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Social media fuelling youth radicalisation in Australia, with AI set to worsen problem
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Police leaving the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Sydney on April 17, 2024, following a knife attack during a church service.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SYDNEY – A string of terror attacks or plots have been conducted or exposed in Australia in 2024 and all had one thing in common: The attacker or alleged plotter was a young man aged between 14 and 21 whose online activities were crucial to his decision to carry out an attack.
This worrying trend was revealed in a stark assessment of the risks of social media by Australia’s domestic spy chief, Mr Mike Burgess, at a summit on Oct 11, during which he said individuals are now being self-radicalised online in a process that can take days and weeks rather than months and years.
