The following article is an extract from the paper “Path to Sainthood”: the role of influence played by the ‘Sanctification Propaganda Cycle’ within the Terrorgram collective, Issue 4, Vol. 21, published by the ITSTIME international journal Sicurezza, Terrorismo, Società.

Telegram has long been the digital home for many extremist communities and groups. 2019 saw the rise of Fascist Telegram, which would later become Terrorgram, a group that would have a great influence on the extreme-right online ecosystem. The Terrorgram collective is a loosely connected network through a net of different channels that share extremist ideas. Its goal is to radicalise online users and incite them to commit attacks against those who are perceived by the collective as “enemies of the white race”. To achieve its goal, the collective tirelessly produced and spread propaganda, including their own publications. A great deal of their propaganda is centred around the ‘saints’, extreme-right attackers who are glorified by the collective. However, in September 2024, two leaders of Terrorgram were arrested, leading to a halt in the propaganda production of the collective. This paper focuses on the ‘sanctification’ process and how relevant it was for the collective. ‘Sainthood’ was not only the promise of eternal glory to potential attackers but a way to ensure the collective received new original content to use as the basis for new propaganda material, creating a self-sustaining cycle of radicalisation.