According to the latest annual report from the Global Terrorism Index, nearly half of the counter-terrorism investigations in Europe and North America in 2025 involved minors, marking a threefold increase since 2021. Experts suggest that this surge is due to recruiters exploiting available tools such as gaming platforms, algorithms, and encrypted messaging apps.

The 2026 edition of the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) provides an overview of the evolution of global terrorism, emphasizing the threat posed to young people in Western countries.

Since 2012, France has suffered over fifty Islamist attacks, resulting in nearly three hundred fatalities. Similarly alarming statistics have emerged from other countries. Terrorism, predominantly linked to Islamist networks, has claimed 53 lives in Germany and 69 in the United Kingdom. Among these attacks was a vehicle assault by an Afghan jihadist in Munich in February 2025, which resulted in two deaths—an Algerian mother and her daughter—and an attack on a Manchester synagogue in October by a British national of Syrian descent, which also left two dead.

In this context, a significant portion of the report focuses on the radicalization of youth. The study elaborates on what it terms „the modern path to radicalization,” whereby young people are targeted through the internet, „social media algorithms,” and „immersive gaming environments.”

Terrorist groups are adept at exploiting these tools, regardless of their ideological affiliations. While jihadism remains the primary threat, particularly in Europe, the observed „path to radicalization” among youth also extends to the far-left, far-right, and what experts refer to as „á la carte” extremism, where ideologically adrift youths consume a variety of content (accelerationism, antisemitic conspiracy theories, jihadist propaganda, „incel” culture—referring to „involuntary celibates”—and hatred towards authorities).

87% des mineurs radicalisés ont souffert de négligences ou d’abus psychologiques et plus des trois quarts ont vécu des situations d’abandon. →https://t.co/ExTpKIw5PT pic.twitter.com/P3KB4ertOD

— Le Figaro (@Le_Figaro) April 1, 2026

The Global Terrorism Index states that „in Western countries, terrorism is increasingly fueled by the radicalization of young people,” as reported by Le Figaro.

Minors accounted for „42% of terrorism-related investigations in Europe and North America in 2025, representing a threefold increase since 2021.” Additionally, „in 2024, teenagers made up nearly two-thirds of arrests related to the Islamic State in Europe.”

This phenomenon predominantly affects the West. In Belgium, one-third of investigations between 2022 and 2024 involved minors, while in the United Kingdom, 82 minors were arrested in 2023–2024, compared to just 12 in 2019. In Australia, 35 minors have been implicated since 2020.

The radicalization process is accelerating

Another alarming trend is that a young person’s radicalization time was estimated at 18 months in 2005 and 13 months in 2016. Today, this can be reduced to a matter of months, weeks, or even days. Propaganda also exploits the vulnerabilities of its targets: approximately 87% of radicalized minors have suffered neglect or psychological abuse, and more than three-quarters have experienced abandonment.

The report highlights that although „the primary target of terrorist networks is young people aged 15 to 25, recruitment and its ideological foundations are observable even in children as young as eight.”

The report suggests that „one of the most concerning developments in youth radicalization is the instrumental use of online gaming and associated communication platforms, particularly Discord, Twitch, Steam, and Roblox.”

Terrorists do not merely content themselves with establishing connections with isolated youths through these channels; they create „gaming worlds” that glorify violence. As a result, minors „use simulation games to digitally enact real violent acts, such as attacks on places of worship or schools, thereby blurring the line between digital entertainment and physical terrorism.”