(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 located ten TikTok accounts that posted a variety of pro-ISIS propaganda, including a clip from a notorious bomb-making video, as well as a dozen other TikTok accounts that posted content glorifying the perpetrators of white supremacist mass casualty attacks.
Elsewhere, researchers identified a crypto wallet posted in a pro-ISIS RocketChat channel and on Telegram that was previously highlighted in Voice of Khorasan issue 29, released in October. Monero is a privacy coin that has become popular with pro-ISIS groups due to its extensive privacy features, such as protecting the identity of the sender and recipient.
CEP also located a new Twitter/X account belonging to Thomas Sewell, leader of the Australian National Socialist Network. The account’s initial posts contained anti-Aboriginal and antisemitic content.
Lastly, a Telegram channel affiliated with a neo-Nazi accelerationist website that supports Atomwaffen Division successor groups encouraged their followers in Canada to exercise caution following the December 8 arrest of two individuals in Ottawa.
Pro-ISIS Accounts and Accounts Glorifying White Supremacist Mass Shooters Located on TikTok
In a sample of content on TikTok located on December 6, CEP researchers found ten accounts that posted pro-ISIS propaganda. Pro-ISIS content included two accounts that used images of the 2016 Orlando attacker as profile photos, as well as TikTok users that uploaded clips from ISIS videos, Amaq statements, pages from the group’s al-Naba newsletter, and audio files. One account, with almost 150 followers, posted a clip from a notorious ISIS bomb-making video, which had been online for two days when CEP found it on December 6. The ten accounts had an average of 603 followers, ranging from 41 to 1,311.
CEP researchers also found 12 accounts that posted content glorifying white supremacist and extreme right mass shooters. The accounts posted content praising or otherwise glorifying the 2011 Oslo attacker, the 2015 Charleston church shooter, the 2017 Quebec City mosque shooter, the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooter, the 2019 Christchurch terrorist, and the May 2022 Buffalo attacker. Content uploaded included modified clips from the Christchurch attack livestream and the Buffalo attack video, posts encouraging violence against pro-Palestine demonstrators, and anti-Muslim and antisemitic posts. The 12 accounts had an average of 277 followers, ranging from 16 to 961. A video posted by an account that praised the Christchurch terrorist, using religious honorifics to describe him, received over 8,000 views. A video consisting of a recreation of the 2019 Christchurch attack in the videogame Minecraft posted on November 18 by an account that used a photo of the Christchurch terrorist as a profile photo received over 21,000 views by December 7. Comments on the video included individuals praising the attack, anti-Muslim statements, and suggestions of where to find the full video.
“CEP continues to find content on TikTok spreading ISIS propaganda or glorifying white supremacist mass shooters, which should invite further scrutiny of the platform. Content praising and encouraging violence, especially using video or photo content that the platform should be able to identify and remove, is a cause for concern regarding TikTok’s ability to mitigate the spread of dangerous extremist propaganda,” said CEP researcher Joshua Fisher-Birch. “TikTok should improve its ability to identify and remove content that flagrantly violates its terms and conditions.”
CEP reported all accounts to TikTok or relevant national authorities on December 6 and 7. 18 of the 22 accounts were still available on TikTok on December 11.
Sped up ISIS bomb-making video on TikTok. Screenshot taken on December 6. The account that posted the video was removed from TikTok by December 11.
Monero Wallet Address Posted in Pro-ISIS Chat and Channel
On December 7, a pro-ISIS RocketChat channel administrator posted a wallet for receiving the cryptocurrency Monero. The same wallet address was also found on Telegram on December 8. The image and wallet were identical to a page appearing in issue 29 of the pro-ISIS web magazine Voice of Khorasan. Monero is a privacy coin that does not allow individuals outside of a transaction to view the transfer of the digital currency, nor does it permit the viewing of wallets. The recipient of Monero donated to the crypto wallet address is unknown.
Call for Monero donations posted on RocketChat on December 7. Screenshot taken on December 7.
Australian Neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell Creates Twitter/X Account
The Australian neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell created a Twitter/X account the first week of December. The first post on December 3 declared, “I love Hitler.” Sewell also made multiple anti-Aboriginal and antisemitic posts, such as claiming that “Anti-semitism is always a direct and proportionate response to semite behaviour (sic).”Sewell is the leader of the Australian neo-Nazi group National Socialist Network. The X account had over 4,100 followers by December 7 and had verified status by December 11. CEP reported the account to X on December 5, but it was still online on December 11.
Neo-Nazi Telegram Channel Affiliated With Website That Supports Atomwaffen Division Successor Group Encourages Canadian Audience to be Careful Following Arrests
Following the December 8 arrest of two Ottawa men on terrorism charges, a Telegram channel affiliated with an American neo-Nazi accelerationist website that promotes the work of James Mason and supports an Atomwaffen Division (AWD) successor group encouraged their Canadian audience to exercise caution and encrypt their electronic devices and get rid of items that could potentially tie them to extremist groups. Canada listed AWD and its successor groups as a terrorist organization in 2021. The Telegram post claimed that the two men, who are accused of participating in the activities of a terrorist group, with one individual charged with multiple other crimes related to the creation of Terrorgram manuals that promote acts of terrorism, were unaffiliated with them.
On December 9, a Telegram channel belonging to the publishing wing of the website stated that they were stopping international orders because of the potential risk to overseas customers.