Australians as young as 13 are embracing extremism and will be the focus of a first-ever national study on the influence of online extremist ideological.
Researchers from the University of Adelaide will analyse the digital pathways of violent extremism in young Australians, through a $780,000 allocation from National Intelligence and Security Discovery Research Grants (NISDRG) program.
University Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Anton Middelberg said the research was vital in understanding the ever-evolving dangers of online networks.
“In an era and landscape where change is inevitable and rapid, advances in our understanding of social networks and the impact of technology are essential to maintain national security,” Professor Middelberg said.
He said the project would deliver the first national-scale survey looking into the types of online extremist ideological influences which target or are accessible to Australians aged 12 to 17 and the extent of their reach and influence.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation says children as young as 13 were now embracing extremism, with the project’s Chief Investigator Associate Professor Tim Legrand saying the proliferation of extremism in this cohort was due to uncontrolled digital platforms.
“In the unregulated spaces of online digital media, a diffuse array of communities connected to extreme ideologies are increasingly accessible to and accessed by young Australians,” Associate Professor Legrand said.
“This is a range of ‘alt-tech’ communities where the violent ideologies of religious extremist groups, far-right nationalists, sovereign citizens, violent misogynist movements, and others operate unimpeded.”
Associate Professor Legrand said the research team would interview young people across Australia to better understand the scale of the problem.
“The data we collect will reveal how the influence of online extremist groups is projected, where it is projected, and the pathways young Australians take in internalising or rejecting such ideological influences,” Associate Professor Legrand says.
“Its findings will benefit the policing and security agencies in identifying the pathways of online extremist influence and identify intervention points for those agencies to curtail the reach and influence of online ideological extremist communities.
“It will also provide the Australian public with a more informed understanding of the risks in online spaces facing young Australians,” he said.
