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: Pro-ISIS Tech Group Releases List Of 12 Recommended
E-Mail Services
(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. Last week the pro-ISIS tech group
Qimam Electronic Foundation recommended using e-mail services from various
companies, including those from major tech firms such as Microsoft Outlook,
Gmail, and Yahoo, based on several criteria, including encryption, general
security, and storage capabilities.
On Facebook, CEP located multiple examples of pro-ISIS propaganda on nine
accounts and one page. A pro-ISIS group posted instructions for manufacturing
the toxin ricin on JustPaste.It. Two ISIS Amaq News videos were also found on
several websites. Finally, a new neo-Nazi news site was launched which is
affiliated with a similar website that supports the group National Socialist
Order and the American neo-Nazi ideologue James Mason.
Pro-ISIS Tech Group Releases List of Recommendations for E-Mail Services
On August 18, a pro-ISIS tech group, Qimam Electronic Foundation, posted a
list of 12 recommended e-mail services based on factors including encryption,
general security, and storage capabilities. The order of the listed services is
unclear, but the first five services were ProtonMail, Zoho Mail, Outlook,
Gmail, and Yahoo. Qimam Electronic Foundation posted the list on the bulletin
board website PasteThis.To, and shared the URL in a pro-ISIS tech chat. Qimam
Electronic Foundation has previously shared information on encrypted
communications and online security.
Instructions for Making Ricing Posted by Pro-ISIS Group Removed From
JustPaste.It
On August 17, CEP researchers located instructions for making the toxin ricin
on JustPaste.It allegedly posted by the pro-ISIS group Al-Saqri Foundation. The
page included instructions for the homemade synthesis of ricin from the seeds
of castor beans and offered advice on its use. The Al-Saqri Foundation
publishes manuals on the manufacture and use of explosives, poisons, and other
weaponry. Previous Al-Saqri pages located by CEP in 2022 have included
bomb-making guides, instructions for making explosives with obtainable
chemicals, and the development, purification, and use of botulism toxin as a
weapon. JustPaste.It removed the page approximately 15 minutes after CEP
reported it.
Pro-ISIS Content Located on Facebook
In a sample of pro-ISIS content found on August 17, CEP researchers located
nine accounts and one page that posted multiple pieces of the group’s
propaganda. Content published by the accounts included a full-length ISIS video
originally released in 2016, as well as clips from other previously released
ISIS videos, Amaq propaganda videos, Amaq photos and news statements, pages
from the al-Naba newsletter, and promotion of the pro-ISIS-K magazine Voice of
Khurasan, and links to ISIS propaganda on other websites.
One of the accounts posted an approximately 17-minute-long ISIS propaganda
video titled “They Bewitched The Eyes of the People and Struck Terror into
Them,” originally released in January 2016. The uploader covered ISIS logos on
the top right of the screen with an emoji to prevent it from being detected and
removed. The video was uploaded to Facebook four days before CEP located it and
had 226 views and 22 reactions.
The ISIS video “They Bewitched The Eyes of the People and Struck Terror into
Them,” originally released in January 2016. ISIS logos on the top right of the
screen were covered with an emoji in order to evade removal.
Two Facebook accounts used images of the notorious ISIS executioner Mohammed
Emwazi <[link removed]> as profile
photos. One of the accounts, which posted multiple pieces of pro-ISIS content,
also posted a video of previously released surveillance footage that showed a
Jewish man being stabbed by a colleague inMontreal
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. The Facebook page for the ISIS al-Naba newsletter had 11 followers and posted
photos, text from al-Naba, and other pro-ISIS content. Three of the nine
accounts did not have the number of friends or followers listed. The remaining
six accounts had between 120 and 1,300 friends or followers, with an average of
529.
CEP reported the nine accounts and one page to Facebook on August 17.
Approximately five days later, only three accounts had been removed. The video
from 2016 was still on Facebook five days later and had received an additional
80 views.
ISIS Amaq Videos Uploaded to Multiple Websites
During the week of August 14 to August 20, CEP researchers found two ISIS Amaq
News videos on several websites. The first video, released on August 15,
contained footage of a prison break in Butembo, Congo, where on August 10,
approximately 80 ISIS-affiliated fighters attacked the central prison, leading
to theescape
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of roughly 800 prisoners. In addition to Telegram, Hoop, and pro-ISIS
propaganda sites, the video was uploaded to at least 16 websites. Two days
later, the video was available on three websites: the Internet Archive,
Novatics.com, and Zeit-Stiftung.De
The second video, also released on August 15, showed ISIS fighters attacking
an alleged Nigerian military convoy with automatic weapons in Karito, Borno
province, Nigeria. In addition to Telegram, Hoop, and pro-ISIS propaganda
sites, propagandists uploaded the video to at least 16 websites. Two days
later, the video was available on seven sites: the Internet Archive, the IPFS
distributed web protocol, Novatics.com, Zeit-Stiftung.De, pomf2.lain.la,
Antopie.Org, and Thedownload.Store.
The videos on the Internet Archive were only available to logged in users.
Neo-Nazi Website Launches Affiliated News Site
A neo-Nazi website that supports the group National Socialist Order
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(NSO) and the American neo-Nazi ideologueJames Mason
<[link removed]> launched an
affiliated news site on August 16. One of the first articles published on the
news site, written by an NSO leader, is the naming of an alleged undercover FBI
agent who infiltrated the Atomwaffen Divison (AWD) and is blamed for arresting
AWD leaderJohn Cameron Denton
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includes a photograph of the alleged FBI agent, court documents, and limited
biographical data, allegedly to warn other white supremacists on the lookout
for infiltrators.
The website uses Cloudflare as its nameserver and registrar. The site also has
an affiliated Onion site accessible via Tor, a Telegram channel, and page on
the social media site Gab. The site requests donations in the cryptocurrencies
BitCoin and Monero.
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