Islamic State propaganda efforts struggle after Telegram takedowns, Europol says

Islamic State propaganda efforts struggle after Telegram takedowns, Europol says
Written by Jul 28, 2020 | CYBERSCOOP

The Islamic State terrorist group is reportedly struggling to regain a foothold on mainstream social networks amid tighter controls from technology firms and ongoing attention from the U.S. military.


As major networks have stifled the group, it has tried to build a presence on a number of marginal social media platforms, only to be met “by increasing efforts by these companies to bring down content,” the European Union’s law enforcement agency, Europol, said Tuesday in a report examining the extremist group’s activities over 2019.


Telegram, previously the primary source of terrorist propaganda online, according to Europol, said in November that it had removed more than 5,000 “terrorist accounts and bots” during a two day effort against the group, an uptick from the typical average of 200 to 300 removals. Since then, IS supporters have shifted to more fringe services, like the Russia-based TamTam and Hoop Messenger, which is hosted in Canada. Extremists also have explored the use of chat services designed for blockchain developers in an apparent act of desperation, Europol noted.


U.S. Cyber Command, a military outfit, has previously taken action against the Islamic State, using digital means in 2016 and 2017 to try to knock out recruitment channels and mitigate the group’s spread online. Since then, a presidential authorization has enabled U.S. forces to launch similar cyberattacks with a wider jurisdiction.


The Islamic State’s move to TamTam, in particular, has frustrated some supporters, who alle ..

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