Normalizing Hate | Weapons Deliveries to the Cyber Domain | Did al-Qaeda Die with Ayman al-Zawahiri?, and more

These findings — from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, the Anti-Defamation League and other groups that study online platforms — provide the most comprehensive picture to date of how conversations on Twitter have changed since Mr. Musk completed his $44 billion deal for the company in late October. While the numbers are relatively small, researchers said the increases were atypically high. The shift in speech is just the tip of a set of changes on the service under Mr. Musk. Accounts that Twitter used to regularly remove — such as those that identify as part of the Islamic State, which were banned after the U.S. government classified ISIS as a terror group — have come roaring back. Accounts associated with QAnon, a vast far-right conspiracy theory, have paid for and received verified status on Twitter, giving them a sheen of legitimacy.

TamTam Deletes Channels Promoting Neo-Nazi Accelerationism and Terror  (CEP)
Following a report by the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), TamTam, a Russia-based messenger platform, has removed 18 channels endorsing neo-Nazi accelerationism and acts of terrorism. The channels posted bomb-making instructions and encouraged other activities meant to create “a climate of anxiety” and fear. CEP reported the channels to the communications app, citing the platform’s regulations that prohibit users from promoting and calling “for violence and cruelty, committing suicide and other illegal and immoral acts,” and promoting “extremism (or) terrorism” related to “ethnical or national identity, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious opinions, age, limited physical or mental abilities or diseases.” The successful effort with TamTam follows CEP’s success in preventing sales of a neo-Nazi edition of the infamous antisemitic book The International Jew by Barnes & Noble. The channels removed by TamTam posted guides on how to make explosives, the manifestos of several white supremacist mass shooters; videos from several neo-Nazi groups including the Atomwaffen Division, the National Socialist Order, The Base, and Feuerkrieg Division; a recently released propaganda video that encourages acts of terrorism and praises individuals who have committed acts of white supremacist violence; and a neo-Nazi accelerationist book that calls for lone actor violence, workplace violence, attacks on infrastructure, law enforcement, politicians, people of color, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Latinos, and LGBTQ+ people. The book also includes information on making homemade bombs, conducting surveillance, and other information helpful in committing attacks.

Cyber and Physical Threats Illuminate Need for Security Convergence in Energy Sector  (Ben Joelson, HSToday)
Cyber attacks that target physical infrastructure can have a devastating physical impact beyond operational disruption.

The Benefits and Risks of Extending Weapons Deliveries to the Cyber Domain  (Valentin Weber, Lawfare)
While NATO members continue to supply weapons to Ukraine, they should consider the benefits and risks associated with extending these deliveries to include cyber weapons.

Did al-Qaeda Die with Ayman al-Zawahiri?  (Raffaello Pantucci and Kabir Taneja, Lawfare)
Four months after Zawahiri was reportedly killed in a drone strike in Kabul, the terrorist organization still has not announced a successor.