Terror Group Continues Use of Social Media & Internet to Amplify its Efforts
On July 29, a group of Westerners cycling through Tajikistan were attacked, resulting in four killed, including two Americans, a Swiss citizen and a Dutch national. Three more were injured in the attack, which ISIS quickly claimed credit for. The cyclists were hit by a car, whose occupants then stabbed the travelers with knives. Unlike the Toronto attack last month however, ISIS was quickly able to provide proof of its involvement, releasing a video on pro-ISIS Telegram channels showing the attackers pledging their allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and ISIS. The video was originally released on multiples websites in addition to Telegram, including the Internet Archive, Streamable, Dropbox and Google Drive.
In Indonesia, the country began a crackdown of the ISIS-linked Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) after the group was found to be responsible for using children to carry out suicide attacks. The move comes as Indonesia has been grappling with ISIS for the better part of a decade, working with U.S. and Australian forces to create its own counter terrorism force. However, the terror group remains a persistent threat, especially as it continues proliferating online. CEP has identified multiples instances on Facebook of propaganda targeted towards Indonesians, including one by the pro-ISIS group KDI Media that includes multiple scenes of IED attacks, beheadings and shootings.
As terrorist propaganda on social media continues to proliferate, Bloomberg reported that the European Union was preparing a tougher new set of laws to govern tech companies and their efforts to remove extremist content on their platforms. Although the details are yet to be finalized, it is likely to be based on previously released guidelines that gave them one hour to remove extremist content online. CEP senior advisor Dr. Hany Farid had some further suggestions of his own highlighting the limitations of only measuring by views, “We should measure efficacy by how many views violent or radicalizing content garners, how many times it is uploaded and allowed to remain on-line, and how aggressively accounts are removed after clear violations.”
To view examples of extremist content found online this week, please see the background below. to view additional examples, please contact CEP at [email protected].
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ISIS Attack On Tourists In Tajikistan
On Sunday, July 29, a group of Westerners cycling through Tajikistan were attacked, resulting in four killed, including two Americans, a Swiss citizen and a Dutch national. Three more were injured in the attack. The cyclists were hit by a car, whose occupants then stabbed the travelers with knives. On Tuesday, July 31, a video was released by the Amaq News Agency on pro-ISIS Telegram channels showing the attackers pledging their allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and ISIS. Tajik security forces killed an unknown number of the ISIS cell following the attack.
The Amaq video was originally released on six websites in addition to Telegram, including the Internet Archive, Streamable, yadi.sk, Dropbox, mail.ru, and Google Drive. Approximately 48 hours later, the video was still active on four sites (in addition to Telegram), Streamable, yadi.sk, mail.ru and Google Drive.
The Video On Google Drive, On August 2.
Notorious ISIS Bombmaking Video Located On The Internet Archive
On Thursday, August 2, a version of the infamous ISIS bomb making video, “You Must Fight Them O Muwahhid” was located on the Internet Archive. The video was uploaded to the site on June 16, 2018 and was still live as of August 2 with 110 views. The video was originally released on November 26, 2016.
The video shows step-by-step instructions for the construction of a TATP explosive device using obtainable and legal components. The video was linked by The Times to the Manchester bomber Salman Abedi. Munir Hassan Mohammed, arrested in December 2016 (sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 14 years in February 2018) for plotting a terrorist attack in the UK with Rowaida El-Hassan, had watched the video and was gathering the chemicals necessary to make such a weapon. Despite TATP’s dangerous instability, it has been a favorite among terrorists in Europe because of its explosive power and often easily obtainable and legal components.
“You Must Fight Them O Muwahhid” On The Internet Archive, August 2.
New Violent ISIS Video Release From North Baghdad
On Sunday July 29, ISIS’s self-proclaimed province in North Baghdad released a video titled “The Sword Of Jihad,” that shows several executions of accused apostates and spies, combat against Iraqi popular mobilization forces and IED attacks. The video notably shows the execution of nine men in blue jumpsuits in a scene reminiscent of ISIS footage from 2015.
The video was originally released on at least 22 sites in addition to Telegram, including Sendvid, Mediafire, Microsoft One Drive, the Internet Archive, mail.ru, Top4top, Dailymotion, Google Drive, Google Photos, YouTube, Dropbox, files.fm, Gulfupload.com, mega.nz, ok.ru, pc.cd, Tune.pk, upmlf.com, Vimeo, Amazon Cloud Drive, Vidio, and Yadi.sk. Approximately four days later, the video was still active on 7 sites: mail.ru, Google Drive, Google Photos, Dropbox, Gulfupload.com, upmlf.com, Vidio and Yadi.sk.
“The Sword Of Jihad” On Google Drive On August 2, Four Days After The Video Was Uploaded.
New ISIS Video Release From Yemen
On Wednesday, August 1, ISIS’s self-proclaimed Bayda province in Yemen released a video titled “The Initiator is the Aggressor” that shows captured Al Qaeda fighters in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The video also details the fight in Yemen between ISIS and AQAP, and accuses AQAP of collaborating with the Yemeni army.
The video was originally released on at least 22 websites in addition to Telegram: YouTube, Google Drive, Google Photos, Mediafire, Sendvid, Ustream, Microsoft One Drive, the Internet Archive, Top4top.net, mail.ru, Dailymotion, Dropbox, File.fm, Mega.nz, nofile.io, ok.ru, pc.cd, Streamable, tune.pk, Vimeo, Amazon Cloud Drive and Yadi.sk. Approximately 24 hours later, the video was still active on 17 websites: Google Drive, Google Photos, Mediafire, Ustream, Microsoft One Drive, the Internet Archive, Top4top.net, mail.ru, Dropbox, File.fm, Mega.nz, nofile.io, ok.ru, Streamable, tune.pk, Amazon Cloud Drive and Yadi.sk.
“The Initiator Is The Aggressor” On The IBM Cloud Service Ustream On August 2.
ISIS Video That Includes Multiple Executions On Facebook For Three Months
Time on Facebook: Three months
Views: 105 and three likes/reacts
URL: Link
A pro-ISIS video made by the Indonesian pro-ISIS group KDI Media. The video includes extensive footage taken from early ISIS videos in approximately 2014 and 2015, and includes multiple scenes of IED attacks, beheadings and shootings. The video also includes footage from “Although the Disbelievers Dislike it,” released in November 2014, which showed the severed head of ISIS hostage Peter (Abdul-Rahman) Kassig by Mohammad Emwazi. The video was recognized as violent by Facebook and was obscured with a privacy screen, requiring an extra click to view.
ISIS Video By KDI Media, Live As Of August 2.
Pro-ISIS Video With Several Execution Photos
Time on Facebook: Approximately two weeks
Views: 14 and six likes/reacts
URL: Link
A pro-ISIS fan video made by the Indonesian group Gen 5.54 (Generation 5.54). The video is a collage of still images taken from ISIS propaganda releases, and includes firearm executions committed by children and beheadings.
ISIS Video By Generation 5.54, Live As Of August 2.
BACKGROUND
After ISIS Killed Several Cyclists In Tajikistan, The Terror Group Released A Video Taking Credit And Providing Proof Of Its Involvement. “A day after claiming its first attack in Tajikistan, the Islamic State released a video on Tuesday that purports to show the five attackers joining hands and pledging allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the terrorist group’s leader. The video was released by the Islamic State’s internal news agency and suggests that the attackers had at least a digital connection to the Islamic State, allowing them to send the footage to the group before last weekend’s attack on several cyclists who were run over and attacked on a mountain road in Tajikistan. The Islamic State, also known as ISIS, releases a pledge video for only a minority of the attacks it claims. In the past, the existence of the video has provided the first concrete clue of an online connection between the assailants and the terrorist group’s central organization. The fact that the attackers managed to get the footage to ISIS points to an avenue for contacting the group, analysts say.” (Rukmini Callimachi & Andrew E. Kramer, “Video Purports To Show Tajikistan Attackers Pledging Allegiance To ISIS,” The New York Times, 7/31/18)
Indonesia Began A Crackdown Of ISIS Affiliated Jemaah Ansharut Daulah After It Carried Out Suicide Bombings Involving Children. “Indonesia banned the militant group behind Islamic State’s first attack in Southeast Asia and suicide bombings involving children, a move that foreshadows the arrests of hundreds of the group’s members in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation. The decision by a Jakarta court Tuesday to outlaw Jemaah Ansharut Daulah follows a crackdown on the group, which police say was responsible for a gun-and-bombs assault at a Starbucks in the capital that left four bystanders dead, along with four attackers, in early 2016. Members of JAD also carried out suicide bombings at churches and a police post in the country’s second-largest city, Surabaya, which involved the use of children and left more than a dozen dead.” (Ben Otto & Anita Rachman, “Indonesia Bans Islamic State-Linked Terror Group Behind Child Suicide Bombings,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/31/18)
Indonesia Has Had Success In Beating Back Terrorism. “In January 2017, the U.S. named JAD a specially designated global terrorist organization, barring U.S. citizens and businesses from conducting transactions with the group. Despite some recent setbacks, Indonesia for the most part has contained a terrorist threat that peaked in the early 2000s, by building up an elite counterterrorism force with U.S. and Australian assistance. That effort has prevented militants from attempting to establish an Islamic caliphate in Indonesia, instead targeting more poorly policed regions of the neighboring Philippines, according to terrorism experts.” (Ben Otto & Anita Rachman, “Indonesia Bans Islamic State-Linked Terror Group Behind Child Suicide Bombings,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/31/18)
Bloomberg Has Reported That The European Union Is Preparing Tougher New Laws Governing Extremist Content On Tech Companies’ Platforms. “Google, Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc. have taken significant steps to expunge Islamic State propaganda and other terrorist content from their platforms. But taking no chances, the European Union is set to propose a tough new law anyway – threatening internet platforms, big and small, with fines if they fail to take down terrorist material, according to people familiar with the proposals that could be unveiled as soon as September. While the details of the measures are still being thrashed out, they would likely be based on the EU guidance from earlier this year, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details aren’t yet public. The EU in March issued guidelines giving internet companies an hour from notification by authorities to wipe material such as gruesome beheading videos and other terror content from their services, or face possible legislation if they fail to do so.” (Natalia Drozdiak & Stephanie Bodoni, “Tech Giants Face Terror Law In EU Crackdown On Internet Hate,” Bloomberg, 7/27/18)
CEP Senior Advisor Dr. Hany Farid: “Measuring The Efficacy Of Countering Online Extremism By The Number Of Take-Downs And The Time To Take-Down Does Not Tell The Complete Story.” “Measuring the efficacy of countering online extremism by the number of take-downs and the time to take-down does not tell the complete story. We should measure efficacy by how many views violent or radicalizing content garners, how many times it is uploaded and allowed to remain on-line, and how aggressively accounts are removed after clear violations. ISIS material, similar to other types of propaganda, is posted in order to influence opinions and actions. A larger audience raises the possibility that someone may commit an act of terrorism. Setting standards for removal time periods is a good first step, but lawmakers should also consider regulating and potentially fining companies based on highly viewed terrorist material and inaction in removing accounts that repeatedly upload banned content.” (Hany Farid, “Recruiting Terrorists: We’re Losing The Fight Against Online Extremism – Here’s Why,” The Hill, 8/2/18)