New funding to combat youth extremism in Australia

The research team, from the University’s Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics, was awarded $782,375 for the project through the National Intelligence and Security Discovery Research Grants (NISDRG) program. 

The University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice President (Research), Professor Anton Middelberg, says the research is vital to understanding the ever-evolving dangers of online networks. 

“In an era and landscape where change is inevitable and rapid, advances in our understanding of social networks and the impact of technology are essential to maintain national security,” Professor Middelberg says. 

“Through the NISDRG program, University of Adelaide researchers will contribute to the crucial work of enhancing the nation’s safety and prosperity.” 

The project will deliver the first national-scale survey looking into the types of online extremist ideological influences which target or are accessible to Australians aged 12 to 17 and the extent of their reach and influence.  

According to Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Director-General, Mike Burgess, children as young as 13 are now embracing extremism. The project’s Chief Investigator, Associate Professor Tim Legrand, says the proliferation of extremism in this cohort is due to uncontrolled digital platforms. 

“In the unregulated spaces of online digital media, a diffuse array of communities connected to extreme ideologies are increasingly accessible to and accessed by young Australians,” says Associate Professor Legrand, whose research team comprises of the University of Adelaide’s Dr Nathan Manning and Flinders University’s Dr Melissa-Ellen Dowling. 

“This is a range of 'alt-tech' communities where the violent ideologies of religious extremist groups, far-right nationalists, sovereign citizens, violent misogynist movements, and others operate unimpeded.” 

The research team will interview young people across Australia to better understand the scale of the problem.  

“The data we collect will reveal how the influence of online extremist groups is projected, where it is projected, and the pathways young Australians take in internalising or rejecting such ideological influences,” Associate Professor Legrand says. 

“Its findings will benefit the policing and security agencies in identifying the pathways of online extremist influence, and identify intervention points for those agencies to curtail the reach and influence of online ideological extremist communities. 

“It will also provide the Australian public with a more informed understanding of the risks in online spaces facing young Australians.” 

For more information on the grant program, see here.