Yesterday, CNN published a piece purporting that government officials are concerned about alleged white supremacists who expressed online support for the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
The alarmist report cites exactly one example of supposed white supremacists praising the Taliban, but lots of government officials who are very concerned.
The online white supremacists, CNN writes, have “expressed admiration for what the Taliban accomplished.”
The network, whose source is “SITE Intelligence Group, an American non-governmental organization that tracks online activity of White supremacist and jihadist organizations,” claims an uptick in online posts is “a worrying development for US officials who have been grappling with the threat of domestic violent extremism.”
John Cohen, the head of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, believes that framing the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan as successful could be “a model for those who believe in the need for a civil war in the US.”
This entire CNN story about alleged white supremacist praise of the Taliban worrying officials cites exactly one anonymous online quote on Instagram: https://t.co/zzG4tA2peW
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) September 1, 2021
RELATED: Biden Admin Considers Using Private Firms To Surveil Americans Online For ‘Extremist Chatter’
White Supremacists Praise The Taliban?
While there are likely countless quotes online that can be pulled from sketchy sources supporting any notion, CNN finds one specific appalling message for their report.
The comments celebrate the Taliban as “minimally trained men” who “fought to take back their nation” and use it as a rallying cry for white supremacy and anti-Semitism.
Wow that’s a really long article, and a lot of accusation, you would think you’d have more than one tweet to back it up.
— Scott (@scotty2hoty6969) September 1, 2021
A report by the New York Times last week shows other examples from known white supremacist agitators who are less taken seriously as a force than they are attention seekers.
CNN naturally draws a connection from obscure online posts to the Capitol riot in January.
“US officials have warned that domestic violent extremism is the greatest threat to the homeland, pointing to the January 6 attack at the US Capitol as a stark illustration of the potential for violence that can occur when conspiracy theories and false narratives flourish,” they report.
Far-right & white supremacist groups praise Taliban takeover, view it as model for possible civil war in U.S. @evanperez reports pic.twitter.com/ebEiAlwpMM
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) September 1, 2021
RELATED: January 6 Committee Will Seek Phone, Social Media Records Of Members Of Congress
Biden Admin Wants To Surveil Americans Online For ‘Extremist Chatter’
This past May, The Political Insider reported that the Biden administration was considering a partnership with private firms to surveil Americans online for alleged “extremist chatter.”
The report at the time indicated the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was actively in discussions to use “outside firms” as a means “to track extremist chatter by Americans online.”
Using the outside firms would presumably tackle the government’s problem “in how it can monitor citizens online without justification,” allowing them to “circumvent those limits.”
The Biden admin is considering using outside firms to track extremist chatter by Americans online, an effort that would expand the govts ability to gather intel but could draw criticism over surveillance of citizens. @ZcohenCNN & @KatieBoWillCNN reporthttps://t.co/VI7wbYvLXJ
— CNN NationalSecurity (@NatSecCNN) May 3, 2021
Last week, the Democrat-led committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot demanded telecommunication companies preserve the phone records of those being examined for their role in the protest.
Records would include those from former President Donald Trump and his family, as well as Republican members of Congress.
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