Inside the alarming rise of teen radicalisation online: From chatrooms to the Vienna Taylor Swift concert terror suspect
Only four months ago, a UK counter-terrorism officer warned that young adults were increasingly being radicalised online after spending long periods on the internet during the COVID-19 pandemic. Less than a week ago, the Austrian police foiled an Islamic State-inspired plot for an attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, planned by two men in their mid to late teens.
In the wake of this failed attack, experts are directing new attention towards extremists targeting young adults online, often with the objective of inciting them to commit violent offences.
Figures released by the UK Home Office showed that the number of children arrested on suspicion of terror offences reached a record in 2023. Of the 219 arrests made for terrorism-related offences last year, 42, so 19 per cent were committed by young people aged 17 or under.
According to the police, “terrorist groomers” are exploiting the amount of time children spend online unsupervised by their families, schools, social workers or mental health services.
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) revealed in a recent study just how easily terrorist content was accessible to minors across Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
The London-based research and political advocacy organisation closely examined Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda content containing prominent terrorist ideologies.
Using a handful of English search terms, their analysts uncovered roughly 56 videos or posts accessible through accounts set up for minors that appeared to violate platforms’ terms of service. Of the searched terms, only 25 per cent were blocked on TikTok, while none were blocked on YouTube or Instagram. ISD noted that simple workarounds were available to reach terrorist content through these accounts.
On Thursday 8 August 2024, three Eras tour concerts planned for the city of Vienna were cancelled, because the arrests of the two main suspects were made too close to showtime.
The main suspect was a 19-year-old male who planned to target the onlookers gathered outside Ernst Happel Stadium, where the pop star’s concerts were to be held. According to the authorities, he hoped to “kill as many people as possible.” He was taken into custody alongside another 17-year-old suspect. Both are Austrian citizens.
Investigators discovered bomb-making materials at the main suspect’s home, as well as Islamic State group and al-Qaida material at the 17-year-old’s home.
However, another person arrested in connection with the planned attack was an 18-year-old Iraqi citizen, the Austrian Interior Minister said at an unrelated news conference on Friday 9 August.
Concert organisers said they expected up to 65,000 fans inside the Ernst Happel Stadium at each concert and as many as 30,000 onlookers outside, where the suspects planned to strike.
The Vienna plot drew comparisons to a 2017 attack by a suicide bomber at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, that killed 22 people. The bomb detonated at the end of Grande’s concert as thousands of young fans were leaving, becoming the deadliest extremist attack in the United Kingdom in recent years.
