CEP WEEKLY ROUNDUP  News and Updates from the Counter Extremism Project    CEP Policy and Program Updates CEP Unveils New Technology to Combat Online Extremism On June 17, CEP announced the development of new technology that can quickly and accurately identify extremist content on Internet and social media platforms, including images, videos, and audio clips. President Obama on June 14 characterized online extremist propaganda as “pervasive” and “easily accessible.” Tech companies try to take down heinous content that violates their terms of service, but the process is manual and reactive. CEP’s new technology will streamline and accelerate the process. To operationalize this new technology to combat extremism, CEP proposes a National Office for Reporting Extremism (NORex), which will house a comprehensive database of extremist content. The technology was developed with CEP Senior Advisor Dr. Hany Farid, a computer science professor at Dartmouth College. Dr. Farid worked previously with Microsoft to develop PhotoDNA, a robust hashing software that can automatically detect and eliminate photos of child exploitation online. Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco stated: “We welcome the launch of initiatives such as the Counter Extremism Project’s National Office for Reporting Extremism (NORex) that enables companies to address terrorist activity on their platforms and better respond to the threat posed by terrorists’ activities online.” CEP’s new technology was also referenced by White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest in a press briefing the next day. Select media coverage on CEP’s announcement includes: The Atlantic, The Economist, National Public Radio (NPR), Bloomberg, Agence France-Presse (AFP), Politico, Washington Post, Defense One, and MSNBC's Morning Joe.  Updated Resources, Analysis Provided Following Istanbul Airport Attack Following the June 28 attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport that killed at least 44 people and injured more than 230 others, CEP released an updated version of its comprehensive report, “Turkey: Extremism & Counter-Extremism.” In addition, CEP President Fran Townsend was interviewed on CBS This Morning June 29 about the airport attack, while CEP Spokesperson Tara Maller provided analysis on Hardball with Chris Matthews and on Fox News on June 28. Profile of Terrorist Released Following Shooting at Orlando Nightclub CEP issued a comprehensive report on shooter Omar Mateen following his June 12 rampage that killed 49 people at an Orlando, Florida gay nightclub. CEP also published an updated version of its analysis report, ISIS’s Persecution of the Gay Community, which documents the brutal and sadistic execution of gay men in ISIS-controlled areas of Iraq and Syria. CEP Report Explores History, Tactics of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent On June 10, CEP released new resources documenting the history, structure, and tactics of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), and its mysterious, Indian-born emir, Asim Omar. AQIS was founded in September 2014 by al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and operates in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Burma, Bangladesh, and Kashmir. AQIS is al-Qaeda’s fifth official chapter. On September 6, 2014, AQIS attempted to seize a Pakistani navy frigate, from which they planned to launch missiles at nearby American and Pakistani ships. AQIS has claimed responsibility for the murders of secular bloggers Avijit Roy and Washiqur Rahman in Bangladesh and liberal professors Mohammad Shakil Auj and Shafiul Islam in Pakistan. AQIS’s Bangladesh branch has claimed responsibility for the killing of secular publishers, political figures, and the editors of an LGBT magazine in that country.  CEP Research and Analysis New and updated leadership reports and fact sheets: Neil Prakash, one of the top recruiters and facilitators for ISIS, U.S. officials claimed Prakash was killed by a U.S. airstrike April 29. Recently, Australian Federal Police said they we “almost certain” that Prakash is “still alive” and continuing to recruit online. Anwar al-Awlaki, director of external operations for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), was the first U.S. citizen targeted in a U.S. drone strike (September 30, 2011) due to his role in taking the “lead in planning and directing efforts to murder innocent Americans,” according to President Barack Obama. His online teachings continue to inspire acts of terror. Mohamad Khweis, an American foreign fighter for ISIS, surrendered to Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraq in March 2016. He faces charges in the United States for conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist group. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has served as ISIS’s caliph, Arabic for “successor,” since June 2014. In assuming the title, al-Baghdadi has declared himself the religious, political, and military leader of all Muslims. Omar Mateen, an American citizen and ISIS follower, perpetrated the deadliest terror attack on American soil since 9/11. Mateen gunned down 49 people at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. He reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Facebook—as well as in a call to 911—during the attack. Moner Mohammad Abusalha was the first U.S. citizen to carry out a suicide attack in Syria when he carried out a “martyrdom operation” in late May 2014 on behalf of al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate the Nusra Front. Larossi Abballa was a 25-year-old French ex-convict, who stabbed two married French police officers to death in front of their three-year-old son on June 13, 2016, livestreaming part of the attack on Facebook. Abballa was later killed by police and the boy was rescued unharmed. ISIS claimed credit for the attack.  CEP Op-ed Published in Jerusalem Post CEP Research Analyst Josh Lipowsky compares life in Gaza today to what might have been in this searing analysis of 10 years of Hamas’s rule, A Decade of Hamas. “Hamas swept into power via the ballot box in 2006 by promising to root out corruption and secure Palestinian rights,” Lipowsky observes. “A year later, Hamas violently expelled the Palestinian Authority from Gaza, which the terrorist group has illegitimately – and disastrously – ruled since. A decade of Hamas’s aggression and mismanagement has plunged Gazans into misery and hurled the dream of Palestinian statehood backward. But it didn’t have to be this way.”  CEP Op-ed Published in the Huffington Post CEP Research Analyst Marielle Harris’s op-ed, Can We Speak Honestly About the Orlando Attack? probes the published speculation regarding the factors that may have motivated lone wolf terrorist Omar Mateen to brutally gun down 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. “The worst mass shooting in American history was a hate crime, there is no doubt,” Harris wrote. “But the hate spread far beyond the innocent gay and straight patrons of the Pulse nightclub who lost their lives; it went to a hatred of America, of tolerance and respect for freedom and dignity. Minimizing Mateen’s terrorist connection does more harm than good, and ignoring the threat won’t help us prevent future attacks. It will only make it harder.” Tweet of the Week CEP extensively monitors Twitter and other social media sites and frequently features a revealing tweet in the Weekly Roundup.