Likes, Trends & Suggested Friends: ISIS’s Toolkit to Find, Recruit & Radicalize

For Immediate Release Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Social Media Helps Extremists Like Ahmad Musa Jibril Spread Radical Beliefs & Build Communities

Ahmad Musa Jibril is a Michigan-based, Salafist preacher and online extremist popular with foreign fighters in Syria. In his online lectures, Jibril is careful to not specifically call for violence or endorse particular organizations, instead he offers a strict religious interpretation hostile to the West. Jibril has also previously sent his condolences to the family of a British ISIS member killed in Syria, as well as praised another British individual on Twitter who was killed while fighting with ISIS. Nonetheless, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) has identified him as one of several extremist ideologues online who have inspired terrorists to action, including Khuram Butt, one of the June 2017 London Bridge attackers.​Jibril served six and a half years in prison for several crimes, including fraud and money laundering, and was released in 2012. A federal judge restricted Jibril’s Internet and social media access in June 2014 after he violated the terms of his probation. Despite Jibril’s popularity with foreign fighters in Syria, prior support for violence and indirect role in radicalizing one of the 2017 London Bridge attackers, his content can be found on a wide variety of websites and platforms.

The effort to remove online extremists like Jibril from the public consciousness is being undermined by the same tools designed by Twitter, Facebook and other social platforms to foster a sense of community and keep users “in the know,” which extremists are using to find and grow their own.  Experts fear they are creating an echo-chamber capable of promulgating extremist ideas and catalyzing radicalization. Twitter’s “like” feature has awarded incendiary ideas with affirmation and legitimacy, while prominently displayed “trends” have allowed hashtags such as “Kill all Jews” to rise above the fray. Earlier this year, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) found Facebook’s features and algorithms are facilitating the organizing of ISIS on its website, including by exploiting Facebook Live workarounds that allow extremists to host meetings and link to banned material in comments.  Facebook’s “recommended friends” tool has even sourced pro-ISIS individuals’ connection, allowing for the discovery of prominent voices adept at radicalizing the masses.

What may be most troubling is ISIS’s ability to consistently adapt and find ways to continue operating undetected from law enforcement. Recently, the website PasteThis.At, a text and photo bulletin message board that was used for ISIS propaganda distribution was taken down only to be replaced by PasteThis.To. PasteThis.At boasted lax terms of service and did not have a content report button – a useful combination to host extremist propaganda. The site was disabled sometime last week and it is unknown by whom exactly. After its removal, a pro-ISIS Telegram account announced that PasteThis.At’s new domain was PasteThis.To. The .To domain is the country domain for Tonga and the PasteThis.To site is identical to the previous .At domain. It uses Cloudflare as the primary and secondary host name and there is no information regarding the identity of the individual who registered the site. The seamless removal and set up of a new site, identical to the previously removed website, suggests coordination between PasteThis.At, PasteThis.To, and ISIS propaganda elements, further illustrating ISIS’s unmatched capability to adapt and continue the spread of its propaganda.

AHMAD MUSA JIBRIL

Content Report

Ahmad Musa Jibril is a Michigan-based Salafist preacher popular with foreign fighters in Syria. In his online lectures, Jibril is careful to not specifically call for violence or endorse particular organizations, but instead offers a strict religious interpretation hostile to the West. Jibril has previously sent his condolences to the family of a British ISIS member killed in Syria, as well as praised another British individual on Twitter who was killed while fighting with ISIS. One of the 2017 London Bridge attackers, Khuram Shazad Butt, reportedly was a fan of Jibril’s lectures as he became more radical in the years leading up to the attack.

While Jibril’s lectures do not explicitly call for violence, he has endorsed the use of force in the past. Jibril was reportedly kicked out of a mosque in the early 2000s for supporting the murder of non-Muslims. In an unrelated fraud trial, U.S. government attorneys described a website he operated as hosting extremist religious sermons and that Jibril “encouraged his students to spread Islam by the sword, to wage a holy war [and] to hate and kill non-Muslims.” Jibril has previously been described by an FBI Special Agent as a supporter of ISIS during an investigation into an American man charged with support for that group.

Jibril served six and a half years in prison for several crimes, including fraud and money laundering, and was released in 2012. Jibril had his Internet and social media access restricted by a federal judge in June 2014 after violating the terms of his probation. Despite Jibril’s popularity with foreign fighters in Syria, prior support for violence and indirect role in radicalizing one of the 2017 London Bridge attackers, his content can be found on a wide variety of websites and platforms.

Survey Of Ahmad Musa Jibril Content

YouTube

  • A search for “Ahmad Musa Jibril” on YouTube led to 2,310 results (November 5, 2018).
  • A search for “Shaykh Ahmad Jibril” on YouTube led to 2,300 results (November 5, 2018).
  • Additionally, there were a minimum of 10 channels that included either substantial numbers of Jibril lectures or a sizable percentage of channel videos that were Jibril lectures.
  1. Channel name: Shaykh Ahmad Jibril
    1. URL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHeLe7tXgT0Qq549Y_eVNBA
    2. # of Jibril videos/number of total videos: 128/128
    3. Subscribers: 3,658 (November 5, 2018)
    4. Views: 122,404 (November 5, 2018)
    5. Created: October 10, 2017
    6. Last video upload: June 3, 2018
  2. Channel name: Ahmad Jibril
    1. URL: https://www.youtube.com/user/AhmadMusaJibril
    2. # of Jibril videos/number of total videos: 124/124
    3. Subscribers: 18,393 (November 5, 2018)
    4. Views: 1,022,524 (November 5, 2018)
    5. Created: October 8, 2011
    6. Last video upload: June 12, 2018
  3. Channel name: الحق الحق
    1. URL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCblrl5I9GkGQWlrYLUKZh4Q
    2. # of Jibril videos/number of total videos: 92/117
    3. Subscribers: 1,302 (November 5, 2018)
    4. Views: 63,890 (November 5, 2018)
    5. Created: October 30, 2017
    6. Last video upload: September 17, 2018
  4. Channel name: Ahmad Musa Jibril Lectures
    1. URL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1wc3FdgFDvBNGVhaAY283Q
    2. # of Jibril videos/number of total videos: 3/3
    3. Subscribers: 29 (November 5, 2018)
    4. Views: 482 (November 5, 2018)
    5. Created: August 2014 (estimated)
    6. Last video upload: August 4, 2014
  5. Channel name: Seek Truth
    1. URL: https://www.youtube.com/user/SupportShaykhAhmad
    2. # of Jibril videos/number of total videos: 4/4
    3. Subscribers: 738 (November 5, 2018)
    4. Views: 23,135 (November 5, 2018)
    5. Created: June 4, 2014
    6. Last video upload: September 26, 2014
  6. Channel name: Lions of Haqq
    1. URL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZoInJ98i4qqBI3e5pjTZbw/videos
    2. # of Jibril videos/number of total videos: 22/23
    3. Subscribers: 472 (November 5, 2018)
    4. Views: 13,566 (November 5, 2018)
    5. Created: May 28, 2018
    6. Last video upload: November 1, 2018
  7. Channel name: Shaykh Ahmad Jibril Video
    1. URL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJjSrEJ1ly3uzATdqrbYgNA
    2. # of Jibril videos/number of total videos: 14/14
    3. Subscribers: 11 (November 5, 2018)
    4. Views: 144 (November 5, 2018)
    5. Created: December 25, 2017
    6. Last video upload: January 3, 2018
  8. Channel name: Ahmad Musa Jibril
    1. URL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOdpBbmIXiCsQggL52pguCw
    2. # of Jibril videos/number of total videos: 2/2
    3. Subscribers: Eight (November 5, 2018)
    4. Views: 181 (November 5, 2018)
    5. Created: May 2017 (estimated)
    6. Last video upload: May 27, 2017
  9. Channel name: PathTo IslamAgain
    1. URL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA5mIvomasi_dUAP1czEYFQ/videos
    2. # of Jibril videos/number of total videos: 4/4
    3. Subscribers: Two (November 5, 2018)
    4. Views: 216 (November 5, 2018)
    5. Created: November 13, 2017
    6. Last video upload: June 22, 2018
  10. Channel name: Ahmad Jibril Deutsch
    1. URL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuQm09Xz4btSpbdOL3epcKQ
    2. # of Jibril videos/number of total videos: 8/8
    3. Subscribers: 155 (November 5, 2018)
    4. Views: 6,985 (November 5, 2018)
    5. Created: April 30, 2016
    6. Last video upload: September 24, 2016

Website

URL: http://ahmadjibril.com/

Registrar: Domain.com, LLC

Description: A website created by Jibril’s followers.  It includes an index of Jibril videos that can be watched on YouTube, as well as articles written by Jibril.  Under “updates,” the site claims that “[s]ome classes that were recorded prior to the Shaykh being restricted yet never published online will soon be released.”  According to WhoIs information, the site was last updated on December 27, 2017.

Apple iTunes

  1. Title: Ahmad Jibril podcast by “Muslim Central”
    1. URL: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ahmad-jibril/id1094606168?mt=2            
    2. Uploaded: March 17, 2016 (beginning of uploads)
    3. Most recent upload: February 13, 2018
    4. Description: 86 Jibril lectures available for a free download on iTunes.  Featured lecture series include “Gems of Ramadan” and the “Tawheed Series.”
  2. Title: Tawheed (The Three Fundamental Principles) – Sh. Ahmad Musa Jibril
    1. URL: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tawheed-three-fundamental-principles-sh-ahmad-musa/id823475508?mt=2
    2. Uploaded: February 16 and 17, 2014
    3. Description: 30 free Jibril lectures on iTunes, includes a Dropbox link to transcripts for the posted lectures.

Facebook

  1. Individual/Group Name: Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril
    1. URL: https://www.facebook.com/ShaykhAhmadMusaJibril/?ref=br_rs
    2. Likes/Followers: 238,470/238,039 (November 5, 2018)
    3. Created: January 10, 2013
    4. Last post: July 9, 2014
    5. Note: Page. “Run and managed by students”
  2. Individual/Group Name: Gems of shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril
    1. URL: https://www.facebook.com/shaykhahmadmusajibrl/?ref=br_rs
    2. Likes/Followers: 17,046/17,215 (November 5, 2018)
    3. Created: July 29, 2015
    4. Last Post: August 29, 2018
    5. Note: Page.  Short posts of Jibril’s statements and religious exhortations.
  3. Individual/Group Name: Video Lectures of Shaykh Ahmad Musa Jibril on Tawheed
    1. URL: https://www.facebook.com/Video-Lectures-of-Shaykh-Ahmad-Musa-Jibril-on-Tawheed-1667314640156126/?ref=br_rs
    2. Likes/Followers: 4,116/4,120 (November 5, 2018)
    3. Created: July 28, 2015
    4. Last Post: April 25, 2016
    5. Note: Page.  Not active.
  4. Individual/Group Name: Shaikh Ahmad Musa Jibril – Deutsch
    1. URL: https://www.facebook.com/ShaikhAhmadMusaJibril/?ref=br_rs
    2. Likes/Followers: 2,284/2,351 (November 5, 2018)
    3. Created: January 14, 2016
    4. Last Post: November 5, 2018
    5. Note: Active German language page dedicated to the teachings and statements of Jibril.

Dailymotion

  • A search for “Ahmad Musa Jibril” on Dailymotion led to 117 results (November 5, 2018).
  • A search for “Shaykh Ahmad Jibril” on Dailymotion led to 9 results (November 5, 2018).

Vimeo

  • A search for “Ahmad Musa Jibril” on Vimeo led to 75 results (November 5, 2018).
  • A search for “Shaykh Ahmad Jibril” on Vimeo led to 24 results (November 5, 2018).

Internet Archive

  • A search for “Ahmad Musa Jibril” on the Internet Archive led to 497 results (November 5, 2018).
  • A search for “Shaykh Ahmad Jibril” on the Internet Archive led to 337 results (November 5, 2018).

Telegram

  • There are at least three Jibril Telegram channels:
    • “Sh. Ahmad Musa Jibril,” 99 subscribers, @Ahmad_jibril, inactive
    • “Ahmad Jibril Words of Wisdom,” 28 subscribers, @AhmadJibrilWordsOfWisdom, inactive
    • “Shaykh Ahmad Gems,” 1,422 members, @ShaykhAhmadGemz, active, approximately zero to three posts per week

Twitter

  • There are at least six Jibril Twitter accounts
  1. Name: Ahmad Jibril
    1. URL: https://twitter.com/ahmadmusajibril?lang=en
    2. Followers: 39,000+ (November 5, 2018)
    3. Tweets: 1,743 (November 5, 2018)
    4. Created: October 2011
    5. Last post: July 10, 2014
    6. Note: Jibril’s original Twitter profile.  It is currently inactive, but has a large quantity of historic tweets available.
  2. Name: Shaykh Musa Jibril
    1. URL: https://twitter.com/ShaykhMusaGems
    2. Followers: 899 (November 5, 2018)
    3. Tweets: 2,164 (November 5, 2018)
    4. Created: August 2016
    5. Last post: November 4, 2018
    6. Note: Active Twitter account that posts Jibril statements and religious exhortations.  Links to website https://www.lightofthetruth.info/, which is not affiliated with Jibril.
  3. Name: Gems of Shaykh AhmadMJ
    1. URL: https://twitter.com/GemsofShaykhAMJ
    2. Followers: 230 (November 5, 2018)
    3. Tweets: 23 (November 5, 2018)
    4. Created: March 2015
    5. Last post: April 21, 2015
    6. Note: Inactive fan account for Jibril.
  4. Name: Ahmad Jibril
    1. URL: https://twitter.com/AhmadJibril_E
    2. Followers: 1,621 (November 5, 2018)
    3. Tweets: 364 (November 5, 2018)
    4. Created: July 2014
    5. Last post: July 6, 2018
    6. Note: Inactive fan account for Jibril.
  5. Name:ShaykhAhmadJibril
    1. URL: https://twitter.com/ShaykhAhmad_
    2. Followers: 247 (November 5, 2018)
    3. Tweets: 119 (November 5, 2018)
    4. Created: January 2017
    5. Last post: February 22, 2018
    6. Note: Inactive fan account for Jibril.
  6. Name: Thalāthatul-Usūl
    1. URL: https://twitter.com/AbooTawheed
    2. Followers: 442 (November 5, 2018)
    3. Tweets: 10  (November 5, 2018)
    4. Created: December 2015
    5. Last post: March 6, 2016
    6. Note: Inactive fan account for Jibril.

Wordpress​

EXTREMIST CONTENT ONLINE

Important Site For Sharing ISIS Propaganda Taken Down & Replaced

The website PasteThis.At, a text and photo bulletin message board, that was an important node in ISIS propaganda distribution has been taken down from the Internet and replaced by PasteThis.To. PasteThis.At was used primarily for sharing text-based propaganda, ISIS photo sets, and links to videos and other websites. PasteThis.At differed from similar bulletin board websites such as JustPaste.It, in that differences such as PasteThis.At’s terms of service and lack of a content report button appear to be have been made in order to host extremist propaganda. ISIS photo sets remained on the website for months. It is estimated that PasteThis.At was removed from the Internet on Monday, October 29. It is unknown who disabled the site. The last ISIS photo propaganda set posted on PasteThis.At showed the capture and execution of three Iraqi security personnel in ISIS’s self-proclaimed Anbar province.

On Tuesday October 30, a pro-ISIS Telegram account announced that PasteThis.At’s new domain was PasteThis.To. The .To domain is the country domain for Tonga. The PasteThis.To site is identical to the previous .At domain. According to WhoIs information, PasteThis.To was registered on October 26, 2018 and uses Cloudflare as the primary and secondary host name. There is no information regarding the identity of the individual who registered the site. The first ISIS propaganda photo set on the site was uploaded on October 30.  The quick set up of a new site, identical to the previously removed website so shortly after it went down suggests coordination between PasteThis.At, PasteThis.To, and ISIS propaganda elements.

Telegram Channel Urging Users To Switch From PasteThis.At To PasteThis.To

ISIS Propaganda Photo On PasteThis.To, November 1, 2018

New ISIS Video Urges Attacks & Continuation Of Online Propaganda War

On October 30, ISIS released “Inside the Caliphate 8.” The video was released in both English and Arabic, from the group’s Al Hayat Media Center, and is unique because it is primarily directed towards ISIS’s online propagandists and supporters, drawing a direct comparison between ISIS fighters and media operatives. The video calls for the viewer to travel to ISIS-held territory or commit attacks in their home country, but if they unable (or unwilling) to do either, the viewer is then advised to “support the caliphate on the digital front.” Regarding the deletion of accounts or content, ISIS tells their supporters, “If they close one account, open another three, and if they close three, open another thirty.” The video also included a graphic of a truck (indicating vehicular attacks) driving past crudely drawn landmarks in New York, Paris, London and Moscow. On October 31, a Spanish subtitled version of the video had been released via a pro-ISIS Spanish language Telegram channel.

The video explains how ISIS expects their online supporters to act. The primary expectation is one of obedience and the sharing of official propaganda. The video explains what behaviors are considered detrimental or indicative of spies, like spreading rumors or non-official propaganda that may contrast with the official line. The video also warns of online infiltrators and offers tips on identifying them. This is the first time that ISIS has so directly addressed their online supporters or given specific warnings regarding online infiltrators or online disagreements. While the video does encourage attacks in the West, Russia and elsewhere, encouraging violence is not the main message, instead it’s the maintenance of an online community that is crucial for ISIS’s future through the broadcasting and amplification of propaganda and politico-religious doctrine.

In addition to Telegram, the video was originally released on at least 27 websites: Facebook, the Internet Archive, pc.cd, Sendvid, Mediafire, Ustream, Microsoft OneDrive, Top4top.net, Dailymotion, Google Drive, Google Photos, file.fm, filebin.net, mega.nz, megaup.net, mail.ru, nofile.io, ok.ru, Tune.pk, upmlf.com, Vidbom, Vimeo, the Amazon Drive, Dropbox, Vidio, Yadi.sk, and YouTube.  Two days later, the video was still available on 10 websites: Facebook, the Internet Archive, Mediafire, file.fm, mega.nz, megaup.net, nofile.io, Google Photos, upmlf.com and Amazon Drive.

“Inside The Caliphate 8” On Amazon Drive, November 1

New ISIS Nasheed Released On Several Websites

A new ISIS nasheed titled “I sacrifice myself for the caliphate” was released on Wednesday, October 31 from ISIS’s nasheed media center, the Ajnad Foundation. Listening and sharing nasheeds was listed as an important activity in the recently released video “Inside the Caliphate 8.”  The nasheed was released in both an mp3 and static background mp4 format. In addition to Telegram, the nasheed was uploaded to at least nine websites: the Internet Archive, Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, Amazon Drive, top4top, mega.nz, mediafire, file.fm, nofile.io. One day later, the nasheed was still available on four sites in addition to Telegram: top4top, Amazon Drive, mega.nz and file.fm.

Pro-ISIS Declaration On Guerilla Warfare Released On Telegram In Four Languages

On October 31, the pro-ISIS Ashhad Media Foundation released an image in Arabic, English, Russian and Portuguese declaring that ISIS will continue the fight in the desert as guerillas, attacking and then withdrawing.  The text tries to portray this development as anything but a setback, declaring “the mujahideen do not link the Jihad to land without another place or time [sic].”

The Propaganda Image/Text In Arabic, English, Portuguese And Russian, Located On Telegram On October 31

BACKGROUND

Twitter Listed “Kill All Jews” As A Trending Topic. “Some Twitter users started to notice the trending topic on Friday morning and began wondering why the platform was promoting the hateful phrase, which was a violation of the social network’s own rules. According to Twitter, it does not permit profanity or words that ‘incite hate on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease’ in its trending section. Topics are set by algorithms but can later be reviewed by human moderators. ‘This phrase should not have appeared in trends, and we’re sorry for this mistake,’ a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement. ‘This was trending as a result of coverage and horrified reactions to the vandalism against a synagogue in New York. Regardless, it should not have appeared as a trend.’ Twitter has removed the phrase as a trending topic, though it was up for at least 10 minutes for some users.  ‘Kill all Jews’ was not among the number of racist epithets that were graffitied on the wall of the Brooklyn synagogue, but because of inaccurate news coverage alleging that it was, it became the driver of conversation on Twitter. The phrase is particularly sensitive given the mass shooting last week in which a man killed 11 people at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue.” (Katie Notopoulos & Ryan Mac, “Twitter Listed A Trending Topic For ‘Kill All Jews’ After A Brooklyn Synagogue Was Vandalized,” BuzzFeed News, 11/2/18)

“Likes” Can Create A Dangerous Echo-Chamber For All Users – Especially Online Extremists. “Likes not only establish social pecking order, but they also make members feel more important. Receiving a like is an affirmation that what you’ve written resonates with someone, and for many people who end up in extremist circles, that affirmation is important, as research on radicalization finds that many extremists feel marginalized (paywall), and have a strong desire to belong. Those likes also represent social support, lending credibility to fringe beliefs that might become normal in some online groups. Receiving positive signals can also lead a person to reciprocate by giving positive signals to other users, strengthening community bonds. For instance, in a study of Facebook users, when people received a ‘like’ from a friend, they were more likely to reciprocate (paywall) by hitting ‘like’ on a post that friend had made. In another study by communications researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Syracuse University, likes built community (pdf) very quickly. Participants watched a televised community debate about new land development while using a Twitter-like platform to post their thoughts and look at others’ posts. Unbeknownst to participants, all other posts were pre-programmed, as were any ‘likes’ they received on their own posts; some participants received likes, while others received none. Those that got likes reported feeling more a part of a community.” (Jane C. Hu, “Social Media ‘Likes’ Build Communities Online – But That Goes For Extremists, Too,” Quartz, 10/31/18)

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