Via porn, gore and ultra-violence, extremist groups are sinking hooks online into the very young

Radicalised at 12: Alarming rise of child terror suspects in Europe

The mother told criminal investigators that she'd thought her son had been playing video games and doing homework during the hours he spent in his room.

Via porn, gore and ultra-violence, extremist groups are sinking hooks online into the very young

Across Europe and further afield, counterterrorism agencies are grappling with a new generation of young people who are being radicalized online and consuming ultraviolent content produced by extremist groups and their supporters.

– French authorities are facing a growing threat of juvenile radicalization online, security services have warned, after the case of a 12-year-old boy convicted of two terrorism-related charges, including possession of extremist content and instructions for making explosive devices, became public.

After her arrest, the child's mother was shocked to learn that her 12-year-old son had been learning to kill and consume videos of beheadings and tortures so creepy that they even made the hardened French judicial officials look away. The mother told investigators that she thought her son had been playing video games and doing chores during the hours he spent in his room.