Australian police warn of online radicalisation of teenagers

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 21 Oct, 04:32 · Archive

Australian Federal Police have highlighted cases of teenagers being radicalised and manipulated through online networks.

The Australian Federal Police has presented cases to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security highlighting the threat of online radicalisation to teenagers. AFP Assistant Commissioner Sandra Booth told MPs and senators on Wednesday that they would hear 'very confronting content' as security agencies warned of youth radicalisation and manipulation online. She said AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett directed her to provide examples to demonstrate the severity of the threat.

Ms Booth outlined a counter-terrorism investigation into a 13-year-old boy for allegedly possessing violent extremist material. He was using Discord, and police allegedly found a notebook containing plans for a school shooting at his home in Australia. In another case, a teenager was charged with using a carriage service for child abuse material after allegedly connecting with a sadistic online network.

Ms Booth described broader online networks that promote sadistic exploitation and nihilistic violence, naming The Com and 764. These networks exist across social media platforms without a single coherent ideology but host various extreme ideologies including Neo-Nazism and Satanism. Canada and New Zealand have designated 764 a terrorist group, while international law enforcement agencies work to disrupt these networks.

How it is being reported

• ‘Chilling’: AFP sounds alarm as teens targeted, radicalised by online sadistsLight has been shed on the horrific world of online radicalisation, where teens are blackmailed into committing atrocities by groomers and sadists.Perth Now · 21 Oct, 03:57
• ‘Chilling’: AFP sounds alarm as teens targeted, radicalised by online sadistsLight has been shed on the horrific world of online radicalisation, where teens are blackmailed into committing atrocities by groomers and sadists.The West Australian · 21 Oct, 03:56

In this story: Australian Federal Police · Sandra Booth · Krissy Barrett · Australia · Canada · New Zealand

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