Foiled jihad plot at Taylor Swift concert reflects rise of ‘TikTok jihad’ — recruitment into ‘virtual terror cells’

The online jihad threat combined with unvetted, open-door immigration everywhere is putting the future of the West at great risk. Lawyer Ina-Christin Stiglitz, who is representing the main suspect in the foiled Vienna concert plot, tried to play down the attack. But the “TikTok jihad” is actively targeting Europe and is translating into actual jihad plots. “In the past ten months, the continent has witnessed six terrorist attacks, mostly small but some deadly, with over 20 planned attacks foiled by security and intelligence services.”

October 7 has also fueled jihad terror. For decades, Israel tried negotiations and appeasement with Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, but was confronted with the true barbaric face of jihad, which does not stop unless forced to do so. As Israel is now resolved to destroy Hamas, leftists in the West are slamming Israel and pulling out all the stops for a ceasefire that will only allow Hamas to regroup.

Europe and the entire West is at a dangerous crossroads, as leftist governments and their media allies embolden jihadists, while branding patriots “terrorists” in the same manner that Sharia states brand their dissidents as “terrorists.”

Note how the report below compares jihad to the “far right” under the category of “terrorism,” speaking of “a growing threat: the recruitment of young people into Islamist and far-right terrorist organizations via social media, particularly TikTok.”

Tulsi Gabbard was put on a terrorist watch list for merely criticizing the Biden administration and the military industrial complex, and warning about “how dangerous” a Kamala Harris government would be. Gabbard now faces Soviet-style surveillance by air marshals every time she flies, along with other surveillance.

Islamic supremacists are being emboldened by the left, and jihadists will seize the opportunity. Despite warnings about the proliferation of online jihad recruitment and plots, as in the article below, a blind spot remains.

“TikTok jihad: Online radicalization threat looms over Europe,” by Zeev Avrahami, YNet News, August 10, 2024

The recent arrest of two teenagers, aged 18 and 19, in Austria, who pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS) and planned a terror attack at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, has highlighted a growing threat: the recruitment of young people into Islamist and far-right terrorist organizations via social media, particularly TikTok.

This phenomenon, dubbed “TikTok Jihad,” has fueled a resurgence of jihadist activities targeting Europe. In the past ten months, the continent has witnessed six terrorist attacks, mostly small but some deadly, with over 20 planned attacks foiled by security and intelligence services.

In many cases, the attackers or would-be-attackers were youths radicalized online, including the two Austrian detainees and a third 15-year-old accomplice who was detained for questioning and released.

Intelligence experts note that TikTok is the preferred platform for recruiting young “lone wolves” or virtual terrorist cells due to its vast reach and algorithm. Meanwhile, Telegram is used to plan attacks and connect operatives.

This new recruitment method presents challenges for law enforcement in two ways. Monitoring, searching and identifying virtual meeting places is much harder for intelligence services than tracking in-person meetings between recruiters and recruits…..

IS recruitment is not portrayed as violent enlistment for a political-religious cause but as a platform for venting frustrations with parents, teachers and society. It offers an outlet for their mundane lives and a chance at dubious “15 minutes of fame.” The recruitment of youths accelerated due to propaganda efforts by IS affiliates in Afghanistan and Central Asia, whose aggressive campaigns have revived the Islamic State’s prominence in discourse and intelligence reports….