By the way conference “Preventing Online Radicalization of Children and Young People”the PJ emphasizes that “radicalization is the process of personal transformation of children and young people that leads to violent extremism”.
The national director of the Judiciary Police (PJ) and the Minister of Justice warned this Tuesday, during the presentation of the PJ’s new campaign “Online hate kills offline”, of the danger of radicalization and hateful content online.
Luís Neves said that the young people are particularly vulnerable and warned that the PJ has already identified cases in Portugal.
“Online hateful content among young people does not appear out of nowhere. It is usually the result of a combination of social, psychological, technological and cultural factors,” he said.
According to the national director of the PJ, these factors include the search for identity and a sense of belonging, the algorithm of social networks, anonymity and lack of responsibility, lack of digital education and critical thinking, social and economic frustrations and the influence of public figures.
The person in charge further clarified that There are different types of radicalizationwhich are based mainly on religious, gender, sexual orientation and political differences.
These differences “create the ideal motivational and cognitive preconditions for terrorist violence, fueled by hatred and prejudice”, he added.
Before the presentation of the campaign video “online hate kills offline”, which contains real images from PJ investigations, Luís Neves also said that “the indicators of the increase in ‘crime as a service’ are worrying, in which criminal structures “make illicit digital tools available, which include the use of artificial intelligence, with a view to expanding the phenomenon, through radicalization and recruitment, especially of children and young people”.
Luís Neves also defended that the Action Plan for the Prevention of Radicalization and Violent Extremism and Recruitment for Terrorism must be public.
“If it is desired and we want everyone to be part of this fight, and I’m talking about civil society, everyone must be aware of the plan”, he highlighted.
The Minister of Justice, Rita Alarcão Júdice, also spoke about prevention, noting that this is not done only “with prohibitions on surveillance”.
“It must be anchored in digital literacy, critical thinking, education for human rights, and the training of teachers and technicians to recognize signs of risk and know how to act, with integrated responses at their disposal”, added Rita Alarcão Júdice.
