The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) reports weekly on the methods used by
extremists to exploit the Internet and social media platforms to recruit fol
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Extremist Content Online: Violent Extremist Content Found On Instagram,
TikTok, YouTube
(New York, N.Y.) — The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) reports weekly on the
methods used by extremists to exploit the Internet and social media platforms
to recruit followers and incite violence. Over the last week multiple pieces of
pro-ISIS, white supremacist, anti-Muslim, and antisemitic content were found on
Facebook-owned Instagram. Some had been viewed hundreds of times and even been
previously removed, only to be re-uploaded again.
Fascist and neo-Nazi content was found on both TikTok and YouTube. On TikTok,
an account posted violent footage from the Christchurch terrorist attack and on
YouTube, a podcast was located that promoted violent neo-Nazi accelerationism.
Finally, the ISIS-affiliated Amaq news released a new video purportedly showing
an attack on an Egyptian military armored vehicle and the pro-ISIS Electronic
Horizons Foundation urged their followers to use the open-sourced encrypted
Android app Briar.
Pro-ISIS, White Supremacist, anti-Muslim, and Antisemitic Content Located on
Instagram
The week of September 12 to September 18, CEP researchers continued to find
multiple pieces of pro-ISIS, white supremacist, anti-Muslim, and antisemitic
content on Facebook-owned Instagram, including content that directly advocated
for violence.
Three Instagram accounts were located that had uploaded clips from previously
released official ISIS videos. Clips from the three accounts were posted on
September 12, 2021, September 13, 2021, and July 31, 2021, and had 228 views,
242 views, and 137 views, respectively, on September 17. Two videos had ISIS
media logos displayed in the frame, while the logo was cropped out of the third
video. Two of the videos showed suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive
devices, including an attack on an armored convoy. The third video showed ISIS
fighters burning vehicles. A fourth account uploaded a pro-ISIS propaganda
photo on September 13, 2021, and had 18 likes on September 17. Two of the four
accounts were removed three days after they were reported. It is unclear why
two accounts were not removed despite posting ISIS propaganda.
Accounts were also located that posted white supremacist, neo-Nazi,
anti-Muslim, and antisemitic content. A tribute account to the Christchurch
terrorist was found, which uploaded several photos between May 12, 2021, to
August 23, 2021, glorifying the attacker. CEP also located a tribute video
containing a song to the Christchurch terrorist, uploaded on August 22. The
song advocated for violence against Muslims and included an image taken from
the attack video. The same account had also uploaded an antisemitic video that
urged violence against Jews. Researchers located two other accounts, one with
over 1,300 followers, which posted a propaganda video clip of a well-known
neo-Nazi propagandist, photos taken from official ISIS videos, antisemitic
photos, and glorification of the 2011 Oslo attacker. An Instagram account with
over 200 followers used the last post from the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue
shooter perpetrator as its bio. The content that CEP reported to Instagram was
not removed.
Accounts were located that promoted the Atomwaffen Division
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(AWD), including two profiles that used some variation of the group’s name as
their user ID and propaganda photos from the group as their account photo. A
different account posted a clip from a previously released AWD propaganda video
that called for violence and showed the use of firearms, which was uploaded on
August 8 and had 14 views on September 17. Another account uploaded a
compilation video that contained footage from various propaganda productions
made by the Atomwaffen Division, The Base, and other neo-Nazi groups and
individuals. The video was online for over one month had approximately 150
views on September 17. The same video had been located by CEP two times
previously and had been removed by the platform. Two of the four posts or
accounts reported to Instagram were removed three days later. The compilation
video remained online despite having been previously removed.
Atomwaffen Division propaganda video located on Instagram.
Extreme Right/White Supremacist Content, Including Content Praising
Christchurch Terrorist, Located on TikTok
CEP located numerous pieces of fascist or white supremacist content on TikTok,
including violent footage from the Christchurch terrorist attack. CEP
researchers found a TikTok account claiming to be affiliated with a Rise Above
Movement <[link removed]>
successor group that uploaded a propaganda video. A video was also located
that advertised an antisemitic ecofascist book being sold on Amazon. CEP
researchers also located three TikTok videos that glorified the Christchurch
attack.
All three videos included photos or artwork depicting the perpetrator of the
terrorist attack, and one video, which was added approximately a month and a
half ago, included violent footage taken from the attack video. TikTok’s Terms
of Service <[link removed]> prohibit
using the platform to “promote…violence or discrimination based on race, sex,
religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age.”
Extreme Right/Neo-Nazi Content Located on YouTube
CEP located a neo-Nazi podcast that promotes violence and a channel that
supports a French fascist group on YouTube. The podcast, which was uploaded to
the site on September 12, endorses violent neo-Nazi accelerationism. The
notorious American neo-Nazi James Mason
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guest on the show, and the hosts have advocated for their audience to be
“active participants in the destruction of society.” The podcast is uploaded to
YouTube as a private video, which means that users must acquire approval from
the uploader to view it. The YouTube podcast link was advertised on Telegram.
The channel belongs to a French-language Telegram account that promotes a
fascist street fighting group. The account has approximately 1,300 subscribers
and over 115,000 total views and was created in May 2020. Videos uploaded to
the channel include footage of French fascists fighting with anti-fascist
activists, extreme right-wing protests, content praising the Ukrainian Azov
regiment, and videos of individuals training in street fighting skills. The
Telegram account affiliated with the YouTube channel promotes European fascist
and white supremacist hooligan gangs, political parties, and violence against
LGBT people and anti-fascist activists.
ISIS Amaq Video Located on Multiple Websites
On September 13, ISIS-affiliated Amaq News released a video purporting to show
an attack with explosives against an Egyptian military armored vehicle.
Pro-ISIS propagandists spread the video via RocketChat, Matrix, Telegram, and
Hoop. The video was posted on at least ten additional websites but was only
available on three websites 24 hours later: File.Fm, the Internet Archive, and
the Siasky/Skynet decentralized platform.
Pro-ISIS Tech Group Urges Group’s Online Supporters to Use Open-Source
Encrypted Application
CEP researchers located a message and video released by the pro-ISIS tech and
cybersecurity group, Electronic Horizons Foundation (EHF) that urged their
followers to use the open-source encrypted Android app Briar. The group noted
that the decentralized nature of the app would prevent content from being
deleted and that it could be operated simultaneously with programs that
increase online anonymity. The video gave step-by-step instructions for
creating an account on the app, running it over the Tor network, and initiating
protected conversations with another person. The content was initially released
on September 11. EHF was created in 2016 to provide cybersecurity and web
technical assistance to ISIS supporters.
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