Singapore: Terrorist threat from online radicalization

SGGP 09/18/2023 07:27

The Straits Times newspaper quoted Singapore's Minister of Law and Home Affairs K. Shanmugam as saying that online radicalization is the main factor increasing the risk of terrorist threats in Singapore today.

According to Minister Shanmugam, more and more young people are being exposed to extremist views through social media, where information can now be shared and replicated very quickly and on an unprecedented scale. This allows those with negative views to quickly connect with like-minded people around the world , forming connections and reinforcing each other’s views.

Of the extremists who have been prosecuted under Singapore's Internal Security Act (ISA) since 2015, 11 of the 49 were aged below 20 and five of the 11 had planned to carry out attacks in Singapore.