Inside ‘Terrorgram’, the secretive hate group where deadly attacks are planned
A secretive online network full of white supremacist manifestos and bomb-making tutorials is set to be banned by the government.
‘Terrorgram’, a Telegram group where members share radical ideologies, has already been linked to several deadly attacks around the world.
Now, the government wants to add the group to their list of banned terrorist organisations. But is it really a threat?
What is Terrorgram?
Terrorgram is a network of far-right extremist channels and accounts on Telegram.
Terrorgram users promote fascist and neo-Nazi ideas, and instruct other members on how to carry out attacks.
What is Telegram?
Telegram is a messaging app.
Users can send messages, hold audio and video calls, share files and host livestreams.
Messages are encrypted, which means that Telegram cannot read the content of the messages.
It was founded in 2013 by Russian brothers Nikolai and Pavel Durov.
It has more than 900 million monthly active users.
For instance, one channel in the collective, which has since been deleted, broadcast bomb making tutorials, with posts amassing more than 2,000 views.
It posted in English and Russian to 300 subscribers.
The group used red, white and black colours, skull symbols and images of famous fascists in their content.
And while relatively small in size, the group has been linked to several high-profile attacks.
It was linked to a shooting that killed two people in an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Slovakia in 2022.
The 19-year-old shooter took his own life after the attack and left a 65-page manifesto that thanked Terrorgram for ‘building the future of the White revolution, one publication at a time’.
Members of the group declared the teenage gunman to be ‘Terrorgram’s first Saint’.
In December 2023, police in Canada arrested two men accused of supporting neo-Nazi groups.
The police said the men were involved with the ‘the creation of Terrorgram Collective manifestos and Atomwaffen Division (AWD) recruiting videos, in support of far-right extremism and the neo-Nazi terrorist movement.’
Atomwaffen is a listed terrorist organisation in Canada.
Why are there so many extremist groups on Telegram?
Many far-right extremist online groups flocked to Telegram in 2019 after other websites cracked down on harmful content.
In March 2019, for instance, Facebook banned posts promoting white nationalism, while YouTube banned neo-Nazi content from its platform in June that year.
8chan, a message board used by many right-wing groups, was taken offline in August 2019 after it was linked to three mass shootings in the US.
Users then turned to Telegram to share their content instead.
One analysis from Vice found that two thirds of 150 extreme-right channels on Telegram were created in 2019.
The app has made some efforts to stop the spread of extremism on its platform.
In 2021, for example, Telegram blocked several extremist channels linked to Terrorgram.
Why is the government banning Terrorgram?
The UK government has set out plans to add Terrorgram to a list of banned terrorist organisations.
MPs will vote on the plans on Friday. If approved, it will be the first time that an online terror network has been proscribed in the UK.
That means that anyone supporting the group could face up to 14 years in prison or an unlimited fine.
There are 80 organisations on the list of banned groups, including the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda.
Home Secretary James Cleverly said the Terrorgram collective aimed to radicalise young people to conduct heinous terrorist acts.
Who's on the banned list?
The government may ‘proscribe’ organisations under the Terrorism Act 2000, which means the group is effectively banned.
They ban organisations that commit or participate in acts of terrorism, prepare for terrorism, or promote and encourage terrorism.
It’s a criminal offence to belong to an organisation on the list, or to express an opinion that is supportive of them.
There are five far-right white supremacist groups on the list, including The Base, a US-group calling for a ‘race war’, and National Action, a neo-Nazi group that held street demonstrations across the UK.
In 2021, a 21-year-old appeared in court on London charged with terror offences relating to his support for another banned far-right group, Feuerkrieg Division.
A number of Islamist militant groups are also banned, including Abdullah Azzam Brigades, which carried out suicide bombings in Lebanon, Al Qaeda, who committed the 9/11 attacks in the US, and Boko Haram, who are responsible for the kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls in Nigeria.
Hamas was added to the list in March 2001.
‘This is why we are outlawing membership or support for the group – we will not tolerate the promotion or encouragement of terrorism in the United Kingdom,’ he said.
Security minister Tom Tugendhat said: ‘The Terrorgram collective is a dangerous neo-fascist organisation that actively encourages and promotes terrorist activity.
‘We must do everything in our power to deter and limit the reach of hateful and terrorist ideologies, and to protect the most vulnerable in our society.’