News and Media

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, three separate uploads of James Mason ’s neo-Nazi manifesto Siege were made available for purchase on the website Lulu, a print-on-demand, self-publishing, and distribution online marketplace that halted sales of the book from its site in April 2019. Additionally, CEP researchers located the website for a North American-based neo-Nazi group which features essays idolizing Adolf Hitler and national socialism, and encourage the spread of anti-Semitism and racism.

Technology giants like Facebook, Twitter, and Google/YouTube have long maintained that they are merely neutral platforms and cannot be held responsible for what users choose to post and share on their sites. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) has provided blanket liability protection to encourage tech firms to proactively remove hateful, abusive, violent, and other unwanted content from their sites. Instead of availing themselves of the freedom to properly enforce their Terms of Service under the protection afforded by Section 230, tech companies have done the bare minimum to rein in dangerous content, while using the liability shield to fend of lawsuits from victims of terrorism.

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, ISIS released a new propaganda video titled “ And Strike Their Necks ” on Telegram and subsequently distributed it widely across the RocketChat and Hoop platforms. In addition, multiple white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups celebrated the killing of Ahmaud Arbery on Telegram – as well as on 4chan and 8chan successor websites – and urged followers to incite further violence towards African Americans, with one white supremacist accelerationist Telegram channel directly encouraging more mass shootings. Also, another white supremacist accelerationist Telegram channel dedicated to COVID-19 news urged followers to escalate fear mongering about children being infected with the virus and praised the suspected forthcoming economic collapse.

The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) maintains resources documenting white supremacist groups—their history and known activities—currently operating in the United States. These groups continue to propogate hatred, bigotry, and violence against racial and ethnic minorities and spread anti-government propaganda in an effort to advance their radical agendas.

Last week, Facebook announced the formation of a 20-member independent oversight body tasked with making decisions on contentious content issues, such as online extremism, hate speech, harassment, and user privacy and security. Facebook’s Oversight Board comes nearly two years after a damaging New York Times exposé detailed how Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and other top company executives worked to “ delay, deny and deflect ” bad news following public relations crises. The process that led to Oversight Board’s creation and subsequent media announcements raise concerns that this is yet another public relations-driven measure in lieu of substantive change.

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 white supremacist street fighting gang, Rise Above Movement (RAM), launched a Telegram channel featuring their extreme right wing, anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic content. The Maldivian pro-ISIS Haqqu Media Center released a new video praising a Maldivian ISIS fighter killed in Syria, while ISIS released an Amaq News propaganda video showing an alleged attack on a Nigerien military facility. Also, CEP researchers located two pro-ISIS propaganda websites that use Cloudflare as their name server.

Last week, seven members of the U.S. Congress wrote to the Jordanian ambassador to the United States, Dina Kawar, asking the Hashemite Kingdom to extradite wanted Hamas terrorist Ahlam Ahmad al-Tamimi to the United States. Tamimi is wanted by the FBI for coordinating and aiding the August 2001 Hamas suicide bombing of a Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem that wounded 130 people and killed 15, including two Americans. Tamimi has lived freely in Jordan since 2011 while fighting against the U.S. extradition request.

On Sunday, the New York Times highlighted increased efforts by white supremacist extremist groups to leverage the COVID-19 pandemic as a means to advance their radical agendas and attract new members. Far-right extremist groups are increasingly mobilizing their appeals to potential supporters online that include racist sentiments, anti-Semitic tropes, and misinformation with claims that COVID-19 is a Jewish-run conspiracy and, alternatively, as being spread by nonwhite immigrants.

Cryptocurrencies as a decentralized value transfer and storage mechanism are one of the most important current innovations in the financial industry. Their technical structure allows individuals and entities to quickly, efficiently, and globally transfer values without the use of the global financial system. In this regard, this technology could be seen as a breakthrough in tackling the challenge of financial inclusion. CEP and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) in New York cordially invite you to a webinar launching this latest report.

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. This week, a pro-ISIS RocketChat chatroom celebrated the recent vehicular attack in France that left three French police officers injured and encouraged supporters to conduct more attacks during the holy month of Ramadan and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, ISIS released a new video titled “To Be Absolved Before Your Lord” which disparaged al-Qaeda and included several interviews with fighters from their self-proclaimed province in Yemen.