Russia-linked Telegram Channels Offering Cryptocurrency for Anti-Muslim Attacks

A group of Russian-owned Telegram channels urges people in the UK to attack mosques and Muslims in return for cryptocurrency rewards but British extremists monitoring their activities have uncovered this operation.

Hope Not Hate provided terrorism law enforcement and Home Office officers evidence that points to these channels as an increased danger compared to standard far-right extremism. The network recently showed links to actual incidents like the appearance of Islamophobic markings on mosques and schools in east and south London this month. The groups have upgraded from simple graffiti promotion to demanding knife violence.

Senior researcher Gregory Davis stated his organization perceives this network exists to find violent recruits. Research connects these groups to Russia through Russian language options on accounts plus Cyrillic text and postings against Ukraine. Through these channels, users receive instructions to build explosives and design 3D-printed weapons as they perform crypto-based anti-Muslim tasks.

As Islamophobic attacks in Great Britain increased by 73% last year authorities found out about Russian interference through secret online groups.