FATF Highlights The Latest Risks Of Terrorist Financing Through Social Media, Instant Messaging Applications And Streaming Platforms
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
FATF Press Release, June 26, 2026
As terrorist financing threats continue to evolve with the development of new technologies and digital platforms, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has issued a new publication to raise awareness of key trends and typologies through which social media, instant messaging applications and streaming platforms (SMSPs) are being abused to finance terrorist activity.
Over the past decade, SMSPs have evolved significantly from communication tools into complex digital systems, multiplying channels of interaction, reaching out to global audiences and enabling integrated payment systems, virtual assets (VAs), creator monetisation and cross-border financial services.
Building on the FATF’s 2025 Comprehensive Update on Terrorist Financing Risks, “Detecting and disrupting terrorist financing activity through social media, instant messaging applications and streaming platforms (SMSPs)” highlights how terrorists are misusing these technologies, not only for propaganda purposes or fundraising activities, but also for launching fraudulent humanitarian or charitable crowdfunding campaigns, exploitation of creator-economy features such as live-stream and tipping, VA fundraising using rotating wallets and QR codes, the use of coded language and ephemeral content to evade detection and the use of commercial entities to obscure TF activity online, among others.
Given the increasingly complex nature of terrorist financing schemes, the wide range of digital platforms used, and the varied payment functionalities they offer through their interfaces or third-party providers, such as AI driven content, encrypted communications, decentralised finance (DeFi), virtual assets (VAs) and embedded payment tools, the publication also provides countries with recommendations on how to detect and disrupt these activities, including through strengthened cooperation between the public and private sectors, including the formal financial sector and tech industry.
Through its work, the FATF has found that less than 30% of reporting jurisdictions are covering terrorist financing risks through SMSPs in their national risk assessments, so it is essential to step up global efforts to identify and counter this evolving threat.
FATF President Elisa de Anda Madrazo said:
Terrorist financing has gone digital, and with it, the ability to reach billions of people and magnify the impact of attacks has never been greater. No single jurisdiction or authority can address this threat alone, so we need to work closely together to prevent criminals from misusing these platforms to cause harm around the world. I welcome the constructive engagement we have had so far with technology and social media companies in tackling this threat, and look forward to this continuing for the safety and security of people around the world.
The FATF has worked with major technology companies and specialised think tanks to better understand these vulnerabilities and set out recommendations to help countries combat the abuse.
Key measures to address misuse of SMSPs, include:
- Strengthening structured dialogue between public authorities and the private sector.
- Enabling effective information sharing and deepen public-private partnerships.
- Clarifying regulatory scope.
- Strengthening risk understanding.
- Enhancing inter-agency coordination.
- Linking financial and digital intelligence.
- Building operational capacity.
- Developing targeted indicators.
- Increasing understanding of monetisation features.
While SMSPs do not currently fall under one of the sectors which are required to be subject to AML/CFT obligations under the FATF Standards, their progressive evolution to integrate or enable access to a range of financial services means that certain activities conducted through or facilitated by SMSPs may fall within the scope of sectors already regulated under the FATF Standards.
Further in-depth analysis from this project, including case studies, is available to public authorities via the FATF’s secure platform.
