(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, CEP researchers identified a Holocaust denial website and a web shop that sells Holocaust denial literature, among other propaganda, both of which use Cloudflare as their name server.
On Facebook, CEP found nine accounts and one page that posted a variety of pro-ISIS content. ISIS Amaq videos were discovered on multiple websites in addition to the Hoop and Telegram messenger services. Additionally, the administrator of a pro-ISIS channel on RocketChat for technology and operations security posted that they were looking for domain hosting services that would accept Bitcoin.
In addition, last week, CEP researchers found a white supremacist podcast on YouTube, which included an interview with the leader of a chapter of a Rise Above Movement-inspired active club. White supremacists on Telegram also discussed a hypothetical assault weapons ban referencing the infamous book The Turner Diaries. A neo-Nazi blog that supports the work of James Mason and the National Socialist Order posted in support of Atomwaffen Division member Sam Woodward, who is on trial for murder. Finally, the neo-Nazi group Nationalist Social Club (NSC) released a propaganda video that showed members protesting outside a planned drag queen show in Boston.
Holocaust Denial Website Using Cloudflare Services
CEP researchers located a website that promotes Holocaust denial. According to the site, it was created to expand the reach of Holocaust denial content in the U.S. Content on the website includes a long list of claims, including that the Holocaust did not occur and was conceptually brought into existence by the Allies to punish Germany after the war, that gas chambers never existed, and that the Nazis and their collaborators did not kill six million Jews during the Holocaust. The website links to a web shop for the sale of Holocaust denial literature and a message board that promotes antisemitic conspiracy theories, including the claim that Jews are currently trying to start a Third World War.
The first website and the web store both use Cloudflare as its name server and Domains by Proxy, LLC as their registrar. WordPress removed a different Holocaust denial blog in June on their site for violating their Terms of Service after CEP reported it.
Pro-ISIS Content Located on Facebook
In a sample of pro-ISIS content found on August 10, CEP researchers located nine accounts and one page that posted a variety of propaganda. Content posted by the accounts included a full-length ISIS propaganda video released on July 30, 2022, as well as older previously released ISIS videos, clips taken from ISIS videos, Amaq propaganda videos, ISIS propaganda photos, and pages from ISIS’s weekly al-Naba newsletter, and pro-ISIS text. The nine accounts had between 24 and 1,185 friends or followers, with an average of 622. CEP additionally located a page with over 1,200 followers that posted the text of ISIS news updates, created on May 27, 2022.
CEP continued to find versions of the ISIS video “Upon the Path of the Conquerors,” released on July 30 from ISIS’s self-proclaimed state in Somalia. One upload, consisting of the full approximately 25-minute video, was added to the social media site on August 1 and had almost 1,000 views when it was located on August 10.
ISIS video “Upon the Path of the Conquerors,” originally released on July 30, on Facebook, August 10.
CEP researchers also found a full-length ISIS video from the group’s al-Furat Media Center, originally released in April 2016. The version on Facebook was uploaded on July 25, 2022, by a pro-ISIS account and had 173 views on August 10.
ISIS al-Furat Media Center video, originally released in April 2016, located on Facebook on August 10, 2022.
CEP reported the nine accounts and one page to Facebook on August 10. Approximately 24 hours later, only one account had been removed. No further accounts were removed by August 15. Both ISIS videos, released on July 30 and in April 2016, were reported on August 10. Facebook removed the video from 2016 approximately five minutes after it was reported, however the more recent video, released in 2022, was still online approximately five days later.
ISIS Amaq Video Located on Multiple Websites
CEP researchers located an ISIS Amaq video on multiple websites on August 11. Originally released on August 9, the video consists of ISIS fighters in Mozambique stating that they will continue fighting against the government and Christians in the country. In addition to being posted on Hoop and Telegram, the video was available on six websites two days after it was posted: the Internet Archive, Catbox.Moe, Novatics.Com, Envoi.Murisserie.Fr, Share.aalberts-hfc.Com, and the IPFS distributed web platform. CEP reported the video to the Internet Archive who restricted access to logged in users.
Admin of Pro-ISIS Tech Chat Looking for Domain Host That Accepts Cryptocurrency
On August 8, the administrator of a pro-ISIS chat for technology issues posted on a RocketChat message board that they were looking for domain hosting services that would accept Bitcoin. The post stated that they wanted to use the cryptocurrency to increase their level of anonymity. It is unclear if the admin is connected to any pro-ISIS propaganda websites, several of which have changed hosting and other internet services to stay online. There were no public responses to the inquiry three days later.
White Supremacist Podcast Located on YouTube
On August 10, CEP researchers located a white supremacist podcast on YouTube that included an interview with the leader of a chapter of a Rise Above Movement-inspired active club. The active club chapter leader spoke about his organization’s goals and strategies, encouraged joining, and used an antisemitic term to refer to people moving to his local area.
The podcast host spoke out against interracial couples and LGBTQ people and noted that he was upset to see both in Kentucky. The active club leader referenced James Mason’s book Siege, saying that it contained advice for coercing “outsiders” to leave their respective areas, however, the host stated that they could not “discuss more of the effective measures on this stream because it is after all, illegal.”
The podcast was streamed live on YouTube on August 6, 2022, and had 627 views on August 11. A previous YouTube channel used for live streams by the same podcast was removed by the platform following a stream with a notable Australian neo-Nazi who urged listeners to fight against “Jews (and) traitor whites” who were “rotting the fabric of our being, our everything, our soul, our race.” The current account was created in July 2021 and had over 3,400 views on four views. CEP reported the podcast to YouTube on August 11, but it was still online four days later.
Extreme Right and White Supremacist Telegram Channels Post Accelerationist Message Endorsing Assault Weapons Ban
CEP researchers located a message on Telegram, originally posted on August 4 by a notorious white supremacist accelerationist channel, stating that a ban on assault weapons in the U.S. would be a positive step toward a new civil war. The post claimed that while some people would comply with a ban or buybacks, others would be ready to face off against their “disarmed” opponents. The post directly referenced the confiscation of firearms in the white supremacist book The Turner Diaries. The message was shared by at least nine Telegram channels, including a large channel with over 8,300 subscribers dedicated to spreading plans and information regarding 3D-printed firearms.
Neo-Nazi Website Posts Blog in Support of Accused Murderer Sam Woodward
A neo-Nazi website that supports the work of the neo-Nazi James Mason and the group National Socialist Order posted a blog on August 8 supporting Atomwaffen Division (AWD) member Sam Woodward, who is on trial for the 2018 murder of gay, Jewish college student Blaze Bernstein. The website affirmed its support for Woodward, demanded that he be freed, and posted the address of the correctional facility where Woodward receives mail. Following the murder, AWD praised Woodward. In a documentary released in October 2020, Mason stated that he “Met Sam Woodward” after the young AWD member traveled to Colorado to meet him and had “served him several nice dinners,” but Mason alleged that if had been aware, he would have told Woodward “don’t do it.”
New England Neo-Nazi Group Releases Propaganda Video Showing Recent Protest of Drag Queen Story Hour in Boston
On August 8, the neo-Nazi group Nationalist Social Club (NSC) released a propaganda video that showed their members protesting outside of a drag queen story hour event in Boston the previous day. The event was canceled in response. The footage showed approximately 15 people, several wearing white supremacist t-shirts, holding a banner outside of a building, seeking to intimidate the event attendees. The video included social media accounts and contact info for NSC. A statement at the beginning of the video states that “no amount of arrests” would prevent the group from organizing.
NSC released a video on July 26 that showed the group protesting a drag queen story event in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, giving Nazi salutes, and seeking to intimidate event attendees. The video also showed the group’s founder, Chris Hood, being arrested for fighting in a public place.