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: Steam Found To Be Hosting Years-Old Extreme Right
Group Pages  

 

(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. This week, multiple extreme right and
white supremacist pages, some of which have been up for years, were identified
on the gaming platform and social network Steam. These findings are one example
of how the extreme right uses gaming platforms to network, recruit, and spread
propaganda.

 

Additionally, an ISIS Amaq video was uploaded showing the burning of Congolese
military facility on RocketChat and Element. Issue 21 of Voice of Hind was
released online. A pro-ISIS video was located on TikTok that featured German
ISIS member Denis Cuspert. Also, a Rise Above Movement affiliated media project
was found to be using the fundraising website Buy Me A Coffee. Lastly, CEP
researchers found over a dozen examples of content on the GIF website Gfycat
that promoted white supremacism or anti-Muslim or antisemitic sentiment.

 

White Supremacist, Fascist, Extreme Right Group Pages Located on Steam

 

The week of October 9 to October 16, CEP located multiple examples of group
pages on the gaming platform and social network Steam that promoted white
supremacism, fascism, or the extreme right. Pages included a Steam group
dedicated to the UK and Ireland chapter ofGeneration Identity
<[link removed]>, which had 110
members and had been on the site for approximately three years. The page
included statements regarding the group’s ideology, slogans, and links to their
website. CEP also located a page that promoted Generation Identity in
continental Europe. A Steam page was also found that supported the anti-Muslim
German political party Alternative für Deutschland
<[link removed]>, which
had almost 400 members, and was on the site for over five years.

 

Other examples included a group page using the name of a prominent white
supremacist clothing brand, which had 34 members, a group dedicated to German
white supremacist music, which had over 125 members and was on the site for
over four years, a group dedicated to a notorious neo-Nazi musician, with over
190 members, which had been on the site for approximately six and a half years,
and a group with 21 members dedicated to the ideology of national socialism.
CEP also located a group page dedicated to an antisemitic conspiracy theory
that alleges that Jews are not human beings, which had almost 70 members and
was on the site for approximately three and a half years.

 

Voice of Hind Issue 21 Released

 

On October 15, the twenty-first issue of the pro-ISIS web magazine “Voice of
Hind” was released on multiple websites. The issue contained an article
condemning the Taliban, stating that the group became puppets of the West and
Iran. The same article celebrated recent ISIS attacks in Afghanistan, deemed
necessary for the group to theologically triumph. The magazine also included an
essay that condemned separatist groups in Kashmir for not subscribing to the
same religious ideology as ISIS and an essay by the terrorist group’s former
chief religious advisor, Turki al-Binali
<[link removed]>. The issue also
contained an article celebrating twenty previously released versions of Voice
of Hind, providing a link to all previously released issues of the web magazine
on MediaFire, which were removed after CEP reported it to the file hosting site.

 

The web magazine was spread on Telegram, Hoop, and Element, and uploaded to at
least six other websites. Three days after it was originally released, the
magazine available on three websites: the Internet Archive, File.Fm, and the
Telegram file sharing service Tlgur.com

 

ISIS Amaq Video Located on Multiple Websites

 

On October 12, ISIS-affiliated Amaq News released a video allegedly showing
the burning of a Congolese military facility by ISIS-affiliated Allied
Democratic Forces in the province of Ituri. The video and external links were
posted on RocketChat and Element. Links to the video were posted on at least
nine websites. Approximately 48 hours later, the video was only available on
two websites in addition to RocketChat and Element: the Internet Archive and
Gofile.io.

ISIS-affiliated Amaq News video on Gofile.Io approximately 48 hours after it
was uploaded.

 

Pro-ISIS Video Located on TikTok

 

CEP researchers located a pro-ISIS
<[link removed]> video on TikTok featuring the
German ISIS member Denis Cuspert, a.k.a Abu Talha al-Almani. The video included
a German nasheed and had 19 likes and three shares after being online for eight
days.

 

Media Project Linked to Rise Above Movement Founder Fundraising on Buy Me A
Coffee

 

On October 12, CEP located a fundraising page on the website Buy Me A Coffee
for a media project created and operated by the American white supremacist Rob
Rundo, the co-founder of the Rise Above Movement
<[link removed]>. The media
group produces short propaganda documentaries about American and European white
supremacist groups to recruit for and elevate the voices of the extreme right.
Two recent videos covered the American white supremacist group Patriot Front
<[link removed]>
 and, in the newest video, released on October 11, a racist and antisemitic
political party. In the most recent video, speakers stressed the need for
“white unity” and condemned “Jews in the government and media,” referencing an
antisemitic conspiracy theory.

 

On October 18, six days after the fundraiser was posted, the media project
received donations totaling over $850. The Buy Me A Coffee link was advertised
on the media project’s website, in the description of video uploads on a
streaming website, and a Telegram account linked to the media project. Six days
after CEP reported the link for violating the spirit of Buy Me A Coffee’s
Terms, the fundraising page was still active.

 

White Supremacist, anti-Muslim and Antisemitic Content Located on Gfycat

 

CEP researchers found over a dozen examples of content on the GIF website
Gfycat that promoted white supremacism or anti-Muslim or antisemitic sentiment.
CEP found two tributes to the Poway synagogue gunman who was recently
<[link removed]>
 sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the 2019
murder of one person and injury of three others during his attack. Both videos
received 541 views and 209 views, respectively. CEP also found a video that
contained an image from the Christchurch terrorist attack and advocated for
additional violence, which had been on the site since March 2019 and had 305
views. Another GIF promoted a notorious white power skinhead band and used a
white supremacist slogan, which had over 3,600 views and had been on the site
for approximately four years.

 

Six GIFs were located that used antisemitic imagery or contained antisemitic
slogans. The six pages had an average of approximately 2,600 views and an
average site duration of roughly four years. Four GIFs were also located
depicting a Serbian nationalist song that encouraged ethnic cleansing and
violence against Muslims. The four pages had an average of approximately 1,400
views and had been on the site for an average of five years.

 

All content was removed by Gfycat after it was reported by CEP.

 

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