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The sanctioning of a prominent Telegram-based white supremacist network is the first time an Australian government has targeted an online entity.
Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong, has announced “counter-terrorism financing sanctions” against an online white supremacist network known as Terrorgram.
Based on the Telegram social media platform, Terrorgram is a network of more than 200 neo-Nazi accounts and channels where instructions on bomb-making and other violent activities are commonly posted and shared.
“Terrorgram is an online network that promotes white supremacy and racially motivated violence,” Wong said in a statement released today, 3 February.
“It is now a criminal offence to use or deal with the assets of, or make assets available to, Terrorgram.
“Penalties include up to 10 years’ imprisonment and/or heavy fines.”
Wong added that this was the first time such an online network was targeted by Australian sanctions.
The government also relisted four other white supremacist groups: National Socialist Order, the Russian Imperial Movement, Sonnenkrieg Division, and The Base. Two senior members of Hizballah were also listed. Additionally, according to Wong, “one person and another four entities” were also added to Australia’s sanctions list.
The sanctions come as Australia is facing a wave of anti-Semitic attacks in recent months that has escalated from graffiti attacks to firebombings and even an alleged bomb plot, following the discovery of a caravan filled with explosives on a property in NSW.
The rise in such attacks has seen a stoush break out at a federal level between the Labor Party and the Coalition, with Coalition leader Peter Dutton calling on his Labor counterpart to do more to combat the rising threat to the Jewish community.
The Terrorgram network is made up of what is called “militant accelerationists”, whose aim is to promote and organise violent action against civil society in an effort to cause disruption and collapse.
According to research by the Southern Poverty Law Centre, in 2024, one channel attached to the Terrorgram network had more than 16,000 followers globally.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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