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: CEP Identifies More Instagram Accounts Featuring
Pro-ISIS Content

 

(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, CEP identified 12
Instagram accounts featuring pro-ISIS content with a combined number of
followers in the thousands. The accounts have been up for an average of 75 days
and portrayed horrific violence, including a beheading video. A pro-ISIS video
was also released on multiple websites celebrating the October 8 suicide attack
on a Hazara Shiite Mosque and the October 15 bombing of a Shiite Mosque in
Kandahar.

 

Additionally, Barnes & Noble was found to be selling a neo-Nazi magazine. A
white supremacist Telegram channel that was deleted resurfaced two days later,
advocating for acts of violence against immigrants and people of color. A
second channel on Telegram was taken down after CEP reported it, but then
resurfaced the same day, and similarly advocated for violence against Jews, law
enforcement, and vaccine providers. A European white supremacist channel
encouraged their followers to make false reports alleging discrimination at
soccer matches. Finally, CEP identified a neo-Nazi group advocating for
violence on Nextcloud, as well as a new neo-Nazi website promoting skill
development and seeking to turn their audience into “revolutionaries.”

 

Pro-ISIS Content Located on Instagram

 

The week of October 17 to October 23, CEP located 12 accounts that posted
pro-ISIS content on Instagram. Content included footage taken from officialISIS
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violence such as beheading and assassination, as well as combat footage
including the use of suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive attacks. Posted
content also included segments taken from ISIS’s weekly al-Naba newsletter and
Amaq news releases. Two accounts were allegedly connected to pro-ISIS media
groups.

 

The 12 accounts had a mean of 296 followers, with a range of followers between
10 and 1,055. Ten accounts had over 100 followers. The accounts had posted
their first piece of extremist content an average of 75 days before they were
located, with a range between six and 262 days. Three of the accounts were
removed by Instagram four days after they were reported by CEP. Of the nine
accounts that were still online four days later, one belonged to a pro-ISIS
media group. Graphic content, including a compilation video that showed a
beheading taken from an ISIS propaganda video, was still online four days later.

Section from an ISIS propaganda video on Instagram. Screenshot taken on
October 21.

 

Pro-ISIS Video Celebrating Afghanistan Attacks Located on Multiple Websites

 

On October 20, the pro-ISIS media outlet Tala’a al-Ansar released a video
celebrating the terrorist group’s attacks against Afghan Shiites. The video
included previously released ISIS Amaq News photos allegedly showing the
perpetrator of the October 8 suicide attack on a Hazara Shiite Mosque in Kunduz
and the perpetrators of the October 15 bombing of a Shiite Mosque in Kandahar.
Forty-six people were killed and 143 wounded and 47 killed, and at least 68
wounded, respectively. The video mocked theTaliban
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the attacks and contained graphic footage showing the aftermath of the
bombings. The video also included scenes showing assassinations, roadside
bombings, and the launching of rockets or similar projectiles.

 

Links to the video were spread on Element. The video was posted to at least 15
websites. Approximately 24 hours later, the video was still available on five
websites: Transfer.Sh, File.Fm, the Internet Archive, GoFile.Io, and a pro-ISIS
propaganda website. The videos were removed by the Internet Archive after they
were reported by CEP.

 

Neo-Nazi Magazine Located and Removed From Barnes & Noble

 

CEP researchers located a neo-Nazi magazine for sale on the Barnes & Noble
website. The magazine was the first edition of a series that hoped to offer a
lifestyle guide, showcase white supremacist art projects, and support
"activists." The magazine is a fundraising effort for the Australian National
Socialist Network and the legal defense fund of Australian neo-Nazi leader
Thomas Sewell, who is currently awaiting trial
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 on armed robbery and assault charges. The magazine was advertised on multiple
Telegram channels. Barnes & Noble removed the magazine after CEP reported it.

 

Deleted Telegram Channel Returns to the Platform, Advocates Violence Against
Immigrants and People of Color

 

A notorious white supremacist Telegram channel that was removed from the
platform on October 13 returned two days later and advocated for acts of
violence against immigrants and people of color. The channel posted an image
that encouraged the murder of immigrant and non-white men, women, and children.
The previous version of the account had over 1,600 subscribers when Telegram
deleted it for violating their Terms of Service. The new version of the channel
was activated on October 15, and amassed over 200 subscribers after it was
online for six days. The new channel had a username and URL almost identical to
the deleted channel and indicated that it was a newer version. The message
announcing their return and advocating for xenophobic and racist violence was
viewed over 1,500 times and shared by at least 24 different Telegram channels
within three days.

 

Telegram Channel That Advocated for Violence Against Jews and Vaccine
Providers Deleted and Returns to Platform

 

On October 20, Telegram deleted a channel for violating its Terms of Service
after CEP reported it. The channel, which advocated for white supremacism and
encouraged arson, had celebrated reaching 500 members on October 19 by
advocating for acts of violence against Jews, synagogues, vaccine providers,
and law enforcement officers. The channel had provided advice on setting fires
and using incendiary devices. A new version of the channel was created later on
the same day it was deleted, with the same content, amassing 230 followers in
approximately 24 hours. Despite CEP reporting the channel for a second time, it
remained online. It is unclear why Telegram took action the first time but not
the second, despite the channel posting the same content that violates the
platform’s Terms of Service.

 

White Supremacist Telegram Channel Encourages Filing False Claims with
European Anti-Racist Soccer Group

 

On October 21, a Telegram channel linked to extreme right-wing hooligans
encouraged their subscribers to file false claims of racism or discrimination
with the group Fare Network (formerly Football Against Racism in Europe). The
channel, which has over 8,000 subscribers, posted a link to a complaint form
used by the Fare Network. The channel has posted large quantities of neo-Nazi,
anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, and anti-LGBT content from groups in Germany,
Greece, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Bulgaria, Serbia, Italy,
Poland, Russia, and others. The message was also shared by a Telegram channel
with over 10,000 followers linked to a clothing brand and online store linked
to the Rise Above Movement
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Neo-Nazi Group that Advocates Violence Using Nextcloud

 

CEP located a small internet-based neo-Nazi group using the cloud storage site
Nextcloud to store documents. The group has expressed its desire to network
with other small neo-Nazi groups online. In addition to a Telegram channel, the
group maintains an onion site on the dark web. The group, which is heavily
inspired by theAtomwaffen Division
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(AWD), promotes violence and has released propaganda containing a photo of
Dylann Roof, who murdered nine African Americans during the Emanuel African
Methodist Episcopal Church shooting on June 17, 2015. 

 

New Accelerationist Neo-Nazi Website Located

 

CEP researchers located a new neo-Nazi website that promotes skill development
and seeks to turn their readership into “revolutionaries.” The site is linked
to a second site that spreads the work of the neo-Nazi James Mason
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by several former members of the AWD and current National Socialist Order (NSO)
members. Both websites list AWD members, one member of the neo-Nazi groupThe
Base <[link removed]>, and a white supremacist
imprisoned for a mail bombing as “prisoners of war.” The site was created on
September 20 and uses Enom as its registrar and VanwaTech
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 as its name server.

 

Neo-Nazi Accelerationist Website Posts Manifesto From Group Calling for
Violence

 

On October 21, a neo-Nazi website posted a manifesto from an allied group that
called for acts of violence and terror to weaken the government and society.
The manifesto promoted accelerationist violence, condemned concepts of
morality, and declared all but extreme fascists willing to use violence to be
their enemy. The manifesto is linked to a Telegram channel that had over 400
subscribers on October 21.

 

The website that posted the manifesto seeks to spread the work of the neo-Nazi 
James Mason <[link removed]> and
contains writings by several former members of the AWD and current NSO members.
The website emphasized that they posted the manifesto out of solidarity with
the group but that they were separate entities. NSO has previously called
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 for acts of terrorism.

 

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