Parents are being warned to monitor their children’s online activities, with concerns that extremist groups are using popular online games to recruit young Australians.
Extremist groups have been targeting young people by using the gaming platforms to expose them to dangerous content such as violent recreations of real-life terrorist events, according to the Australian Federal Police.
In one instance, a young person engaged with extremist content that depicted the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attack, they said.
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The teen then allegedly posted the content to their social media, exposing it to others.
Counter-terrorism expert Professor Greg Barton told Sunrise right-wing terrorism has been accelerating at a worrying level.
According to the AFP, far-right terrorism-related cases accounted for about 2 per cent of their investigations before 2020, but have now risen to about 15 per cent in 2022.
Barton said the graphic content was used to reel young people into a friendship with the extremists so they could then be radicalised.
“It’s the sort of predatory behaviour where they’re trying to win their confidence that’s the concern. The video, the games, that’s just the bait to get them hooked.”
What should parents be looking out for?
Parents are being warned to observe their child’s behaviour online.
The AFP says the signs to look out for include:
- Distancing themselves from their usual friends and family members
- An increase in the extremist nature of their rhetoric, or propaganda they propagate
- Using hateful or emotionally-charged language
- Developing a fixation on conspiracy theories or contentious social issues
- Displaying extreme reactions to certain news or politics
- Spending increasing amounts of time in fringe forums on the internet
What to do about it
- Be aware of what your child is doing online, and help steer them toward trusted sources of factual information
- Talk to your local police or the AFP
- Speak to your children regularly about their online interactions
- Be approachable if your child needs help. Your child may feel reluctant to come forward about online issues if they believe they will be punished, leading to secretiveness and greater risk of exploitation
- Ensure you check privacy settings. You may consider turning off location settings, setting profiles to private, or turning off chat functions
- Know how to report an incident. If you think your child is in immediate danger call triple-0 or your local police (131 444). If you prefer to report anonymously, you can visit Crime Stoppers or call 1800 333 000
AFP Acting Assistant Commissioner Counter Terrorism and Special Investigations Command Sandra Booth said spreading extremist content in online gaming platforms was a serious concern for law enforcement agencies in Australia and around the world.
“We know that nationalist, racist and violent extremist content in online games is almost certainly part of a radicalisation process for some young people,” she said.
“There are a number of popular games that enable users to create scenarios and record them for others to re-watch and share online across social media.
“Our concern is extremist groups are exploiting these platforms to target a very young group of Australia’s population, by creating content to share and encourage far-right/extremist ideologies and abhorrent violence against others.”
Booth said parents and guardians played a significant role in preventing extremist groups from radicalising young Australians.
“It is critical parents and guardians help their children to understand this extremist ideology and violence online has an impact in the real world and is not, and will not be, tolerated in our society.”
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