ITSTIME speeches at the VOX-Pol online seminar “Under the Radar: Understanding the Salafi-Jihadi terrorist online information ecosystem” (Part 1).
On December 3, our analysts Alessandro Bolpagni, Eleonora Ristuccia, and Grazia Ludovica Giardini took part in the online seminar organised by VOX-Pol. This online seminar examined the structure and evolution of the contemporary Salafi-jihadi terrorist information ecosystem. It will focus on how violent extremist organisations, such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, exploit mainstream social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Telegram. The seminar will explore the scale of activity carried out by “media mujahideen” within these environments and analyse the strategies they use to enhance the resonance of their messaging among target audiences. In addition, speakers addressed the role of Ansar media and unaffiliated supporters in conducting media jihad on behalf of these groups. Special attention will be given to explaining the continued presence of Salafi-jihadi actors on mainstream platforms, including the evasive tactics they commonly employ, believing it helps them to bypass content moderation.
They analysed the presence of Salafi-Jihadi groups, specifically the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, on Rocket.Chat. In particular, they delved into their Rocket.Chat servers, respectively, TechHaven and GNEWS. Rocket.Chat is a messaging platform that embodies the Web 3.0 spirit and approaches. Unlike the Web 2.0-based social media, it is a decentralised platform wherein users can take control of their own server without fear that someone can interfere or intervene by removing the content and/or banning users. Rocket.Chat allows users to create a server that is divided into rooms, which can be converted into channels or chats.
Alongside other important features, since 2018 and 2019, Rocket.Chat has become the digital safe haven both for IS and AQ. But how do we get there? Usually, we refer to the period following Europol’s 16th Referral Action Day, carried out between November 21st and 22nd, 2019. After those days, we witnessed a transition of Salafi-Jihadi users on Rocket.Chat, which established the pro-IS server TechHaven and the AQ server GNEWS. Yet, it is paramount to stress that it was not a complete migration, but a diversification of the social media employed at that time. This can also be observed through the fact that early rooms on TechHaven were created back in late 2018, one year before the 16th Referral Action Day. Nowadays, Rocket.Chat can be considered the digital safe haven par excellence of the Salafi-Jihadi groups. Based on the creation date of the first rooms, TechHaven was established around December 2018 (Figure 1). Today, it is composed of 530 rooms and 11,650 users. There are no institutional media houses active on the platforms, but a heavy presence of Ansar Production media houses. In particular, Ansar Production media houses’ presence is articulated through the activity of translation media houses. Alongside them, other important media houses active on Rocket.Chat are those dedicated to Operational Security (OPSEC) and technical support, followed by several non-institutional media houses. Moreover, besides rooms related to pro-IS media houses, two rooms work as “general discussion rooms”. These rooms are techhaven_عـام and Dar-AlArqam.
techhaven_عـام and Dar al-Arqam thus serve as online public spaces for all TechHaven’s server users. While the Arabic word in the name of the first room means “refuge” or “protection”, or “seeking refuge or protection”, the name Dar al-Arqam means “the house of al-Arqam”. It refers to the house of Arqam bin Abil al-Arqam, a companion of the Prophet, whose house was used as a secret and safe place for meetings and conducting da‘wa. Both these names clearly show the intention of bestowing a “safe dimension” to these rooms. Specifically, they are spaces of interaction for users and a space where all users and media houses’ content is gathered. Moreover, we can observe the presence of a room that serves as a nashir channel sharing institutional propaganda material, such as AMAQ News Agency war bulletins, images, and videos, An-Naba newsletters and editorials, and IS institutional videos. Alongside this room, there is also a room dedicated to the material produced by the Ansar Production media houses, such as Al-Battar, Sarh al-Khilafa, Talaea al-Ansar and so on. Other central rooms in the TechHaven server are those related to the Fursan al-Tarjuma umbrella translation organisation. The most important and most active are those of Fursan al-Tarjuma itself, serving as a hub for all translation media houses operating under it, Halummu room for English-translated material, At-Tamkin and al-Bashair media houses for content translated for Indonesian and Indian-translated material, and al-Azaim media and all related media houses. Finally, there are rooms dedicated to users’ operational security and technical support. For instance, the room of Ansar Electronic Security, a forum-style chatroom, focused on OPSEC and technology, and the room of Qimam Electronic Foundation, which shares security tips, manuals for using technological tools and social media. It also has an Arabic, Pashto, and Bengali version.
The first rooms on AQ’s Rocket.Chat server GNEWS were created in 2019. Today, GNEWS comprises of 211 rooms and is accessed by 4,529 users. Interactions between AQ supporters take place in general discussion rooms, which are both in Arabic and English. Institutional propaganda is mainly shared on rooms related to specific institutional media houses, such as Al-Malahem Media and As-Sahab Media. However, this type of content is also published on rooms which are not directly related to institutional media outlets. Subsequently, a few rooms are devoted to the dissemination of translated propaganda material. This is the case of rooms related to the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF), which functions as a ‘hub’ for several AQ-affiliated groups’ media houses. The main GIMF room shares content in Arabic, while GIMF Français and GIMF \ Al-Shabaab disseminate content in French and Somali, respectively. Finally, some rooms are aimed at offering OSPEC and technical support to AQ supporters. The most active room is TECH SUPPORT – الدعم الفني, whereas tech_cyber_news has not published content since February 2024.
To conclude, we would like to focus your attention on the fact that Rocket.Chat is the “safest space” among the “safe spaces” that, according to al-Zawahiri, the Salafi-Jihadi groups have to create to allow the Mujahid vanguard to operate in the propagational field. Moreover, Rocket.Chat provides Salafi-Jihadi users with their own space, like the old forums. By recalling al-Amili’s words, Rocket.Chat can be considered a safe and fortified space where Salafi-Jihadi users can spread the truth and practice their duties without restrictions, conditions, or fear of tyrants.
