Terrorist organizations and hate groups are increasingly utilizing online gaming sites like Minecraft and Roblox to recruit and indoctrinate children into their ideologies, similar to the grooming activities associated with sexual predators, counterterrorism experts and investigators say. These popular online gaming sites are generally viewed as safe havens for children to engage in entertainment activities but are being used as backdoors to expose children to violent ideologies like never before.
Data from the United Nations’ Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate reveals that minors are now 42 percent of the terror-related investigations in Europe and North America, an astonishing threefold increase from 2021. The figure for Europe alone ranges from 20 percent to 30 percent, with minors now being counted in the terror investigations, with some as young as 12 and 13 years old, unpublished data from the International Center for Counter-Terrorism in The Hague reveal.
The surge has been described by Thomas Renard, the center’s director, as unprecedented, saying the statistics were “shocking” and unlike anything seen before. Experts say the extremist groups are recruiting at a pace that is quicker than the government can respond to the situation, highlighting the gap between the strategies of digital radicalization and the government’s counter-strategies.
Radicalization in Virtual Worlds
Propaganda and simulations of violent acts by extremist groups have been well-documented in the context of the gaming experience, which includes the reenactments of real-world violent crimes like the Christchurch Mosque shootings in 2019. Digital worlds in Minecraft and Roblox were used to glorify mass violence, promote hate speech, and create propaganda-laden virtual spaces that aim to indoctrinate young minds.
The extremist groups have been creating customized game environments, particularly to attract children, and are employing gamification to promote and normalize their ideologies and recruit certain psychological profiles. Jean Slater, a researcher who has studied violent extremist movements, has noted that children tend to perceive these game environments as fully moderated and thus safe, allowing adult predators to manipulate them by pretending to be their peers.
Both Roblox and the owner of the other popular game, Minecraft, i.e., Microsoft, have publicly stated that extremist content is prohibited on their platforms and that the use of artificial intelligence tools, moderation teams, filters for chats, reporting mechanisms, and parental controls are all being employed to ensure that such content is detected and removed. Experts, however, state that private servers, encrypted chats, and decentralized online communities are still not being moderated and that extremist actors are able to operate with relative impunity.
A Growing Pattern of Child Terrorism Cases
Although legal proceedings against minors are not made public, there have been several reported cases of how online radicalization can lead to real-world threats. In the United Kingdom, a 15-year-old girl, who was radicalized by a neo-Nazi contact in Texas, was arrested after she downloaded bomb-making manuals and expressed intentions of carrying out an attack against a synagogue. She later took her own life, demonstrating the psychological impact of being radicalized by extremists.
For instance, in Estonia, a 13-year-old boy was in 2020 identified as the leader of an international neo-Nazi group planning attacks in Western countries through Telegram. This is a clear example of how children can quickly rise through the ranks in extremist groups in cyber space without the knowledge of parents or the government.
Experts say that although it is hard to tell the number of radicalized children who will carry out violent actions, the quick rise in the number points to a weakness in the system in cyber space.
Loneliness, Identity, and the Digital Generation
Many experts suggest that the rising rate of radicalized children is caused not only by ideological factors but also by their social isolation, self-identity issues, and digital saturation. The fact that children often switch between extremist ideologies, moving from white supremacism to jihadism and back, indicates that psychological and social factors are more important than ideological consistency.
Renard noted that the issue could also be caused by the combination of different trends: the smartphone generation, liberal parenting styles regarding digital technology use, and the algorithms that present extremist content to users. These are the conditions that can lead to radicalization, especially among adolescents seeking to find their place in the world.
Sophisticated Recruitment Funnels Beyond Gaming
Video gaming represents merely one component in the larger structure of extremist recruitment. Researchers have recognized the existence of “funnel strategies” that channel young users from popular sites like TikTok and X into more restricted and secure sites, including Discord and Telegram, where indoctrination becomes more intense.
American and Canadian law officials have expressed concern regarding nihilistic transnational extremist groups described as “com networks.” These groups target young users and compel them to engage in acts of self-harm, sexual exploitation, and violence, using recorded content as leverage for blackmail. The “com networks” incorporate extremist ideology and psychological manipulation, which are extremely threatening for young users.
Arno Michaelis, an ex-neo-Nazi, stated that the process of extremist recruitment extends beyond traditional social media sites and encompasses sites that parents recognize as harmless and safe, making it more difficult for law officials to detect the threat.
Far-Right Youth Mobilization and Offline Networks
Active clubs, or paramilitary-style clubs, are also popular among the far right, who train young men in preparation for the expected race war. These groups have proliferated in at least 27 countries, with 25 percent of newly established groups focusing on young males aged 15-17 years old.
According to those who used to be in these groups, there is a gradual indoctrination process, starting with anti-immigrant feelings and ending with racial supremacist ideas. Counselors who work with former members report that feelings of vulnerability, alienation, and the need for validation are common recruiting factors.
Families on the Front Lines of Radicalization
The human impact of child radicalization is profound, often tearing families apart. Parents of a Canadian teenager described how their daughter was groomed online by an extremist who identified himself as a “national socialist groomer.” Over two years, she became deeply immersed in neo-Nazi ideology, encouraged by online communities to reject parental guidance and medical treatment.
Her parents say extremist networks emotionally bonded her to ideology, convincing her it provided purpose and belonging. She now lives in a group home and refuses contact with her family, illustrating how online radicalization can permanently alter familial relationships.
