The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) reports on the methods used by extremists and terrorist groups on the Internet to spread propaganda and incite violence. In this week’s issue:

• ISIS Activity Roundup
• ISIS Al-Naba Editorial Encourages Religious Devotion, Condemns Materialism
• Pro-ISIS Element User Issues Warning Regarding Use of Telegram Following Failed Kuwait Plot
• Active Club Substack Essay Identifies Liberal White Women as Enemies
• Main Polish Active Club Chapter Glorifies Perpetrator of 2012 Gurdwara Mass Shooting
• White Supremacist Under-18 United Youth Clubs Recruit via Interview on YouTube Podcast
• Under-18 United Youth Clubs Advise Members Not to Carelessly Reveal Ideology in Back-to-School Post 
• White Supremacist and Neo-Nazi Propagandists Mark Ninth Anniversary of Charlottesville Unite the Right Rally
• White Supremacist and Neo-Nazi Propagandists Praise Department of Justice Arrest of Anti-Extremism Expert and Former SPLC Leader

ISIS Activity Roundup

Between August 9 and 15, ISIS claimed credit for 10 attacks. Five attacks occurred in Nigeria, three in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and one each in Mozambique and Pakistan. Among the listed attacks, ISIS claimed to have burned approximately 20 homes in a village in Ituri Province, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on August 9.

ISIS Al-Naba Editorial Encourages Religious Devotion, Condemns Materialism

The editorial in issue 560 of ISIS’s weekly al-Naba newsletter, released on August 13, stated that the unceasing following of religious law and devotion to God were the most important aspects of life. The editorial noted that remembering one’s relationship with God and religion at all times was essential, and condemned materialism and being led astray from religion to choose secular pursuits. The article encouraged obligatory daily acts of worship and remembrance.

Image in ISIS’s editorial for issue 560 of al-Naba. Screenshot taken on August 14.

Pro-ISIS Element User Issues Warning Regarding Use of Telegram Following Failed Kuwait Plot

On August 12, a member of a pro-ISIS channel on the Element platform warned that Telegram should no longer be used following the arrest of three people in Kuwait who were allegedly planning to attack a Shia mosque and unspecified “vital facilities.” The Element post noted that Telegram groups used for planning attacks could be infiltrated or controlled by foreign intelligence services. The post encouraged improving operational security by using a secure VPN and a phone number that could not be traced to the user.

The ISIS-K-linked publication Voice of Khorasan advised continuing to use Telegram in January 2025, noting that it should remain in use as long as additional operational security measures were implemented.

Active Club Substack Essay Identifies Liberal White Women as Enemies

On August 8, the main Active Club-affiliated Substack account posted an essay, written by an individual connected to the British wing of the movement, blaming liberal white women for supporting policies that benefit immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. The post noted that liberal white women should be considered enemies to the same extent as “the Jew, migrants, journalists, or our traitorous politicians.” The post portrayed politically active liberal or left-wing white women as unserious and incapable of making decisions either in their own lives or for society as a whole, and as a result, advocating for government policies that would lead to ruin.

The post followed established themes in extreme right discourse of blaming liberal white women for supporting pro-immigration policies, left-wing causes, and opposing white supremacist movements. The Substack post differed from similar memes and screeds that opposed women having a role in political life entirely by pointing to Spanish neo-Nazi activist Isabel Peralta as a role model for women. The essay noted that Peralta is a fascist, whereas liberal women believe in democratic participation. The August 8 post was also made one week after Active Club England announced the formation of an affiliated network for women that promotes motherhood, “wifedom,” and traditional gender roles.

Main Polish Active Club Chapter Glorifies Perpetrator of 2012 Gurdwara Mass Shooting

On August 7, the main Polish Active Club Telegram channel made a post honoring Wade Michael Page, a neo-Nazi musician and military veteran who murdered six people and wounded four others before being killed by police officers in an attack on a Sikh Gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, on August 5, 2012. Page was a member of the neo-Nazi skinhead gang the Hammerskins and had played in several white power bands. The Active Club post noted six bands Page was associated with and stated that he was “widely known” for his attack.

The August 7 post was made approximately two months after the same channel advocated for white supremacist violence in Europe following the sentencing of Vickrum Singh Digwa, a Sikh man who murdered an 18-year-old university student in Southampton, England. 

Both posts contravene the narrative of the Active Club “3.0” subculture that seeks to present a movement based on narratives of adventure, risk, and brotherhood, compared to what is often portrayed as an outdated model of the extreme promotion of violence, lawlessness, and heavy use of neo-Nazi symbols. Several Active Club chapters allegedly have members who are affiliated with the Hammerskins. Individuals from clubs in Southern California, Tennessee, and Maine have been pictured wearing gear affiliated with the Hammerskins or their support club Crew 38, and a Swedish Active Club-affiliated gym has promoted the Hammerskins online. Hammerskins banners have appeared at the Active Club’s annual mixed martial arts and networking event, Frontier, held in Southern California, and, more recently, in a Substack essay.

A photo from a July Active Club-affiliated Substack post, showing a wall plaque featuring a Hammerskins logo. Screenshot taken on July 23.

White Supremacist Under-18 United Youth Clubs Recruit via Interview on YouTube Podcast

On August 9, one of the leaders of the under-18 white supremacist United Youth Club (UYC) movement was interviewed on a YouTube podcast with over 41,000 subscribers. In a friendly interview with the two podcast hosts, the UYC leader who uses the alias Rockwell, likely a reference to George Lincoln Rockwell the founder of the American Nazi Party, stated that the movement was an attempt to create a youth culture on the “3.0” model, and claimed that many members were motivated by what was perceived as societal shaming and exclusion of white men, a reaction to the 2020 George Floyd racial justice protests, anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiment, COVID-era lockdowns, and youth drug use. Rockwell claimed that UYC is operated independently from Patriot Front and Active Clubs, but noted that both groups greatly inspired UYC aesthetics, propaganda, and vetting practices. The UYC leader claimed that the movement had 40 clusters across the country, each consisting of three to five people, and that it had a presence in all 50 states.

The two podcast hosts stated that they hoped the YouTube interview would lead to increased recruitment for the group and asked Rockwell to share UYC recruitment points of contact before the podcast ended with the phrase “total Aryan victory.”

The YouTube video had over 22,000 views four days after it was posted. The two podcasters promote white supremacist themes on their website, where they also sell clothing featuring white supremacist slogans. They claim they were “blacklisted” from the music industry after being publicly “critical of Jewish power.”

CEP reported the video to YouTube on August 13, but it was still on the website four days later.

Under-18 United Youth Clubs Advise Members Not to Carelessly Reveal Ideology in Back-to-School Post 

In an August 10 Telegram post, a channel connected to the under-18 white supremacist United Youth Club (UYC) movement noted that their members would soon be back in school. The post stated that UYC members should be careful about where and how they reveal their ideology and group membership, and that in many situations it was important to “keep private convictions private.” The post claimed that discretion and honesty were equally important, and stated that members should not disconnect from their families.

Post from under-18 white supremacist United Youth Club (UYC) on Telegram on August 10.

White Supremacist and Neo-Nazi Propagandists Mark Ninth Anniversary of Charlottesville Unite the Right Rally

From August 11 to 13, multiple white supremacist and neo-Nazi propagandists marked the ninth anniversary of the Unite the Right rally held in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, where hundreds of right-wing extremists held protests and attacked counter-demonstrators, culminating in the murder of Heather Heyer and the wounding of 35 people after a rally attendee deliberately drove his vehicle into the crowd.

Multiple Telegram channels connected to the Active Club and under-18 United Youth Club movements proclaimed Charlottesville as a defining moment that led to the development of the “3.0” white supremacist movement, based on counterculture that emphasizes themes of brotherhood, mixed martial arts, physical fitness, and local organizing. An Arizona-based Active Club claimed that extreme right activists were the true victims of Charlottesville and noted that the 2017 rally was a wake-up call to abandon demonstrations and focus on building parallel institutions. Other channels that promote the Active Club movement stated that Unite the Right showed that certain leaders were egotistical, flawed, or otherwise ineffective, and that it was a lesson that large public demonstrations are futile.

A Telegram channel connected to former members of the Atomwaffen Division that promotes accelerationism noted that Unite the Right was a failure, and that individuals present were doxed and, in some cases, faced criminal or civil charges. The channel noted that “the system doesn’t see us as a rival political movement…they see us as criminals who need to go to prison forever or worthy of death.” The channel stated that the broader movement should learn from the experience.

Post from an Active Club-affiliated Telegram channel commemorating the August 11-12, 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Screenshot taken on August 11.

White Supremacist and Neo-Nazi Propagandists Praise Department of Justice Arrest of Anti-Extremism Expert and Former SPLC Leader

On August 12 and 13, approximately a dozen Telegram channels connected to white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups and individuals celebrated the U.S. Department of Justice’s indictment of Dr. Heidi Beirich, formerly of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), who the government has accused of fraud. The ongoing prosecution is part of the federal government’s investigation of the SPLC for using paid informants, which the group has condemned as weaponization of the Department of Justice to persecute President Trump’s perceived opponents.

Among the channels that cheered Beirich’s arrest were propagandists from groups she has opposed, including a channel that promotes neo-Nazi accelerationism, the Active Club movement, the under-18 United Youth Club movement, and the Aryan Freedom Network. The neo-Nazi accelerationist channel noted that SPLC employees had assisted in criminal court cases of friends and associates, stating that it was good that the tables had turned. One of the Active Club-affiliated accounts, with over 15,000 subscribers, stated their desire that all journalists who opposed their movement and counter-extremism researchers would be arrested.

Multiple extreme-right Telegram propagandists similarly praised an indictment against the SPLC in May, calling it a major positive development, with one channel hoping it would disrupt or end the infiltration of the white power movement.