Children encountering extremism at 'disturbing' rate, inquiry told

Australia's counter-terrorism coordinator, Brendan Dowling, has warned that children are increasingly being exposed to extremist material at a disturbing rate. During testimony to the antisemitism royal commission, Dowling explained that a TikTok pilot program had redirected high-risk children to support networks. He emphasized the critical importance of programs aimed at countering violent extremism to combat radicalization in communities.

Children are now engaging with violent extremist content at younger ages, with some as young as 10 years old, according to Department of Home Affairs data. Dowling stated that this trend is "disturbing" and that rates of youth radicalization are increasing, with young people engaging with a range of extremist ideologies, including neo-Nazi, white supremacist, anti-government, and jihadi material.

While some referrals to countering violent extremism programs are better suited to other treatments, such as mental health interventions, Dowling believes that these programs are crucial in addressing radicalization. He highlighted the Diversions Australia pilot program, which used social media and gaming platforms to connect users with case managers who could help disengage them from extremist content.

The pilot program showed positive results, with over 6,500 users connecting to the site and about 790 engaging with the pop-up, leading to conversations with case managers or practitioners. Dowling believes this is a world-first and is in discussions with Roblox to expand the program to the popular gaming platform.