Violent Extremist Groups Targeting Children on Gaming and Chat Platforms Across Canadian Prairies
Police and researchers in the Canadian Prairies warn that violent extremist groups are increasingly grooming children and teenagers through platforms like Roblox, Minecraft, Discord, and Telegram. Cases referred to an Alberta-based intervention program have risen sharply, prompting authorities to urge parental vigilance.
Violent extremist groups are grooming, recruiting, and radicalizing a growing number of children and teenagers across the Canadian Prairies using social media and online video games, according to police and researchers.
Const. Andrea Lefort of the Winnipeg Police Service stated that online manipulation is leading to a higher risk of real-world violence, including school shootings and harm to people or animals, and she expects cases to continue increasing. The impacts of this victimization can also lead youth to potential offender status.
Michael King, deputy executive director of the Alberta-based Organization for the Prevention of Violence, reported an "exponential" increase in cases referred to their psychosocial intervention program, Evolve, over the past three years. The Evolve program handled two cases involving online extremism in 2024, four last year, and ten so far this year.
Online spaces identified where extremist groups target kids include Roblox, Minecraft, Discord, and Telegram. Groups such as 764 and the Manic Murder Cult (M.K.Y.) have been added by the federal government to the Criminal Code list of terrorist entities.
Supt. Matt Johnson of the RCMP's Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) noted that online extremism crosses geographic boundaries and covers various types of criminality, making enforcement challenging. This has required significant resource allocation within the RCMP's counterterrorism unit.
In response to the threat, Discord stated it has been aggressively disrupting 764 and affiliated groups since 2021, removing thousands of servers and filing reports with CyberTip and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. A spokesperson for Mojang, the maker of Minecraft, stated that violent extremism has no place in the game and that they use detection, moderation, and parental controls to address threats. Some parents are now restricting children's access to specific online gaming platforms.
Authorities emphasize that while law enforcement is involved, the issue requires community and parental vigilance due to the global and digital nature of the threat. Warning signs for parents include secrecy about online activity, withdrawal from friends or family, obsessive time spent online, unexplained injuries, distress linked to messages, and sudden fascination with violence or animal cruelty.
Those in crisis can contact the 988 Suicide Crisis Helpline or Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868.