(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 propaganda and incite violence. CEP researchers found and reported several uploads of a pro-ISIS propaganda video released on May 6 that called for acts of terrorism against Jews around the world. In a sample of Instagram content, CEP located 15 pro-ISIS accounts that posted various propaganda video clips and photos. Before the May 10 ceasefire between India and Pakistan, Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) called for attacks on India, noting that fighting was mandatory.
Several white supremacist online accounts or channels encouraged their followers to donate to a fundraiser on GiveSendGo to a Rochester, Minnesota woman who used a racial slur to refer to a child in a video widely shared online. Accounts or channels affiliated with Active Clubs, the White Lives Matter movement, the extreme right Murder the Media channel, Blood Tribe, and the Northwest Front encouraged their followers to donate.
White supremacist Telegram channels spread anti-South Asian content, including AI-generated images and memes, during the round of fighting between India and Pakistan. Also on Telegram, a new Active Club chapter for the Washington, D.C. area announced its existence.
Unofficial Pro-ISIS Video Encourages Attacks on Jews
On May 6, the pro-ISIS propaganda group al-Battar Media released a video encouraging attacks on Jews around the world, including in the U.S. and Europe, as well as attacks on U.S. and European embassies. The footage included text and information from an editorial that appeared in al-Naba edition 413, released on October 19, 2023, and contained footage from previously released ISIS videos.
ISIS online supporters released the video on Telegram, RocketChat, SimpleX, and uploaded it to at least nine other websites. On May 7, CEP reported the video to Instagram, Facebook, the Internet Archive, Mega.Nz, FromSmash, GoFile.Io, Files.Fm, Lain.La, and Fileditchfiles.me. As of May 12, the video was removed from seven of the nine websites, remaining on Files.Fm and Fileditchfiles.me. The video had received over 3,900 views on Facebook before the platform removed it.
On May 8, a pro-ISIS German language group, al-Saif Media, released a German translation of the video on RocketChat and at least three other websites. CEP reported the video to FromSmash, Files.Fm, and Fileditchfiles.me. FromSmash and Files.Fm deleted the upload.
Pro-ISIS video on Facebook, where it was received over 3,900 views. Screenshot taken on May 7. Facebook removed the video after CEP reported it.
Pro-ISIS Content Located on Instagram
In a sample of content located on May 5 and 6, CEP researchers found 15 accounts on Meta-owned Instagram that posted ISIS and pro-ISIS propaganda. Content included an account connected to a Telegram bot that calls for lone-actor terrorism, accounts that posted clips from official ISIS videos and pro-ISIS videos, audio statements, Amaq propaganda photos, Amaq and Nashir claims of responsibility, and pages from the group’s weekly al-Naba newsletter. At least two accounts posted videos that included execution footage.
The 15 accounts had between 176 and 30,200 followers, averaging 2,594. Omitting the outlier account with 30,200 followers, the remaining 14 accounts averaged 622 followers. The account with over 30,000 followers first posted in August 2024, and uploaded several clips from ISIS videos, pages from al-Naba, and Amaq and Nashir claims of responsibility.
CEP reported the 15 accounts to Instagram on May 6. As of May 12, nine accounts were still online.
An ISIS video on Instagram calling for acts of violence. Screenshot taken on May 5.
Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent Calls for Attacks on India
On May 7, Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent released a statement condemning Indian airstrikes on targets in Pakistan. The post accused India of destroying mosques and residences and killing civilians, noting that this was the most recent chapter of a multi-decade conflict. The statement reiterated AQIS’s call to fight against the government of India, stating that it was mandatory.
AQIS statement condemning India and calling for attacks. Screenshot taken on May 8.
White Supremacist Telegram Channels and Groups Advocate Donating to Rochester, Minnesota Woman
Several Telegram channels affiliated with white supremacist groups advocated donating money to a Rochester, Minnesota woman, Shiloh Hendrix, via the crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo. As of May 8, Hendrix had raised over $750,000, allegedly for relocation costs, after a video showing her using racial slurs against a black child and another individual went viral. Members of white supremacist groups were among the over 28,500 individuals who donated to her fundraising campaign.
In posts between May 1 and May 8, the GiveSendGo campaign was shared by Telegram channels affiliated with California and Arizona Active Club channels; White Lives Matter channels in Alabama and Ohio; an influential white supremacist channel that supports Active Clubs and Patriot Front; the extreme right Murder the Media channel; Christopher Pohlhaus, the leader of the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe; and a channel allegedly belonging to the Northwest Front. Additionally, a Texas Active Club chapter encouraged donations to the campaign but did not share the URL.
In terms of actual donations, the Northwest Front affiliated channel shared a screenshot of a $1,022 donation on May 1. Pohlhaus and another member of Blood Tribe posted screenshots on X of donations they claimed to have made, with Pohlhaus stating that anyone upset over the situation should “be physically silenced forever.”
On May 3, a Telegram channel affiliated with a multi-state Midwest Active Club chapter posted a photo of a member holding the group’s sticker in Rochester. On May 6, a Telegram channel affiliated with a Minnesota Active Club chapter encouraged joining the white supremacist movement, stating that “isolated individuals” cannot “defend” white women.
A member of a Central California Active Club chapter posted that he regretted sharing the GiveSendGo link, approximately 24 hours later, noting that white supremacist movements and their long-term members did not receive such large quantities of money. The individual posted several other GiveSendGo campaigns, including one for a member of the support club for the neo-Nazi Vinlanders Social Club.
Extreme-Right Telegram Channels Spread Anti-South Asian Memes During India-Pakistan Conflict
Following Indian airstrikes on targets in Pakistan on May 6, extreme right Telegram channel administrators spread anti-South Asian rhetoric and memes. Several admins hoped that a war would kill large numbers of Indians and Pakistanis. Other channels posted anti-South Asian AI-generated images.
Washington, D.C. Area Active Club Announced
On May 4, a Telegram channel for the Washington D.C. area Active Club chapter made its first post. The chapter includes parts of Maryland and Virginia that comprise the Washington metropolitan area. An Active Club chapter exists for central Virginia.