(New York, N.Y.) — The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) reports weekly on the methods used by extremists and terrorist groups on the Internet to spread their ideologies and incite violence. Last week, CEP researchers located an audio recording of the Jacksonville shooter’s racist manifesto on Telegram. The narrator in the recording praised the Jacksonville gunman, calling him a “saint,” and encouraged additional acts of violence.
Also this week, the CEO of the alternative social media site Gab, Andrew Torba, posted a link on Twitter/X to a video glorifying Nazi Germany and the Third Reich and blaming Jews for both world wars. Gab also introduced AI chatbots featuring 81 fictional and historical characters, including Adolf Hitler, some of which promote antisemitism and disinformation, including the myth that the political left was responsible for storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
CEP researchers also identified a video game announcement by the far-right game developer Kvltgames for an upcoming release on Valve’s Steam platform. Finally, CEP reported 12 accounts to TikTok that promoted ISIS and pro-ISIS propaganda, including content that explicitly called for attacks against Jews.
Audio Recording of Jacksonville Dollar General Shooter’s Manifesto Released on Telegram
On January 23, at least 12 white supremacist Telegram channels posted an audiobook version of the August 26 Jacksonville shooter’s manifesto. The gunman murdered three African Americans at a Dollar General in a racist attack. He encouraged further acts of anti-black violence in the document that authorities made public on January 19. The narrator of the audio version of the Jacksonville gunman’s manifesto sounds identical to previous audio releases of the manifestos of white supremacist attackers and Terrorgram content, which were identified by the Huffington Post and antifascist activists as having been narrated by Dallas Humber. The audio file concludes with the narrator praising the Jacksonville gunman, calling him a “saint” and encouraging additional acts of violence with the sign-off, “Until next time, hail the saints, hail holy terror.”
CEP researchers additionally found a version of the gunman's manifesto on the flipbook website Publuu, which was removed after CEP reported it.
“The Terrorgram community continues to advocate for acts of white supremacist violence on Telegram,” said CEP researcher Joshua Fisher-Birch. “It is past time for Telegram to consistently remove accounts that call for violence and celebrate lone actor attackers. As an important part of the violent extreme right’s communications strategy, Telegram should institute more aggressive procedures for enforcing its terms of service.”
Gab CEO Promotes Antisemitic Propaganda Film on Twitter/X, Receiving Over One Million Views
On January 22, the CEO of the alternative social media platform Gab, Andrew Torba, posted a link on Twitter/X to an antisemitic revisionist purported documentary that promotes antisemitic conspiracy theories, glorifies Nazi Germany, justifies the crimes of the Third Reich, and blames Jews for both world wars. Torba claimed that he was sharing the link after Europol requested that Gab remove a post on their social media site sharing the link to the video. His tweet had over 1 million views three days after it was posted.
Torba also shared a link to watch the multipart video directly on Twitter/X, posted by another account. CEP previously reported the same Twitter/X account in June, but it was still online as of January 25. The account also shared content from neo-Nazi Active Clubs, a modified Hamas video, and large quantities of antisemitic content.
The antisemitic video posted by Torba was recently voted the best piece of propaganda for “waking people up” in a Twitter/X poll conducted by a prominent white supremacist account allegedly tied to members of the Canadian neo-Nazi scene. The video received 64% of the total 1,199 votes by January 29.
Gab CEO Andrew Torba on Twitter/X promoting an antisemitic propaganda video. Screenshot taken on January 25.
Gab Releases AI Chatbots, Including Chatbots that Promote Antisemitism, Racism, and Disinformation
On January 23, Gab unveiled a new chatbot, including 81 characters powered by AI technology. The characters include historical figures such as Galileo and Charles Darwin, as well as Adolf Hitler, avatars of political ideologies, including communism, a “far-right wing nationalist,” a follower of the white supremacist and antisemitic streamer Nick Fuentes, and Internet meme figures such as a “Soyjack” character.
When asked, the Nick Fuentes follower AI character encouraged Holocaust denial and claimed that left-wingers, not supporters of former President Trump, were responsible for attacking the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021. Similarly, the “far-right wing nationalist” AI avatar, when asked about “mainstream World War II narratives,” claimed that perceptions of the war and the Holocaust were “heavily influenced by Jewish power and propaganda” and that the Holocaust was used to “promote globalism, which is contrary to the interests of our nation and people.” The same AI avatar claimed that “race and IQ are connected at a biological level.”
The suggested questions for the AI avatar of Hitler, who is described as a “German politician,” allow for positive framing and depictions of the German dictator and Nazi Germany. The four example questions are: 1) “Why is nationalism the supreme political ideology?” 2) “Why are you hated by so many people?” (Part of the answer to this is that the Jews “brought this upon themselves.”) 3) “How did you improve life for German families?” 4) How did you turn around the economy in Germany?”
The Gab AI page for the Adolf Hitler AI chatbot. Screenshot taken on January 25.
Far Right Game Developer Announces Future Release on Steam
On January 19, the video game developer Kvltgames announced they would release a game on Valve’s Steam platform in February. Kvltgames has previously released a game that promoted Identitarian ideology and featured the Austrian Identitarian Martin Sellner as a playable character. The preview on Steam announces that the game features a story pitting the player against “technocratic elites.” At the same time, the developer’s Telegram page promises a “politically incorrect” game, urging the player to “defend your homeland” and “fight globalists.”
CEP has previously located multiple group pages on Steam that promote white supremacism, antisemitism, and fascism, among other ideologies.
Pro-ISIS Accounts Located on TikTok
In a sample of content located on TikTok on January 25, CEP researchers found 12 accounts that promoted ISIS and pro-ISIS propaganda. Profiles posted video clips from ISIS and pro-ISIS videos, including footage from the notorious 2014 ISIS video “Flames of War.” Other accounts made posts encouraging acts of violence, including a post explicitly calling for attacks against Jews. Other uploads included ISIS nasheeds, Amaq posts, and content from the terrorist group’s al-Naba magazine. High count posts included an ISIS nasheed with a famous photo of an ISIS fighter holding two cats that received over 41,500 views in 72 days, a post advertising a new pro-ISIS propaganda website that garnered over 15,000 views in 3 days, and a series of images that encouraged lone actor attacks that received 764 views in 17 days. The 12 accounts averaged 641 followers, ranging between 112 and 1,451.
CEP reported the 12 accounts to TikTok on January 25. 11 accounts were still on TikTok on January 29. The platform removed the account that posted the “Flames of War” clip.
Post on TikTok from a pro-ISIS account encouraging attacks on Jews. Screenshot taken on January 25.