May 16, 2025 – Lagos: Jihadist groups operating in northeastern Nigeria are increasingly harnessing the power of TikTok to spread their ideology, recruit fighters, and showcase their deadly campaigns, according to alarming findings reviewed by AFP.
In April alone, at least 100 people were killed in a new surge of jihadist violence in Borno State — the epicenter of a conflict that has raged since 2009 and claimed more than 40,000 lives.
Amid this violence, TikTok has become a new tool for extremist outreach, with videos openly showing men flaunting assault rifles, grenades, and piles of cash, often during live broadcasts.
The content echoes early propaganda tactics used by Boko Haram’s late leader Abubakar Shekau, but with a modern twist tailored to attract younger audiences.
In joint live videos, self-identified jihadists collaborate with other accounts that preach anti-Western ideologies in aggressive and accessible formats.
“It started with bandits,” wrote Bulama Bukarti, a vice president at the Texas-based Bridgeway Foundation, on X (formerly Twitter). “Now, Boko Haram members are hosting live TikTok shows — spreading propaganda, justifying their violence, and threatening anyone who dares speak against them.”
Bukarti himself was threatened in a now-deleted TikTok video for criticizing the group. Though TikTok has removed many of these accounts, AFP found several still active as of April.
A TikTok spokesperson, in an emailed response, said: “Terrorist groups and content related to these groups have no place on TikTok, and we take an uncompromising stance against enabling violent extremism on or off our platform.”
The company acknowledged the challenge in quantifying how many accounts linked to terrorist groups had been taken down. Out of 19 jihadist-linked accounts examined by AFP, many featured men dressed as clerics — faces clearly visible — calling for violence against the Nigerian government.
These accounts frequently teamed up with others displaying weapons or sharing incendiary footage of Boko Haram founder Mohammed Yusuf and banned preachers like Isah Garo Assalafy.
The accounts not only push extremist messaging but also interact live with viewers, answer questions, and collect digital gifts that can be converted into cash.
The shift to TikTok follows a government crackdown on the use of Telegram — previously a favored communication channel for jihadists — according to Saddiku Muhammad, a former militant who has since defected.
“Jihadists realized that to capture the minds of young people, they need to speak to them in the language they understand,” Muhammad explained. “From all indications, it is paying off. They are reaching out to young potential recruits.”
Security analysts believe the unmasked faces on TikTok are a calculated move. “It’s strategic — to show they aren’t afraid and to make it personal for their audience,” said Malik Samuel, a researcher at the Abuja-based Good Governance Africa.
He noted that Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a rival to Boko Haram, still maintains a more professional and centralized media approach.
Nigeria’s jihadist conflict has displaced nearly two million people and continues to stretch the capacity of security forces. Analysts warn that the proliferation of extremist content on platforms like TikTok poses a fresh challenge, as online radicalization may deepen instability in Africa’s most populous country.
In response, TikTok says it is working with Tech Against Terrorism, a UN-supported initiative, to strengthen detection and removal of extremist material.
“Our community guidelines clearly state that we do not allow the presence of violent and hateful organisations or individuals on our platform,” the company said.
Despite these assurances, the jihadists’ presence on the app underlines a growing vulnerability in the fight against extremism — one now unfolding not just on battlefields but also on screens and smartphones across the country.
