Jihadis reaching children on web

ONE in three Australian children have been exposed to terrorist propaganda online with reports that primary school students are being sent videos of beheadings by jihadis on Snapchat.

New research being released today reveals the extent of dangerous content that young people are being bombarded with online, with 57 per cent reporting they have seen “real violence” that disturbed them.

And a disturbing 33 per cent said they had seen videos or images promoting terrorism.

Cyber safety experts told the Geelong Advertiser they believed children weren’t seeking the content themselves but were being sent it by violent extremists.

More than 2400 young people aged 12-17 years old were surveyed by the eSafety Commission for the research which also shows one in four young people have been the target of online bullying.

Young people from culturally diverse backgrounds were the most likely to be targets of online hate.

It comes as eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant and federal Communications Minister Mitch Fifield today launch a new website aimed at training young people to report dangerous online content.

The survey found just half of young people would take action when confronted with hateful comments and 34 per cent would not tell their parents if they saw violence images or videos promoting terrorism.

Ms Inman Grant told the Advertiser the new website Young and eSafe would also help young people “recover” from traumatising online experiences.

“We need to help young people to develop the residence they need to cope with the online onslaught,” Ms Inman Grant said.