Terrorist groups continue to pollute the internet with propagandistic content, with Europol identifying over 14,000 pieces of propaganda linked to Iranian extremists.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been spreading propaganda across social media platforms, streaming services, standalone websites, and blog hosting sites.
The group, which the EU has formally labeled a terrorist organization, has seemingly spread content across various platforms, using AI and other technologies.
Europol, the EU’s police agency, along with 19 countries, has joined a united task force to help identify and disrupt IRGC-related content.
At least 14,200 posts linked to the group have been identified on mainstream platforms as well as IRGC-specific websites and blogs.
The content has been translated into several languages, including Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, English, French, Persian, and Spanish, according to Europol.
Far-reaching propaganda network
Observing patterns within the IRGC-linked content, like how the content is shared and boosted online, as well as what languages they were translated into, helped the alliance understand how the group's propaganda system is organized.
This then helped the law enforcement to remove content coming from the IRGC and connected extremist groups, including Hezbollah, Ansar Allah, Hamas, PIJ, and HAYI.
The IRGC’s primary X account, which has over 150,000 followers, had some of its content blocked in the EU during the investigation.
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Alongside this blockage, thousands of other links across different platforms were or are being removed and investigated.
The coordinated effort revealed more about the group’s activities, namely, its reliance on an interconnected network of hosting providers across countries like Russia and the US.
While these providers may have been offering their service before the IRGC was labeled a terrorist organization, Europol is investigating this with specific countries and organizations.
Crypto used to obscure identities
Throughout the investigation, authorities noted that the group used cryptocurrency to boost and maintain its online operations.
This is a specific tactic used by criminals to obscure their identities, act as an alternative to traditional financial systems, and circumvent rules that protect people from fraud.
The task force comprised Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, and the US.
Through organizations like the EU Internet Referral Unit, Europol has managed to support coordinated efforts that span borders in an effort to identify and disrupt terrorist organizations leveraging the digital space.
Old tactics die hard
This action comes at a time when the threat environment is “complex and evolving.”
“Terrorist networks are becoming more fluid and continue to adapt their methods, making sustained and coordinated action essential to limit their reach and impact,” Europol concluded.
While this type of activity continues to evolve, terrorist groups tend to reuse the same tactics.
Europol previously warned that terrorist groups were attempting to radicalize children using similar propagandistic content.
In 2025, the propaganda techniques included “combining images and videos of children with extremist messaging, as well as materials offering guidance to radicalize parents on raising future jihadists,” Europol said.
At the time, AI-generated propaganda was novel – now, it seems it has become commonplace.
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