Latest news with #radicalization
Telegraph
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Young online gamers ‘being recruited by extremists'
Young online gamers are being targeted by extremist groups seeking to recruit and radicalise them, research has found. The groups are using platforms adjacent to gaming sites, where players can chat and live stream, as 'digital playgrounds' for extremist activity, according to an Anglia Ruskin University research institute. Some of those who joined these 'adjacent platforms' were directed into the 'playgrounds' through existing extremist channels, while others sought them out. Another route saw gamers being 'groomed' on the sites by extremists, who then drew them into 'less regulated gaming-adjacent platforms, allowing extremist rhetoric to proliferate unchecked'. One participant told the researchers: 'Direct sort of grooming or cultivation might start on games. That's where you have matchmaking. 'It's where you can build quick rapport with people. But that's the stuff that very quickly moves to adjacent platforms, where there's sort of less monitoring.' High-profile figures such as Anders Breivik, the Norwegian neo-Nazi who killed 77 people, and Brenton Tarrant, who killed 51 people in Christchurch, New Zealand, were considered as 'idols' for aspiring extremists. 'Pseudo-military team-building approach' 'Respondents also mentioned the hyper-masculine environment in games such as GTA V and Call of Duty that can be appealing for individuals attracted to extremist spaces,' said the research. 'This often involves a pseudo-military team-building approach, where groups adopt survivalist and combat skills to unite against a shared adversary, typically the opponent of a particular extremist group.' The research was carried out by Dr William Allchorn and Dr Elisa Orofino, senior research fellows at the International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute. It included interviews with platform content moderators, tech industry experts and those involved in preventing and countering violent extremism. The study found that far-Right extremism was the most common ideology shared on gaming-adjacent platforms. This included content promoting white supremacy, neo-Nazism and anti-Semitism, often accompanied by misogyny, racism, homophobia and conspiracy theories, including references to QAnon. Islamist extremism was also reported, though less frequently, alongside 'extremist-adjacent' material such as the glorification of school shootings – all content that violates the terms of service of mainstream platforms, but often evades detection. 'Young and impressionable audiences' Participants in the research said law enforcement needed to better understand how these platforms and their subcultures operated, and also stressed the importance of educating parents, teachers and children about the risks of online radicalisation. Moderators who took part in the study expressed frustration at inconsistent enforcement policies on their platforms and the burden of deciding whether content or users should be reported to local law enforcement agencies. In-game chat is unmoderated, but moderators looking at the games themselves still report being overwhelmed by the volume and complexity of harmful content, including the use of hidden symbols, which are often used to circumvent banned words. AI tools are being used to assist with moderation, but they said they struggled to interpret memes or when language was ambiguous or sarcastic. Phrases such as 'I'm going to kill you' may be common in gameplay, but difficult for automated systems to interpret in context. Dr Allchorn said: 'These gaming-adjacent platforms offer extremists direct access to large, often young and impressionable audiences and they have become a key tool for extremist recruitment. 'Social media platforms have attracted most of the attention of lawmakers and regulators over the last decade, but these platforms have largely flown under the radar, while at the same time becoming digital playgrounds for extremists to exploit.'
Reuters
3 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Terror threat to Singapore 'remains high', says home affairs report
SINGAPORE, July 29 (Reuters) - The terrorism threat to Singapore remains high, said its home affairs ministry in a report released on Tuesday, pointing to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and "continued traction of radical narratives". While there was no current intelligence of an imminent attack against Singapore, the ministry said Islamic State uses propaganda to exploit the war in Gaza and local grievances to reinforce its narrative of armed violence. Since the surprise attack by Hamas on Israel in October 2023, six Singaporeans have been found to support or were making preparations to take part in armed violence because of the conflict, said the report. "Singapore and our interests continue to be viewed as attractive and legitimate targets by terrorist and extremist elements, due to our friendly relations with Western nations and Israel, the presence of iconic structures in Singapore, and our status as a secular and multicultural state," it said. The ministry said a key threat was online self-radicalisation, in a variety of extremist ideologies, especially of youths. Since 2015, Singapore has used the Internal Security Act against 17 youth aged 20. Most recently it was used against two teenagers - one planned to shoot mosques, the other planned to join Islamic State. The law allows suspects to be held for lengthy periods without trial, or to be given a restriction order limiting travel and internet access, among other conditions. The threat assessment report also said artificial intelligence was emerging as a terrorism enabler for "generating and translating propaganda, producing convincing synthetic multimedia, creating personalised recruitment messages at scale, and planning and developing attacks".
Malay Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Home Affairs report: Terror threat to Singapore remains high amid AI risks, rising youth radicalisation
SINGAPORE, July 29 — The terrorism threat to Singapore remains high, said its home affairs ministry in a report released on Tuesday, pointing to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and 'continued traction of radical narratives'. While there was no current intelligence of an imminent attack against Singapore, the ministry said Islamic State uses propaganda to exploit the war in Gaza and local grievances to reinforce its narrative of armed violence. Since the surprise attack by Hamas on Israel in October 2023, six Singaporeans have been found to support or were making preparations to take part in armed violence because of the conflict, said the report. 'Singapore and our interests continue to be viewed as attractive and legitimate targets by terrorist and extremist elements, due to our friendly relations with Western nations and Israel, the presence of iconic structures in Singapore, and our status as a secular and multicultural state,' it said. The ministry said a key threat was online self-radicalisation, in a variety of extremist ideologies, especially of youths. Since 2015, Singapore has used the Internal Security Act against 17 youth aged 20. Most recently it was used against two teenagers — one planned to shoot mosques, the other planned to join Islamic State. The law allows suspects to be held for lengthy periods without trial, or to be given a restriction order limiting travel and internet access, among other conditions. The threat assessment report also said artificial intelligence was emerging as a terrorism enabler for 'generating and translating propaganda, producing convincing synthetic multimedia, creating personalised recruitment messages at scale, and planning and developing attacks'. — Reuters
Arab News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Terror threat to Singapore ‘remains high', says home affairs report
SINGAPORE: The terrorism threat to Singapore remains high, said its home affairs ministry in a report released on Tuesday, pointing to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and 'continued traction of radical narratives.'While there was no current intelligence of an imminent attack against Singapore, the ministry said Islamic State uses propaganda to exploit the war in Gaza and local grievances to reinforce its narrative of armed the surprise attack by Hamas on Israel in October 2023, six Singaporeans have been found to support or were making preparations to take part in armed violence because of the conflict, said the report.'Singapore and our interests continue to be viewed as attractive and legitimate targets by terrorist and extremist elements, due to our friendly relations with Western nations and Israel, the presence of iconic structures in Singapore, and our status as a secular and multicultural state,' it ministry said a key threat was online self-radicalization, in a variety of extremist ideologies, especially of 2015, Singapore has used the Internal Security Act against 17 youth aged 20. Most recently it was used against two teenagers — one planned to shoot mosques, the other planned to join Islamic law allows suspects to be held for lengthy periods without trial, or to be given a restriction order limiting travel and Internet access, among other threat assessment report also said artificial intelligence was emerging as a terrorism enabler for 'generating and translating propaganda, producing convincing synthetic multimedia, creating personalized recruitment messages at scale, and planning and developing attacks.'
CNA
3 days ago
- CNA
ISD flags growing diversity of extremist ideologies in Singapore, emergence of AI as terror enabler
SINGAPORE: A growing diversity of extremist ideologies can be observed in Singapore, against a backdrop of the terror threat remaining at a high level, the Internal Security Department (ISD) said on Tuesday (Jul 29). This can be attributed to "a volatile global landscape arising from developments such as the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and continued traction of radical narratives", the department said in this year's Singapore Terrorism Threat Assessment Report. Evolving technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI), was also highlighted by the ISD as a potential driving factor around the world, as well as in Singapore. From July 2024 to last month, the agency dealt with eight self-radicalised Singaporeans under the Internal Security Act (ISA), comprising six males and two females between the ages of 15 and 56. Four of them were triggered by the re-escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in October 2023, while two others were influenced by pro-ISIS extremist ideologies. The remaining two were indoctrinated by far-right extremist ideologies. This brings the total number of self-radicalised individuals here issued with ISA orders since 2015 to 60, comprising 48 Singaporeans and 12 foreigners. ONLINE INFLUENCE "OF CONCERN" ISD in its report also noted with concern the increasing variety of online platforms being used to disseminate extremist materials, especially among youths. These include social media and messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, X, Reddit and Instagram, gaming platforms like Discord and Roblox, and video-sharing platforms such as YouTube and Bitchute, said the report. All of the last eight self-radicalised Singaporeans were influenced by extremist materials they encountered online, noted the ISD. The agency found that online platforms featured in terrorism-related activities in four broad areas: to enable the radicalisation or to accelerate it, to facilitate recruitment for terrorist-related activities; and to mobilise and prepare for armed violence. "The emergence of technological innovations, such as AI, also risks complicating the terrorist threat globally and locally," said the ISD. "Even though there is no indication that evolving technologies, such as AI and 3D printing, have been used in any terrorist attack plot in Singapore, we are seeing an emerging trend of evolving technologies featuring in local youth self-radicalisation cases." It cited the examples of a 17-year-old ISIS supporter detained in September last year who had used an AI chatbot to generate a bai'ah – an oath of allegiance – to ISIS, and a 17-year-old far-right extremist detained in March this year who used an AI chatbot to find instructions for producing ammunition and also considered 3D printing his own firearms to carry out attacks. "There is a need for increased cooperation between the public and private sectors, especially with technology and social media companies, to create a safer online environment," said the ISD. It noted that technology firms have in recent years stepped up their efforts, such as regulating and removing egregious content on social media platforms. "However, technology companies could continue to explore further efforts in this area, including collaboration with religious and community organisations, to guide users in navigating the digital space and positively influence the online discourse," said the ISD. The agency also noted the uptick in the number of local self-radicalised youths, with half of the eight latest cases involving youths aged 20 or below. "This brings the total number of youths dealt with under the ISA since 2015 to 17, with more than two-thirds (12) identified in the last five years," it said. Singapore's trend mirrors a broader global trend, with several western countries reporting last year that one in five terror suspects are under 18, while European countries reported that nearly two-thirds of ISIS-related arrests involved teenagers, according to the report. ISD also said in its report that since 2002, almost 85 per cent of Singaporeans detained under the ISA have been released after making good progress in their rehabilitation. Of the 46 who were issued with Restriction Orders, 39 have had their orders lapsed. "Most of them have also embarked on pro-social pursuits, such as upskilling themselves or taking up stable employment since their release." "ENDURING" ISLAMIC EXTREMIST THREAT Elsewhere in its report, ISD pointed to how the global Islamist terror threat persists, with organisations like ISIS and Al-Qaeda maintaining their enduring intent to conduct or inspire attacks. "ISIS is resilient and remains one of the world's largest Islamist terrorist organisations; it has cash reserves of some US$10 million (approximately S$12.9 million) and its fighters number between 1,500 and 3,000 in Iraq and Syria alone," said the agency in the report. "In Southeast Asia, ISIS's virtual or online caliphate poses a salient threat," said the ISD. "Its propaganda materials are both opportunistic and localised; they are tailored to exploit external developments, such as the situation in Gaza, and local grievances to reinforce ISIS's central narrative of armed violence." ISIS and Al-Qaeda have also been among the groups inciting others to conduct attacks against Israeli and Jewish interests, as well as those of countries seen as supporting Israel, since the re-escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Closer to home, a pro-ISIS TikTok user in March this year issued a poster titled The Call to Truth, which labelled various regional countries' governments, including Singapore, as "apostate" for oppressing Muslims, and urging Muslims to "take up arms" against those countries. And on Aug 21 last year, Indonesian authorities arrested Indonesian militant Yudi Lukito Kurniawan in Sulawesi, Indonesia, on terror charges. The former Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) member had been tasked by terror group Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in 2014 to lead an attack targeting the Singapore Exchange (SGX). It was intended as an indirect strike against the United States, with Singapore deemed as an ally of the US and geographically closest to Indonesia, said the ISD. When Yudi attempted to enter Singapore in February 2015 to possibly further the attack plot, he was denied entry due to his JI-related terror activities. "At the time of his attempted visit to Singapore, the Singapore authorities were not aware of the SGX attack plot," said the ISD. This underscores "the fluidity of terror allegiances amongst radicalised individuals given the broad common jihadist goals" of the various groups, noted the agency.
