The enemy in your phone: How extremists target youth online

Extremist recruitment is moving fast from traditional face-to-face encounters into digital spaces.

The next extremist recruitment encounter targeting a young Kenyan could begin on a digital platform, where young people spend much of their time, as extremist groups increasingly use online spaces to spread propaganda, build relationships and recruit potential followers.

A United Nations counter-terrorism assessment shows that terrorist groups no longer rely solely on physical networks but increasingly use online forums, encrypted messaging applications and gaming platforms to reach and influence young people. These online forums are also used for crowdfunding to finance terrorist activities.

The UN has also identified what it describes as “funnel strategies”, in which potential recruits can be introduced to extremist content on easily accessible mainstream platforms before being moved towards increasingly extreme content and, as commitment deepens, encrypted messaging services.