ISIS may have found its latest recruiting ground in the wildly popular app TikTok.
The Chinese-owned video platform has banned roughly two dozen accounts that posted extremist propaganda clips in support of Islamic State militants, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
The accounts were identified by social media monitoring agency Storyful as a possible way for ISIS to attract new members.
Some of the footage depicted corpses being carried through streets, heavily armed Islamic State fighters and women who said they were “jihadist and proud,” the Journal reports.
“We pledge allegiance ‘til death,” one of the videos, which were apparently posted in recent weeks, said in Arabic.
The removed accounts identified by Storyful – which is owned by News Corp, the parent company of The Post – posted videos featuring ISIS flags, songs and references to the Islamic State’s media arm, Amaq Agency. Some of the accounts had more than 1,000 followers and one video had 68 likes, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“This is an industry-wide challenge complicated by bad actors who actively seek to circumvent protective measures, but we have a team dedicated to aggressively protecting against malicious behavior on TikTok,” a company spokeswoman told the newspaper.
Once identified, the app will permanently ban any associated accounts or devices as it “develops ever-stronger controls to proactively detect suspicious activity,” the spokeswoman said.
TikTok – where roughly 30% of users are under age 18, according to the Journal’s report – is primarily known for light and fun content.
One terrorism expert said the short videos can be extremely effective, particularly when it comes to drumming up support for the terror group.
“The rhyme, beat, evocative lyrics and punchy delivery are especially appealing to youth,” Elisabeth Kendall of Oxford University told the Journal. “This catchy sing-along method for propagating ISIS ideology means it spreads quickly and sticks quickly and sticks in the collective memory. It tends to be far more effective than sermons or theological debate and treatises.”