Children are being arrested under laws to disrupt extremism and charged with possession of extremist material.

 Headlines recently revealed how children are being arrested under laws to ‘disrupt’ extremism and charged with possession of extremist material. 

However, the question should be how they were exposed to such materials in the first place and, if authorities utilise tools such as OSINT – extremist networks, behaviours and digital pathways behind this kind of exposure could be uncovered before it happens.

Written by Duane Rivett, Co-Founder and VP of APAC, Fivecast

 When children are found with extremist material, the bigger question is more often how they were exposed to it in the first place. In many cases, the material on a device is the only visible point of a wider pathway involving anonymous accounts, cross-platform communities and bad actors who know how to target vulnerable young people – some of whom do not even fully understand the nature of what they have received or the intent of those sending it. 

That is why investigators should be using tools such as AI-powered open-source intelligence (OSINT) solutions much earlier in the process to identify the networks, behaviours and digital pathways behind this kind of exposure before it happens. Extremist material doesn’t sit neatly on one platform. It moves between mainstream social media, messaging apps, forums and harder-to-monitor online spaces including the notorious online Com networks. Those seeking to influence or target young people routinely switch platforms and channels, which means better visibility is needed across platforms to understand where contact begins, how influence spreads and how risk is escalating. 

OSINT can help agencies process information at scale, connect accounts and behaviours that may otherwise appear unrelated - and build the context needed to distinguish between curiosity, exposure, grooming and active radicalisation. They can also help investigators detect levels of engagement, surface hidden links between identities and prioritise the most relevant risks from vast volumes of online activity. That context matters as it gives agencies a better chance to intervene early before greater harm is done - whether that means safeguarding a child, identifying a recruiter or disrupting a wider extremist network.

Authorities need to prioritise earlier detection and better-informed intervention, so they are not simply responding when extremist material has already been found. Having the tools in place to see the full online environment on vulnerable young people is crucial to protecting them well before exposure turns into grooming, radicalisation or exploitation