The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) reports weekly on the methods used by
extremists to exploit the Internet and social media platforms to recruit fol





<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>



Extremist Content Online: Telegram Remains An Active Site For The Spread Of
White Supremacist Propaganda



(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. Telegram removed a channel for the
neo-Nazi group the Base, however, a new channel was created the same day. Also
on Telegram, channels affiliated with the Rise Above Movement (RAM) inspired
active club movement celebrated and shared details about an MMA event held near
San Diego earlier this month.



On Facebook, CEP researchers located 10 pro-ISIS accounts which posted a
variety of propaganda and content. Additionally on Instagram CEP found five
profiles that posted a variety of extreme right-wing content with one of the
profiles having almost 600 followers. Finally, al-Qaeda released a message
through the terrorist group’s official media wing, as-Sahab, condemning
President Biden’s July trip to Saudi Arabia.



Telegram Channel for Neo-Nazi Group The Base is Removed, Returns to the
Platform



On August 18, Telegram removed a channel for the neo-Nazi group The Base
<[link removed]>, however, a new channel was
created the same day and remained online. A backup channel was also not removed
from the communications platform. At least two Telegram channels previously
used by the group in 2020 were either deleted by their users or removed from
the platform.



White Supremacist Active Club Movement Holds Inaugural MMA Event



Telegram channels affiliated with the Rise Above Movement
<[link removed]> (RAM) inspired
active club movement celebrated an inaugural invite-only MMA event allegedly
held in the San Diego area on August 20. The event, “Birth of a New Frontier,”
consisted of individuals from various active club chapters and the groupPatriot
Front
<[link removed]>
sparring in MMA bouts while being documented by a RAM/active club-linked media
group.



A two-minute trailer advertising a future propaganda video based on the event
was located on YouTube, where it received over 500 views in less than 24 hours.
The event was also celebrated by posters on 4chan, who stated that this was an
opportunity to join a real-world movement.



Photos from the event showed several dozen individuals in attendance in a
converted warehouse. In a post, a Telegram channel claimed that 150 people
attended. In a chat on the same platform, a self-identified member of an active
club chapter who claimed to have attended the event stated that the plan was
for active club-affiliated MMA events to be held twice a year.



The active club movement has sought to appeal to potential recruits through
self-improvement, physical fitness, and combat sports. The movement aims to
build a white supremacist counterculture based on a “clean” physically fit
MMA-inspired aesthetic. RAM co-founderRobert Rundo
<[link removed]> stated in a blog post

<[link removed]>
in March that active clubs should recruit at seemingly “apolitical” events,
including MMA and other sporting events and gyms. The movement is also inspired
by similar European groups that have sought to recruit through the promotion of
combat sports combined with extreme right ideology. Rundo and other members of
RAM participated in extreme right-affiliated MMA events while traveling in
Europe in 2018 in Germany and Ukraine and made connections with European
extreme right-wing groups in several countries.



An online clothing store affiliated with Rundo and the active club movement
advertised the sale of branded boxing gloves on August 23, which quickly sold
out. The site used a photo from the August 20 MMA tournament to promote the
gloves.



Pro-ISIS Content Located on Facebook



CEP researchers located 10 pro-ISIS
<[link removed]> accounts on Facebook in a
content sample on August 24. The 10 profiles posted a variety of pro-ISIS
content, including a full-length ISIS video modified to evade content
detection, clips from ISIS propaganda videos, unofficial pro-ISIS videos, audio
from the pro-ISIS-K media group al-Azaim Foundation, Amaq propaganda photos and
news posts, pages from al-Naba newsletter, pro-ISIS images and text, and links
to ISIS content on other websites.



Two of the Facebook accounts, one with 910 friends and the other with 130
followers, used a photo of the French ISIS fighter Abu Osama al-Faransi as
their profile photo. Abu Osama appeared in the notable November 2014 ISISvideo
<[link removed]>
“What Are You Waiting For?” where he called for French Muslims to travel to
join ISIS in Syria, and another speaker called for attacks in France.



ISIS video “A Book That Guides And A Sword That Gives Victory,” on Facebook on
August 24, 29 days after it was uploaded. The video was modified by the
uploader in order to prevent it from being detected and removed. Logos on the
top right of the video were removed and parts of the video were blurred.



The profiles had between six and 1,100 friends or followers, with an average
of 460. Two accounts did not have their number of friends or followers listed.



On July 27, one of the accounts posted a propaganda video, “A Book That Guides
And A Sword That Gives Victory,” released on June 14, 2022. Twenty-nine days
later, the video had amassed 422 views and 55 likes/reactions. The uploader
modified the video to prevent it from being detected and removed, logos on the
top right of the video were removed, and parts of the video were blurred. It is
unclear why Facebook did not detect the video upon upload using robust hashing,
which can account for minor edits in footage.



CEP reported the 10 accounts to Facebook on August 24. Five days later, all 10
accounts were still online.



Neo-Nazi Content Located on Instagram



In a sample of accounts located on Instagram on August 24, CEP researchers
found five profiles that posted a variety of extreme right-wing content,
including an image originally made by theAtomwaffen Division
<[link removed]>
(AWD) promoting Holocaust denial and violence against Jews, posts containing
anti-Muslim memes and memes promoting anti-government violence, white
supremacist slogans, and a video featuring the Australian neo-Nazi Thomas
Sewell. One of the five accounts, with 156 followers, belonged to a Slovenian
white supremacist clothing brand that advertised t-shirts with neo-Nazi black
sun logos. Another account for the Serbian eco-fascist group Eco Revolutionary
Action had almost 600 followers and posted various propaganda photos and
statements encouraging joining.



CEP reported the five accounts to Instagram. All five accounts were still on
the platform five days later, however, Instagram removed the AWD propaganda
image approximately 15 minutes after CEP reported it.



Al-Qaeda Communique Released Condemning President Biden’s Trip to Saudi Arabia



On August 25, al-Qaeda <[link removed]>
released a message via the group’s official media wing, as-Sahab, condemning
President Biden’s July trip to Saudi Arabia. The three-page statement also
denounced the possibility of future diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia
and Israel. It stated that the U.S. role in the world is uncertain after the
withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan and that Middle Eastern states are
searching for new alliances, hoping to include the U.S. and Israel. The
communique was dated July 2022 and did not mention the July 31 killing ofAyman
al-Zawahiri <[link removed]> or
potential new leadership. The message was the first released by as-Sahab since
July 16.



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