The Resistance News Network (RNN) is a social-media channel that promotes anti-Israeli and extremist groups and advocates violence against the State of Israel. The group itself is an informal distribution channel on Telegram, an encrypted messaging app that has received criticism for its use by extremist groups, especially those accused of distributing child pornography, that have being de-platformed on other social media sites including X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. The group often promotes and provides English translations of communications and propaganda from terrorist groups including Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Resistance News Network has been promoted by U.S. college student protests and was used and promoted by a variety of radical pro-Palestinian protestors on college campuses including Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters. ^{1 2 3}

Background

Resistance News Network (RNN) first appeared on Telegram in 2022, and had continued to be listed following October 2023 after being deplatformed on other social media sites including Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). According to the Anti-Defamation League’s Glossary of Extremism and Hate, the group “promotes violence against Israel and anti-normalization with ‘Zionists.’ The ADL further claims that most of the channel’s content is shared by “many of the most radical anti-Israel activists and organizations.” ¹

Telegram, the encrypted messaging app that the RNN is present on, has received criticism by accusations over a lack of content moderation. Telegram has been accused of allowing propaganda and translations of communications of terror-linked organizations extremist groups, particularly those deplatformed on other social media sites. In addition, communications on the site allege attempts by the cells of extremist groups to recruit as well as the alleged use of distributing illicit content including sex abuse material and child pornography. ^{2 3}

Media Guide

Following the Hamas terror attacks against the State of Israel on October 7, 2023, the Resistance News Network (RNN) published a media guide that called for the abolition of the State of Israel and stated that no Israeli is “innocent.” The group’s media guide released a statement claiming that, “Anti-Zionism means the dismantlement of the zionist entity. Anti-zionism does not mean post zionism, or that the ‘two sides’ are ‘equal.’ It is never over until imperialism is over. It is not over until all land, from the river to the sea, has been returned to the indigenous Palestinians and the occupation has been totally dismantled. It is never over until imperialism is over.” ⁴

The group further claimed that “‘Israelis’ are only victim to their own supremacist free-will and bad choices: All ‘Israelis’ are settlers and as settlers, they partake in the risks associated with stealing land and resources. There is no such thing as an innocent settler.” ⁴

Activity

As of September 2024, the Resistance News Network (RNN) counted 166,000 followers on its Telegram page. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), RNN posts include the promotion of propaganda and statements by U.S. State Department-designated foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs), while also providing English translations of communications from such groups including Hamas, Al Qassam Brigades, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Ansar Allah (the Houthis), Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, and Hezbollah. The group has also promoted its own content including “graphics of individuals with guns and of rockets being fired at Israel.” ¹

According to Politico, it was reported that the RNN was involved with coordinating protests aimed at “shutting down” the Democratic National Convention in 2024. The report claimed that one of several channels on Telegram had been used to distribute, “how-to manuals on occupying buildings and other rally tactics, provide real-time updates on police movements and, in some cases, share explicitly pro-Hamas content.” ⁵

Student Demonstrations

According to the Anti-Defamation League, Resistance News Network (RNN) has been shared by U.S.-based pro-Palestinian protestors and linked groups on college campuses including by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters at Wellesley College, the University of Washington, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of California Irvine, John Jay College, and Brandeis University, as well as the Mapping Project, Samidoun, and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Metro DC. ¹

In 2024, anti-Israeli protest organizers at New York University (NYU) encouraged their followers to get “plugged into” the Resistance News Network’s Telegram channel. ⁶

1. “Resistance News Network (RNN).” Anti-Defamation League. Accessed September 13, 2024. https://extremismterms.adl.org/glossary/resistance-news-network-rnn
2. Hamblen, Matt. “Paris attacks demand ‘wake-up call’ on smartphone encryption.” CSO. November 17, 2015. Accessed September 13, 2024. https://www.csoonline.com/article/553635/paris-attacks-demand-wake-up-call-on-smartphone-encryption.html
3. Mihindukulasuriya, Regina. “Rape videos, child porn, terror — Telegram anonymity is giving criminals a free run.” The Print. October 19, 2019. Accessed September 13, 2024. https://theprint.in/tech/rape-videos-child-porn-terror-telegram-anonymity-is-giving-criminals-a-free-run/307959/
4. “Palestinian Resistance News Network’s Media Guide.” Black Ink. October 13, 2023. Accessed September 13, 2024. https://black-ink.info/2023/10/13/palestinian-resistance-news-networks-media-guide/
5. Sentner, Irie, Anuta, Joe and Swan, Betsy Woodruff. “Encrypted app used in campus protest planning deployed for DNC demonstrations.” Politico. August 19, 2024. Accessed September 13, 2024. https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/19/pro-palestinian-demonstrations-dnc-campus-protests-00174523
6. Blonder, Meghan. “NYU Encampment Organizers Encourage Protesters to Join Pro-Hamas ‘Resistance Network’.” Washington Free Beacon. April 25, 2024. Accessed September 13, 2024. https://freebeacon.com/campus/nyu-encampment-organizers-encourage-protesters-to-join-pro-hamas-resistance-network/