Warning: This article contains references to suicide, self-harm, animal cruelty and grooming.
The teenager sentenced to six years in prison for crimes including encouraging suicide and possessing terrorist materials and indecent images of children was part of an international online network promoting neo-Nazi and satanist beliefs, who film and share acts of extreme violence.
Police say it was when Cameron Finnigan’s life online started to take hold in reality that they had to act.
What is 764?
Finnigan was a member of a sprawling, international, online network of more than a dozen different groups connected by shared interests in violence and abuse, known collectively as the “Com”.
The part of this network that Finnigan operated within is called 764. Its members are notorious for targeting children for online sexual abuse, forcing victims to self-harm, and encouraging suicide. Although the group is not proscribed in the UK, it has been designated a Tier 1 terrorist threat by the FBI in America.
Groups that form part of 764 are also connected by their ideological ties to the satanic and neo-Nazi terror organisation Order of the Nine Angles.
Members of 764 discuss and post evidence of violent acts on social media channels such as Telegram and Discord.
They are encouraged and in some cases required to demonstrate their willingness to commit extreme acts of violence including self-harm, the killing of animals, the encouragement of suicide and ultimately murder. They then share videos of that violence for the gratification of the group.
Finnigan interacted with a young woman online who told him she was having suicidal thoughts. He suggested she take her own life and livestream it. But it does not appear the livestream took place.
Detective Chief Superintendent Claire Finlay, head of counter terrorism policing South East, told Sky News: “What he wanted to do was actually livestream it and he would then claim it as being part of 764 which, as we know, if you’re part of the group and you go to this extent and someone actually does it, it increases your standing within that group, which is obviously deeply concerning.”
Police have also alleged that Finnigan was planning to kill a homeless man.
A hidden dark internet history
Much of the content he and other groups were posting online has been removed by the social media companies, police or group members.
But with the help of Prose Intelligence, an open-source intelligence company specialising in Telegram investigations, Sky News has been able to view some of what is left of one of the more sinister online communities Finnigan was connected to.
By searching Telegram, Prose identified content mentioning Finnigan’s alias.
While most of these results were archived from channels and groups that have now been deleted, Sky News identified some from a group with 16 members that still exists.
From the content posted in the group, its members appear to have been affiliated with NMK, a subgroup of 764.
In messages sent on 16 January 2024, a group member refers to Finnigan’s alias and says the two of them discussed the need for NMK to have logos designed that they could attach to content.
Another user responds, also referring to Finnigan by the alias, saying he invited him to be an editor.
A third user then refers to his nationality, describing him as “the one who got clowned by British man disorder”.
This Telegram group was only active between 16 January and 5 February 2024.
During this time, extremely disturbing content was shared among its members, including images of dead bodies and messages encouraging self-harm.
In one instance, an anonymous user claims they are in contact with someone who self-harms for their gratification.
Other users approvingly discuss this and encourage them to find others.
In a reference to the group’s reputation for targeting young internet users, one member shared a gif of a girl dancing with the caption “Me after grooming 13-year-olds all day”.
Multiple images of self-inflicted wounds and at least one of an animal seemingly killed by a member of 764 were also shared.
In an extremely disturbing exchange, one anonymous member claims to have “groomed” a British person into committing a murder.
Sky News has not seen details that would allow this claim to be verified but it provides an indication of how the culture and aspiration to murder are encouraged within the group.
Finnigan’s Telegram account appears to have been deleted, so it was not possible to determine which, if any, messages viewed by Sky News were authored by him.
764 react to Finnigan’s arrest
One Telegram channel Sky News found which is related to 764 is still live.
Messages shared on the channel show Finnigan’s arrest was a topic of interest, with the channel’s owner referring to him by his alias, saying he “will be home this year, NMK will still reign at the top”.
Another post shows a tiled wall with Finnigan’s pseudonym and satanic iconography written on it in what appears to be blood.
It is clear the owner of the channel supports the release of Finnigan. After sharing a post from a now-deleted NMK Telegram channel describing him as a “co-founder” of the 764 subgroup, they say he “is innocent, free him”.
Other posts in the channel show similar interests to those expressed in the group chat. One video shows an individual holding a frog, while another shoots it with a pellet gun.
Finnigan’s arrest appears to have influenced some offline reaction too. Sky News has viewed a video created by a 764 member engaging in acts of vandalism. At one point, graffiti mentioning Finnigan’s online alias and calling for his release is visible.
A seemingly ordinary digital footprint
Counter terror police say Finnigan began to engage with the 764 network online towards the end of 2023.
But Sky News could not find any accounts tied to Finnegan by name that publicly show signs of radicalisation or criminal behaviour.
In fact, we found several old social media accounts belonging to him which showed he had the same interests as many teenagers his age. For example, he played on the popular gaming platform Roblox.
Between October 2019 and March 2020, when he was 13 and 14 years old, Finnigan uploaded 22 videos to YouTube showing himself playing the game, as well as two livestreams.
A search using his email address shows he was registered with a site used to share cheat codes and other information relating to Roblox games.
There is no suggestion that Roblox itself has any knowledge or association with activities by groups like 764.
Finnigan was also active on Instagram during the pandemic, posting selfies and photos of his pet rabbits.
Over 16,000 accounts still exist in wider network
Despite the arrest of Finnigan and the efforts of legal authorities, it appears many Telegram accounts are still active in groups affiliated with 764 and the wider Com.
Jordan Wildon, chief executive of Prose Intelligence, says their latest analysis shows thousands of accounts in this community still operating.
“While the numbers in groups like this on Telegram have seen a decline recently, possibly due to the law enforcement action and the platform’s increased willingness to pass on user IPs following valid legal requests, unique accounts in groups of this community and those like it stand at more than 16,000 worldwide,” he said.
“These groups evade moderation by migrating to new Telegram groups, changing names relatively often, and utilising private groups, making them difficult to monitor. They also organise across different platforms, such as on Discord, which means that without cross-company collaboration, platforms will have a much harder time tracking and moderating this content.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Claire Finlay adds: “764 is incredibly concerning as it overlaps into a number of crimes and they’ve got a global reach so this is not just an issue for the UK, it’s international.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email [email protected] in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open-source information. Through multimedia storytelling, we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
