A recent investigative collaboration between FRONTLINE and ProPublica delves into a transnational online network of extremists who have been accused of inciting white supremacist terrorism on the messaging platform Telegram. This group referred to themselves as Terrorgram and identified their leadership as the Terrorgram Collective.
The initiative, led by reporters A.C. Thompson and James Bandler, along with filmmakers Thomas Jennings and Annie Wong, builds upon years of reporting on violent extremism and online radicalization by ProPublica and FRONTLINE. Titled “The Rise and Fall of Terrorgram,” it draws from a collection of archived posts to demonstrate how Telegram and other minimally regulated platforms have become hubs for “militant accelerationists”—neo-Nazis advocating for terrorism and violence to overthrow governments and establish white ethnostates.
According to Thompson, who has extensively covered the development of violent extremism in the U.S. and now expands his scope globally, the investigation highlights how Telegram has become a venue for fomenting violence and aspiring to incite a race war. Bandler adds that this story illustrates the consequences of unrestricted free speech, where influencers may advocate for violence or mass murder.
Telegram has stated that it continuously monitors content for problematic material and does not permit calls for violence from any group on its platform.
“The Rise and Fall of Terrorgram” also examines how officials in various countries decided to arrest around a dozen individuals allegedly associated with the Terrorgram Collective. Despite these arrests, sociologist Pete Simi suggests in the documentary that this might not signify the end of Terrorgram. He notes that similar networks could emerge under different names, and such extremist ideologies may continue to be disseminated across diverse platforms beyond Telegram.
The documentary, which took over a year to produce, spans 90 minutes and forms part of a broader multiplatform initiative that includes a series of stories from ProPublica. “The Rise and Fall of Terrorgram” is set to premiere on Tuesday, March 25 at 10 p.m. EDT/9 p.m. CDT on PBS stations and will be available for streaming on YouTube, the PBS App, and FRONTLINE’s website.
