Experts say social media driving young people into right-wing extremism

Social media is driving young Australians into the destructive rabbit holes of right-wing extremism, a panel of counter-terror experts has warned, and pulling youngsters away from the path of extremism will require complex action on the part of local communities and government.

Professor Michele Grossman AM, speaking at a senate hearing into right-wing movements in Australia on Monday, said the move of more young people, including children, into anti-democratic zealotry was “driven almost entirely by social media”.

“Their exposure levels have skyrocketed,” she said, warning easy access to radical images, chatrooms and websites left them more vulnerable to persuasion.

Neo-Nazi and other far-right movements have erupted into the public square in recent months, with cities hit with open protests from Nazi groups including the National Socialist Network.

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On Australia Day, men in balaclavas with the NSN were stopped by police at a train station in North Sydney.

Members of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Network march in suburban Adelaide. NCA NewsWire Credit: NCA NewsWire

The internet is a key factor pushing more young people into radicalism. Supplied Credit: News Regional Media

The police again broke up meetings of the far-right group at North Turramurra on Saturday evening and Artarmon on Sunday morning.

State legislatures across the country have moved to tighten laws against the display of Nazi symbols and gestures, with Victoria, NSW and South Australia now instituting bans on hate symbols.

In its submission to the senate hearing, the Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies (CRIS) warned that social media could “fuel” curiosity about radical ideas.

“Various right-wing extremist organisations and movements, including neo-Nazis and conspiracy theorists, make intensified use of digital environments to fuel curiosity about, interest in and exposure to radical ideology,” its submission states.

“Social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram serve as ‘low-risk’ entry platforms for right-wing extremism in comparison to platforms such as 4chan, 8chan/Kun, Gab, Reddit and others, which can be seen as higher-risk channels in moving along the supply chain of toxic extremist exposure and immersion.

“Movement from low-risk to high-risk platforms exposes individuals to smaller communities with less access to different opinions, thus creating confirmation bias.”

Shifting at-risk young people away from radicalisation would prove a “challenge”, the experts also warned.

Neo-Nazi protests have hit Australian cities in recent months. NCA NewsWire Credit: NCA NewsWire

Peer-to-peer programs, in which young people help to persuade their friends away from radicalism, community reporting and more training for educators were some of the practical responses recommended by the panel.

CRIS said tech companies had a responsibility to work with the security agencies on encryption to disrupt the flow of radical messaging and “work proactively to prevent terrorist and extreme violent material from being disseminated on social media platforms”.

The call echoes a plea from ASIO boss Mike Burgess and AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw to tech companies to make encryption “accountable”.

“The chatroom is encrypted, so ASIO’s ability to investigate is seriously compromised,” Mr Burgess told the National Press Club in April.

“Obviously, we and our partners will do everything we can to prevent terrorism or sabotage, so we are expending significant resources to monitor the Australians involved. Having lawfully targeted access to extremist communications would be much more effective and efficient.

“It would give us real time visibility of their activities.”