiliated with the Active Club movement, noted that they had “always been inspired by NSN,” and the Telegram admin claimed that “I personally would have never gotten involved irl [in real life] if it wasn’t for Thomas [Sewell].”
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Learn about CEP’s new Auschwitz Research Center on Hate, Extremism and Radicalization (ARCHER) at House 88, the former home of the concentration camp commandant Rudolf Höss, and how to support this important effort here. | | | | | | |  | |
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