Skip to content
Sign in
Technology · Asia Pacific

AFP warns children as young as 11 are radicalised online within days

AFP Acting Deputy Commissioner Sandra Booth told a parliamentary inquiry that children as young as 11 are being radicalised online within days. Booth warned that Australia’s mental health, education, finance and judicial systems could be overwhelmed without serious intervention.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 4 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 1 of 4 outletsHow it's made

View timeline · 5 entries
4 outlets2 regionsLatest reporting 2 min read
Coverage: Mostly LeftL 2 · C 1 · R 0 · 1 unrated
Updat3 graphic: AFP
Updat3 graphic

What happened

Key facts

  • AFP Acting Deputy Commissioner Sandra Booth told a parliamentary inquiry that children as young as 11 are being radicalised online within days.
  • Booth warned that, without intervention, mental health, education, finance and judicial systems could be overwhelmed.
  • Booth said vulnerable people could face repeated victimisation or commit serious criminal offences.
  • A final report from the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security is due in March next year.

The brief

AFP Acting Deputy Commissioner Sandra Booth told a parliamentary inquiry that Australia faces what she called a “tsunami of youth crime,” warning that children as young as 11 are being radicalised online within days. Her testimony connected the concern to the speed of online radicalisation and the age of children involved.

Booth attributed the development to artificial intelligence, a growing grievance generation, young people seeking purpose and belonging, and increasingly sophisticated online networks. These were the factors she named in her account to the inquiry; she did not rank them or assign a separate contribution to each.

The AFP account included an example involving a 13-year-old Discord user who allegedly possessed violent extremist material. That material allegedly included a notebook containing plans for a school shooting. The allegation is presented as an example of radicalisation, not as a conviction.

Booth warned that, without serious intervention, Australia’s mental health, education, finance and judicial systems could be overwhelmed. She also said vulnerable people could face repeated victimisation or commit serious criminal offences, identifying both potential victims and young people involved in offending as part of the concern.

The inquiry is the setting for Booth’s warning and for the AFP example. The ABC Australia headline separately characterises the country as being at a “crossroads” and says police warned of a “tsunami” of radicalisation. The Guardian headline describes the AFP warning as concerning youth crime and radicalisation accelerated by AI.

Booth’s warning links the issue to possible pressure on public systems and harm involving vulnerable people, while the example she cited concerns alleged possession of extremist material by a child. Her account calls for serious intervention but does not specify a particular measure or timetable.

Why it matters

  • Booth warned that Australia’s mental health, education, finance and judicial systems could be overwhelmed without serious intervention.
  • The account identifies children as young as 11 as vulnerable to online radicalisation within days.
  • Booth said vulnerable people could face repeated victimisation, while young people could commit serious criminal offences.

What to watch next

  • Whether the parliamentary inquiry takes up Booth’s warning about children being radicalised online within days.
  • Whether the inquiry addresses the factors Booth named: artificial intelligence, grievance, searches for purpose and belonging, and online networks.
  • Whether the inquiry considers Booth’s warning about pressure on Australia’s mental health, education, finance and judicial systems.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
4 source articles · 4 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Mostly Left· 2 Left · 1 Center · 1 unrated
Where the outlets are based: Asia 75% · Europe 25%
Outlet political mix
Mostly Left
Left
Center
Right
2 outlets
1 outlet
0 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 1 unrated outlet is not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
4 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia
Coverage imbalance
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among outlets based in Asia (3 of 4 geographically-identified sources).
How we measure coverage

One source is from a wire service (AP, Reuters, AFP or Bloomberg), whose reporting other outlets often republish.

How outlets' accounts compare

Updat3 does not yet have enough full reports to compare how outlets framed this story.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation was established to investigate threats to national security and advise the government.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. The Australian Federal Police, established on 19 October 1979, has since had a national role in investigating federal offences, including terrorism-related crimes.
    Background · from our historical context
  3. The Christchurch mosque attacks were livestreamed, and footage spread online.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron convened the Christchurch Call, which Australia supported.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  5. Australia’s Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, passed on 28 November 2024, set a minimum age of 16 for accounts on specified social-media platforms.
    Background · from our historical context

How we got here

Australia’s Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, passed on 28 November 2024, set a minimum age of 16 for accounts on specified social-media platforms. It followed the Online Safety Act 2021, which expanded the eSafety Commissioner’s powers over online content and services.

The 2021 Act built on earlier Australian efforts to address online extremist material. After the 15 March 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks were livestreamed and footage spread online, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron convened the Christchurch Call on 15 May 2019; Australia was among its supporters.

Original sources

4 articles from 4 outlets

Every story links to the reporting it was built from. How we choose sources

Spotted a factual error, a broken link or a misleading summary? Tell us.